Art auction market report: May 2025
In May 2025, ArtSell recorded 12,066 auction lots from 51 auction houses, of which 9,231 sold (77% sell-through). The 9,024 sales with a published price total $152,839,415, with a median of $1,276 (USD at the sale-date rate). The top sale was Jean-Michel Basquiat, “Untitled”, at $6,594,000 (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 | $9,959,900 | 5 | Untitled — $6,594,000 |
| 2 | Ed Ruscha American | $7,415,893 | 17 | Alvarado to Doheny — $4,900,000 |
| 3 | Donald Judd American | $5,318,620 | 3 | Untitled — $4,295,000 |
| 4 | Richard Prince American | $4,539,500 | 3 | Killer Nurse — $3,206,000 |
| 5 | Alexander Calder American | $2,531,104 | 17 | Yellows in the Air — $1,875,000 |
| 6 | Rudolf Stingel American | $2,326,900 | 2 | Untitled — $2,238,000 |
| 7 | George Condo American | $1,944,699 | 5 | Blues In F — $1,755,501 |
| 8 | Sean Scully American | $1,892,509 | 7 | Landline Dark Blue — $1,512,000 |
| 9 | Willem de Kooning American | $1,806,340 | 6 | East Hampton VII — $1,080,000 |
| 10 | Grace Hartigan American | $1,633,000 | 1 | The Fourth — $1,633,000 |
Top European artists
| # | Artist | Total sold | Priced sales | Top result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gerhard Richter German | $4,334,016 | 6 | Mann mit zwei Kindern — $4,174,000 |
| 2 | Jan Davidsz. de Heem Dutch | $3,539,543 | 1 | Still Life with Flowers and Fruits on a Stone Ledge — $3,539,543 |
| 3 | David Hockney British | $3,165,541 | 16 | The Twenty-Sixth V.N. Painting — $2,722,000 |
| 4 | Oskar Schlemmer German | $2,049,422 | 13 | Komposition auf Rosa (Rekonstruktion) — $1,544,372 |
| 5 | Vladimir Tretchikoff Russian | $1,755,906 | 2 | Lady from the Orient — $1,736,560 |
| 6 | Josef Čapek Czech | $1,363,522 | 4 | Flowering Meadow — $740,275 |
| 7 | Marc Chagall Belarusian | $1,288,670 | 25 | L'Oiseau bleu — $514,337 |
| 8 | Lynette Yiadom Boakye British | $1,270,000 | 1 | Brutality by Any Other Name — $1,270,000 |
| 9 | L. S. Lowry British | $1,081,832 | 2 | GOING TO THE MILL, 1925 — $1,075,103 |
| 10 | Václav Špála Czech | $898,128 | 3 | The Otava River — $729,389 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ed Ruscha | Alvarado to Doheny Phillips | $4,900,000 | $4,398,975 (847 earlier) |
| Jan Davidsz. de Heem | Still Life with Flowers and Fruits on a Stone Ledge Lempertz | $3,539,543 | $52,706 (8 earlier) |
| Vladimir Tretchikoff | Lady from the Orient Strauss & Co | $1,736,560 | $324,310 (48 earlier) |
| Grace Hartigan | The Fourth Phillips | $1,633,000 | $927,100 (27 earlier) |
| Oskar Schlemmer | Komposition auf Rosa (Rekonstruktion) Lempertz | $1,544,372 | $843,532 (96 earlier) |
| Olga De Amaral | Imagen perdida 27 Phillips | $1,168,400 | $449,000 (18 earlier) |
| L. S. Lowry | GOING TO THE MILL, 1925 Lyon & Turnbull | $1,075,103 | $652,279 (139 earlier) |
| Václav Špála | The Otava River Galerie Kodl | $729,389 | $541,992 (132 earlier) |
| James Turrell | Ariel Phillips | $660,400 | $191,000 (36 earlier) |
| František Muzika | Island III Galerie Kodl | $631,411 | $420,096 (36 earlier) |
| Adam Pendleton | Untitled (WE ARE NOT) Phillips | $533,400 | $277,200 (32 earlier) |
| Carol Bove | Snake Phillips | $444,500 | $308,000 (30 earlier) |
| Firelei Báez | Untitled Phillips | $381,000 | $100,800 (8 earlier) |
| Kiki Kogelnik | Rainy Phillips | $355,600 | $268,900 (70 earlier) |
| Willem Kalf | Large Vanitas Still Life Lempertz | $296,193 | $7,560 (3 earlier) |
Auction houses this month
Rago Auctions (1,051)Lempertz (660)Bonhams (647)Strauss & Co (638)Lyon & Turnbull (571)Art+Object (499)Bertolami Fine Art (430)Artmark (422)Wright (379)Clarke Auction Gallery (376)Phillips (373)Farsettiarte (368)Los Angeles Modern Auctions (LAMA) (357)Capitolium Art (317)Davidson Auctions (309)Morton Subastas (302)Levis Fine Art Auctions (298)im Kinsky (283)Toomey & Co. (270)Morgan O'Driscoll (250)Van Ham (234)Sworders (226)Blindarte (212)Galerie Kodl (209)Pananti (204)DuMouchelles (195)Sloans & Kenyon (193)Austin Auction Gallery (172)León Gallery (171)deVeres (158)Brunk Auctions (141)Whyte's (129)Sopocki Dom Aukcyjny (117)Circle Auction (96)Leonard Joel (95)Palm Beach Modern Auctions (92)Toovey's (87)Bogotá Auctions (75)Maison Bibelot (75)Pandolfini (69)Olympia Auctions (56)Anderson & Garland (51)Vogt Auction (47)Agra-Art (43)Grev Wedels Plass Auksjoner (37)Cottone Auctions (35)Ketterer Kunst (32)Elstob & Elstob (8)Hessink's Auctions (4)Lawrences Auctioneers (2)Nadeau's Auction Gallery (1)