Christie’s 21st‑Century sale on 14 May hits $96.4 M—led by Basquiat, record‑smashing Marlene Dumas & Simone Leigh—showing savvy buyers favor top women artists.
After two solid but not‑spectacular nights, Christie’s 21st Century evening sale on 14 May closed at US $96.4 million (fees included), skimming past its $79.5 M low estimate.
While pundits fretted over tariffs, stock‑market whiplash, and wildfire chaos, the auction proved one thing: prime works by contemporary women can still ignite bidding wars—even in a cautious climate.
Jean‑Michel Basquiat, Baby Boom (1982) hammered at its $20 M low estimate ($23.4 M with fees). Eight bidders, but no fireworks. Still, the result anchors Basquiat as a reliable—if no longer runaway—market engine.
Marlene Dumas, Miss January (1997) soared to $13.6 M (fees), nudging past Jenny Saville’s $12.4 M record from 2018.
Bidding wrapped in 60 seconds, yet the new benchmark broadcasts curatorial cachet and studious demand for museum‑scale figurative painting by women.
Simone Leigh, Sentinel (2020)—a 10.5‑foot bronze guardian—claimed $5.7 M (fees), setting a fresh record and underscoring the post‑VeniceBiennale halo.
Danielle Mckinney, The Fool (2021) blasted from a $70k high estimate to $207.9k—a 197 % upside.
Louis Fratino, You and Your Things (2022) fetched $756k, another record, proving young figurative voices still attract heat.
Lygia Clark’s Bicho (1960) withdrew, trimming the Atencio/Demirdjian tranche.
Ellsworth Kelly’s Gray Panel II and Felix Gonzalez‑Torres’s candy spill both bought‑in—proof that minimalism needs momentum or a modest estimate.
Peter Brant’s lineup: Basquiat sold, Currin’s Jaunty & Marne met its $2.5 M floor, but his Christopher Wool “Helter Helter” text painting went missing (withdrawn). Collectors read that as strategic patience, not panic.
While male titans still top price charts, the night’s electricity pulsed around Dumas, Leigh, Brown, McIntrye, Mckinney, and Fratino. Expect consignors to unleash more large‑scale paintings by women in November.
At the emerging level, any figurative canvas under $300k with sharp provenance became a feeding frenzy; day‑sale curators are already adjusting reserves upward.
With volatile equities and tariff chatter outside Rockefeller Center, Christie’s 21st Century evening sale 2025 showed that collectors still covet narrative‑rich, museum‑validated works—especially by women who rewrite the canon.
The overall dollar volume lagged 2024, yet fresh records for Dumas and Leigh proved that raw emotion and sculptural gravitas can transcend market malaise. The message? In a funny market, authenticity—paired with savvy estimates—wins the night.
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