Art auction market report: September 2025
In September 2025, ArtSell recorded 11,430 auction lots from 44 auction houses, of which 9,114 sold (80% sell-through). The 9,026 sales with a published price total $156,070,298, with a median of $1,756 (USD at the sale-date rate). The top sale was Yoshitomo Nara, “Pinky”, at $7,280,015 (Phillips). 15 artists set a new high compared with every earlier result in the database.
Top sales
| # | Work | Artist | House · date | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pinky, 2000 | Yoshitomo Nara | Phillips · Sep 27, 2025 | $7,280,015 (HK$56,645,000) |
| 2 | Sur la falaise près de Fécamp, 1881 | Claude Monet | Kornfeld · Sep 12, 2025 | $6,393,870 (CHF 5,100,000) |
| 3 | Tabea, 1981 | Franz Gertsch | Kornfeld · Sep 12, 2025 | $5,767,020 (CHF 4,600,000) |
| 4 | 27.01.86, 1986 | Zao Wou-ki | Phillips · Sep 27, 2025 | $3,830,539 (HK$29,805,000) |
| 5 | Der Kuss II - The Kiss II, 1897 | Edvard Munch | Kornfeld · Sep 11, 2025 | $3,750,900 (CHF 3,000,000) |
| 6 | Buste sur socle, Ca. 1957 | Alberto Giacometti | Kornfeld · Sep 12, 2025 | $2,005,920 (CHF 1,600,000) |
| 7 | Junge Frau am Strand - Young Woman on the Beach, 1896 | Edvard Munch | Kornfeld · Sep 11, 2025 | $2,000,480 (CHF 1,600,000) |
| 8 | Smoker #17, 1975 | Tom Wesselmann | Phillips · Sep 27, 2025 | $1,792,211 (HK$13,945,000) |
| 9 | Ohne Titel, Circa 1940 | Paul Klee | Kornfeld · Sep 12, 2025 | $1,629,810 (CHF 1,300,000) |
| 10 | Tindaro, 1997 (Tyndareos) | Igor Mitoraj | Polswiss Art · Sep 16, 2025 | $1,583,061 (PLN 5,700,000) |
| 11 | Composition, Design 1927, cast 1960 | Alberto Giacometti | Kornfeld · Sep 12, 2025 | $1,504,440 (CHF 1,200,000) |
| 12 | Candélabre navigateur | Diego Giacometti | Kornfeld · Sep 12, 2025 | $1,504,440 (CHF 1,200,000) |
| 13 | La Minotauromachie, Paris, 25 March 1935 | Pablo Picasso | Kornfeld · Sep 12, 2025 | $1,504,440 (CHF 1,200,000) |
| 14 | Vue générale de Rouen depuis la côte Sainte-Catherine, 1892 | Claude Monet | Kornfeld · Sep 12, 2025 | $1,504,440 (CHF 1,200,000) |
| 15 | Nächtliche Strassenszene - Street Scene at Night, 1897 | Edvard Munch | Kornfeld · Sep 11, 2025 | $1,500,360 (CHF 1,200,000) |
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 | Tom Wesselmann American | $1,908,430 | 14 | Smoker #17 — $1,792,211 |
| 2 | Andy Warhol American | $1,698,059 | 51 | Details of Renaissance Paintings (Sandro Botticelli, Birth of Venus, 1482) (see F. & S. 316-319) — $316,140 |
| 3 | Sam Francis American | $1,552,626 | 64 | Coming Over — $401,184 |
| 4 | John Singer Sargent American | $902,560 | 2 | Peter Augustus Jay — $900,000 |
| 5 | Raymond Pettibon American | $665,130 | 16 | No Title (My purpose in...) — $374,100 |
| 6 | Ed Ruscha American | $556,247 | 17 | Waves of Advancing Technology — $305,300 |
| 7 | Ruth Asawa American | $530,531 | 1 | Untitled S.013 (Hanging Single-Lobed, Five-Layer Continuous Form within a Form) — $530,531 |
| 8 | Claire Falkenstein American | $435,674 | 4 | Untitled (Fusion) — $368,300 |
| 9 | Richard Pettibone American | $417,793 | 12 | Roy Lichtenstein, "Masterpiece," 1962 — $99,474 |
| 10 | Gertrude Abercrombie American | $387,350 | 2 | Self Imprisonment — $266,700 |
