Art auction market report: February 2025
In February 2025, ArtSell recorded 7,001 auction lots from 37 auction houses, of which 5,287 sold (76% sell-through). The 5,206 sales with a published price total $35,909,117, with a median of $1,098 (USD at the sale-date rate). The top sale was Jean-Michel Basquiat, “Feng Yao”, at $825,500 (Phillips). 15 artists set a new high compared with every earlier result in the database.
Top sales
Top American artists
Ranked by total of priced sales in the month; region from the artist’s recorded nationality.
| # | Artist | Total sold | Priced sales | Top result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jean-Michel Basquiat American | $825,500 | 1 | Feng Yao — $825,500 |
| 2 | Gertrude Abercrombie American | $660,400 | 4 | Owl with Eggs — $228,600 |
| 3 | Andy Warhol American | $544,305 | 20 | Nine works: (i) Liza Minnelli ; (ii) Carolina Herrera ; (iii) Jane Fonda ; (iv) Truman Capote ; (v) Self-Portrait in Fright Wig ; (vi) Dennis Hopper ; (vii) Ladies and Gentlemen (Easha McClery) ; (viii) Diane Von Furstenberg ; (ix) Ladies and Gentlemen (Wilhelmina Ross) — $127,000 |
| 4 | George Condo American | $506,984 | 4 | Untitled — $355,600 |
| 5 | Jonas Wood American | $425,450 | 3 | GG HK NPP #3 — $393,700 |
| 6 | Richard Prince American | $413,385 | 5 | Untitled (Protest Painting) — $266,700 |
| 7 | Ernie Barnes American | $330,200 | 1 | Dance Studio — $330,200 |
| 8 | Dale Chihuly American | $328,668 | 30 | Pink Chandelier with Putti — $63,500 |
| 9 | Roy Lichtenstein American | $281,643 | 22 | Imperfect 58" x 92 3/8" (from the Imperfect series) — $76,200 |
| 10 | Etel Adnan American | $254,000 | 1 | Untitled — $254,000 |
Top European artists
| # | Artist | Total sold | Priced sales | Top result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Fernando Zóbel de Ayala y Montojo Spanish | $812,993 | 3 | Septiembre, a las siete de la tarde, en Tres Juncos — $539,230 |
| 2 | Juan Luna Spanish | $583,613 | 2 | Portrait of Irene della Rocca — $580,709 |
| 3 | Eugène Louis Boudin French | $302,400 | 1 | Trouville, Scene de Plage — $302,400 |
| 4 | Daniel Richter German | $279,400 | 1 | Algier, Morgens — $279,400 |
| 5 | David Hockney British | $262,892 | 7 | The Arrival of Spring in Woldgate, East Yorkshire in 2011 (twenty eleven) — $215,900 |
| 6 | Damien Hirst British | $172,235 | 8 | Blaze — $76,200 |
| 7 | Pablo Picasso Spanish | $153,114 | 17 | Nature morte à la suspension — $53,340 |
| 8 | Lino Tagliapietra Italian | $134,984 | 8 | Cello — $40,640 |
| 9 | Per Kirkeby Danish | $124,106 | 2 | Untitled — $120,650 |
| 10 | Pam Evelyn British | $120,650 | 1 | Reclaimed Wall — $120,650 |
New artist records
The artist’s best price this month exceeded every earlier priced result for them in the ArtSell database (artists with at least three earlier priced results).
| Artist | Work | Price | Previous high |
|---|---|---|---|
| Marina Perez Simão | Untitled Phillips | $279,400 | $194,325 (7 earlier) |
| Jun Kaneko | Untitled (Dango) Rago Auctions | $198,000 | $113,400 (58 earlier) |
| Demi Padua | Water on the Dry Land León Gallery | $186,657 | $86,756 (9 earlier) |
| Pam Evelyn | Reclaimed Wall Phillips | $120,650 | $99,877 (3 earlier) |
| Larry Rivers | Arab King Hussein at the U.N. Phillips | $95,250 | $87,500 (135 earlier) |
| Toots Zynsky | Scalmana Rago Auctions | $69,850 | $43,750 (61 earlier) |
| Julio Galán | Autoretrato Phillips | $69,850 | $63,000 (7 earlier) |
| Établissements Gallé | "Peony" table lamp Phillips | $63,500 | $50,800 (6 earlier) |
| Marc Sijan | Standing Security Guard Phillips | $53,340 | $7,500 (6 earlier) |
| Antoine Coypel | Attribuito a. Studio per la testa di un vecchio Capitolium Art | $48,825 | $3,007 (4 earlier) |
| Laura de Santillana | Tokyo-Ga Rago Auctions | $44,450 | $44,100 (25 earlier) |
| Leonard Baby | Liquid Courage Phillips | $40,640 | $30,023 (10 earlier) |
| Oscar Han | Sărutul (Iisus și Maria Magdalena) Artmark | $37,206 | $17,898 (11 earlier) |
| William Schwartz | Symphonic Forms #17 Wright | $35,560 | $30,420 (18 earlier) |
| Howard Ben Tré | Column #32 Rago Auctions | $35,560 | $21,563 (7 earlier) |
Auction houses this month
Auktionshaus Mehlis (737)Phillips (677)Wright (638)Strauss & Co (522)Rago Auctions (448)Bonhams (335)Van Sabben Poster Auctions (316)Toomey & Co. (311)Morton Subastas (297)Capitolium Art (257)Artmark (253)Pananti (245)Van Ham (218)Pandolfini (187)DuMouchelles (172)Helmuth Stone Gallery (161)Lyon & Turnbull (157)Sopocki Dom Aukcyjny (136)León Gallery (114)Maison Bibelot (107)Austin Auction Gallery (93)Farsettiarte (93)Los Angeles Modern Auctions (LAMA) (84)Clarke Auction Gallery (80)Bertolami Fine Art (64)Hessink's Auctions (55)Brunk Auctions (39)Ketterer Kunst (37)Toovey's (36)Leonard Joel (31)Vogt Auction (29)Grisebach (25)Michaan's Auctions (19)Sworders (17)Abell Auction Company (7)Elstob & Elstob (3)Nadeau's Auction Gallery (1)