When it comes to the art market, there are no quiet years, no boring years, no forgettable years. However, there are boom years and less booming years. Two thousand twenty-four was one of the latter. Only a single work sold at auction for more than $100 million (here’s a list of the year’s top sellers on the block), and some key market movers were embroiled in controversy. Nevertheless, there were still thrilling events in salesrooms (here are five of them). And even as the art industry struggled, it experienced some remarkable moments, positive and less so. Six key developments from the past 12 months follow below.

The Rybolovlev-Bouvier Saga Concludes

Yves Bouvier in The Lost Leonardo, 2021. Photo courtesy of Sony Pictures.

A bevy of attorneys, art-market journalists, and Sotheby’s press staffers spent the better part of January in a federal court in Downtown Manhattan, watching one of the final chapters in the epic legal battle between Russian billionaire Dmitry Rybolovlev and Swiss dealer Yves Bouvier play out. It all started in 2015, when Rybolovlev alleged that Bouvier had overcharged him by a whopping $1 billion on some $2 billion in art purchases. Bouvier insisted that he acting as an agent, not advisor for Rybolovlev, leaving him free to charge what he pleased. Not satisfied with that explanation, Rybolovlev pursued criminal prosecutions and civil actions in jurisdictions around the world, including Switzerland, Singapore, and Monaco. After years of intense legal wrangling, and an influence-peddling allegation against Rybolovlev, the two men finally reached an undisclosed settlement in late December 2023. However, that settlement did not prevent Sotheby’s from being dragged into litigation by Rybolovlev for what he said was the auction house’s role in four art transactions that he alleged made them culpable of “aiding and abetting fraud.” After three weeks of incredibly detailed—and, at times, very tedious—testimony at the trial, a jury cleared Sotheby’s. —Eileen Kinsella

A Shakeup at Gagosian

Brooke Lampley. Courtesy of Sotheby’s

The powerhouse Gagosian gallery made dramatic changes in its leadership in the spring. Brooke Lampley, who made a name for herself as Sotheby’s global chairman and head of global fine art, was brought in as a senior director, just after Sotheby’s sold $633.4 million worth of art in its marquee May auctions in New York. As a key executive at the auction house, Lampley worked with billionaire Gagosian clients like Ken Griffin and Steven Schwarzman. Shocking departures from the gallery followed just a few weeks later. Andrew Fabricant, the gallery’s chief operating officer, headed for the exit, along with his wife, Laura Paulson, who had led the firm’s art advisory business since 2019. Fabricant had once been seen as a possible successor to Larry Gagosian himself. —Annie Armstrong

Headquarters Rise in Hong Kong

Sotheby’s new Maison venue in Hong Kong, which opened in July. Image credit: Derry Ainsworth

It has been a year of transition for art markets in Asia, amid an economic slowdown. Three major auction houses opened new Hong Kong headquarters—Sotheby’s (in July), Christie’s (in September), and Bonhams (in November)—leading to a revamp of the region’s auction calendar. The results of inaugural sales in the second half of 2024 painted a picture of uncertainty, though Christie’s managed to pull off white-glove sales of Asian art. China’s economic downturn, signaled by slow Art Basel Hong Kong sales in March, has impacted fairs like ART021 and led to leadership changes at top galleries. Sales in South Korea have also slowed. But Japan and Southeast Asia have demonstrated growth potential. —Vivienne Chow

Closing Time

Installation view of “Lucy Dodd: May Flower” at David Lewis Gallery in 2018. Photo courtesy David Lewis Gallery

For the art market, this year marked a “correction,” a “reset,” or “downturn”—pick your preferred term—with dozens of galleries shuttering, closing locations, or transitioning into advisory practices. Some of the influential New York names that announced they were calling it quits or downsizing included Helena Anrather (in March), Marlborough (April), David Lewis Gallery (May), and Mitchell Innes and Nash (June), which said that it will continue on as a “project-based advisory space.” Amid ongoing financial pressures, some gallerists have have been getting creative about covering costs by sharing booths at fairs and sharing representation of star artists with larger galleries. —A.A.

A view of Riyadh in Saudia Arabia. Courtesy of Saudi Tourism Authority.

There has been a massive influx of money from the Gulf into cultural enterprises around the world this year, at the same time that international firms have been making inroads there. Both Sotheby’s and Christie’s announced plans for new outposts in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, in the last few months, and the U.K. and France both struck major culture deals with the nation. This marks a sea change from a few years ago, when some foreign businesses and cultural institutions distanced themselves from the kingdom following journalist Jamal Khashoggi’s 2018 murder and amid concerns around human rights abuses. Sotheby’s will stage its first international sale in Saudi Arabia in February. The auction also received a $1 billion lifeline from an Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund, ADQ, which makes it the largest minority stakeholder in the firm. It’s not just auction houses that are eying the region. Rumors swirled this fall that Art Basel is considering taking over the management of the Abu Dhabi Art fair. While leaders from the Swiss fair group were seen perusing the aisles of the event in November, no deal has been announced. —Margaret Carrigan

Pink Slips at Sotheby’s

Sotheby’s auctioneer Oliver Barker overseeing the bidding for Maurizio Cattelan, Comedian (2019) at Sotheby’s on November 20, 2024. Courtesy of Sotheby’s.

Earlier this month, as Art Basel Miami Beach closed and holiday parties loomed, rumors began swirling that Sotheby’s would make big staff cuts. “Talk of layoffs at the storied auction house had been spreading like wildfire,” as Artnet’s Katya Kazakina wrote on December 10, reporting that the firm had let go of more than 100 people. “Given the challenges the market has faced this year, we’ve taken a careful look at our business and staffing levels to perform well and grow going forward,” a Sotheby’s spox said at the time. The house’s majority owner, Patrick Drahi, has companies saddled with some $60 billion of debt, and in late October lined up an infusion of cash from an Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund. The art industry is working to navigate its way out of a rough patch, competition in the auction sector remains fierce, and the stakes for Sotheby’s are high. Here comes 2025.