Top European artists
| # | Artist | Total sold | Priced sales | Top result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Edvard Munch Norwegian | $19,186,131 | 170 | Der Kuss II - The Kiss II — $3,750,900 |
| 2 | Claude Monet French | $7,898,310 | 2 | Sur la falaise près de Fécamp — $6,393,870 |
| 3 | Alberto Giacometti Swiss | $7,595,977 | 47 | Buste sur socle — $2,005,920 |
| 4 | Pablo Picasso Spanish | $6,161,951 | 139 | La Minotauromachie — $1,504,440 |
| 5 | Franz Gertsch Swiss | $6,071,394 | 12 | Tabea — $5,767,020 |
| 6 | Diego Giacometti Swiss | $5,510,012 | 9 | Candélabre navigateur — $1,504,440 |
| 7 | Zao Wou-ki French | $4,475,952 | 12 | 27.01.86 — $3,830,539 |
| 8 | Marc Chagall Belarusian | $4,009,852 | 45 | L'Odalisque ou Nu couché en rose — $940,275 |
| 9 | Paul Klee Swiss | $3,090,972 | 17 | Ohne Titel — $1,629,810 |
| 10 | Ernst Ludwig Kirchner German | $1,861,186 | 47 | Münsterplatz in Bern — $1,316,385 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Claude Monet | Sur la falaise près de Fécamp Kornfeld | $6,393,870 | $6,352,500 (14 earlier) |
| Franz Gertsch | Tabea Kornfeld | $5,767,020 | $650,992 (73 earlier) |
| Edvard Munch | Der Kuss II - The Kiss II Kornfeld | $3,750,900 | $2,332,979 (816 earlier) |
| Igor Mitoraj | Tindaro, 1997 (Tyndareos) Polswiss Art | $1,583,061 | $1,122,171 (335 earlier) |
| André Derain | Bord de mer à Collioure Kornfeld | $1,253,700 | $396,675 (58 earlier) |
| Pierre-Auguste Renoir | Après le bain Kornfeld | $626,850 | $456,735 (317 earlier) |
| Claire Falkenstein | Untitled (Fusion) Rago Auctions | $368,300 | $203,200 (129 earlier) |
| Mai Trung Thu | Walk in the Garden Phillips | $281,844 | $195,200 (20 earlier) |
| Hans Arp | Landschaft oder Frau - Femme-paysage Kornfeld | $263,277 | $242,483 (56 earlier) |
| Dorothea Sharp | The Daisy Field Kornfeld | $263,277 | $95,640 (12 earlier) |
| Stefan Krygier | Ośrodek Kondensacji Formy II Polswiss Art | $222,184 | $53,792 (28 earlier) |
| Jean-Michel Othoniel | Black Tornado Phillips | $215,528 | $152,400 (5 earlier) |
| Alice Baber | Green Around Green Cottone Auctions | $170,800 | $140,000 (15 earlier) |
| Jerry Elizalde Navarro | Awesomely Beautiful León Gallery | $136,682 | $80,591 (81 earlier) |
| Sonia Delaunay | Rythme coloré Kornfeld | $112,833 | $76,200 (285 earlier) |
Auction houses this month
Kornfeld (1,361)Bonhams (1,194)Phillips (910)Rago Auctions (689)Los Angeles Modern Auctions (LAMA) (643)Strauss & Co (614)Morton Subastas (581)Wright (424)Artmark (391)Abell Auction Company (339)DuMouchelles (319)Van Ham (237)Levis Fine Art Auctions (231)deVeres (229)Clarke Auction Gallery (227)Art+Object (223)Toomey & Co. (222)Capitolium Art (215)Morgan O'Driscoll (199)Helmuth Stone Gallery (199)Pandolfini (183)Maison Bibelot (168)Whyte's (152)Brunk Auctions (149)Piguet Hôtel des Ventes (149)Arthouse Hejtmánek (143)León Gallery (142)Leonard Joel (127)Austin Auction Gallery (91)Sopocki Dom Aukcyjny (91)Billings (85)Chorley's (66)Pananti (60)Cottone Auctions (59)Vogt Auction (55)Toovey's (52)Grisebach (42)Polswiss Art (38)Ketterer Kunst (37)Elstob & Elstob (34)Sworders (26)Sheffield Auction Gallery (22)Sloans & Kenyon (10)Colasanti Casa d'Aste (2)