Des O'Sullivan: Quality is the currency that counts in the international art boom
The New York home of Terry and Jean de Gunzburg.
Record half-year results at Christie's and Sotheby's reveal an international market that is booming. In an unequal world that is wealthier than ever before, it has been an extraordinary year so far on many fronts.
In the first six months of 2026, consolidated sales at Sotheby's hit $4.4 billion (€3.85 billion), a 58% increase on the same period in 2025. Christie's reported first-half revenues of $4.6 billion (€4.02 billion) in the same period and sold the most expensive painting.
Jackson Pollock's made a record $181.2 million (€158.39 million) in New York in May, a record for the artist and a record for a painting sold at auction this year.
All markets are subject to highs and lows, but the current boom is different. This market is driven by quality. Buyers are parting with their money with great discrimination. Speculative spenders are absent. The onus on auction houses is to find works to sell that are of museum quality.
How is this achieved? Much of the answer lies in collections. The taste for high art develops as serious interest grows. Most people expand their horizons during their collecting journey. There is so much to learn.
Art collecting is a lifetime interest that richly rewards anyone, wealthy or not. But the fabulous collections amassed by discriminating and wealthy collectors over many years underpin the successes seen so far in 2026.
The Pollock painting came from the private collection of the late Condé Nast publisher S I Newhouse.
The sale price nearly tripled the previous record for the artist and propelled the Newhouse Collection forward to achieve $631 million (€551.56 million).
The 20th Century Evening Sale at Christie's on the same May evening in New York made $490.3 million (€428.57 million) for an evening art sale total of over $1.1 billion (€960 million).
At the Masterpieces from the Lewis Collection sale at Sotheby's in London, 25 paintings made £296 million (€342.95 million) and nine works, led by Modigliani's (£48.2m-€55.84m), sold for more than ten million.
In total, the collection of former Tottenham Hotspur owner Joe Lewis made £355.02m (€417.43m) to become the highest-value single-owner collection ever sold in the UK.
In New York, Robert Mnuchin's collection of the titans of American Abstract Expressionism made $173 million (€152.22 million).
The first single-owner design sale at Sotheby's new HQ at The Breuer building in New York — the collection of Jean and Terry de Gunzberg — made $96 million (€83.91m).
This was the most valuable design sale in US auction history.
Both Sotheby's and Christie's have a pipeline of autumn and winter sales that promise to make 2026 a year to remember in the saleroom.
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