Art auction market report: September 2026
In September 2026, ArtSell recorded 8,995 auction lots from 41 auction houses, of which 6,683 sold (74% sell-through). The 6,561 sales with a published price total $47,385,744, with a median of $865 (USD at the sale-date rate). The top sale was Gerhard Richter, “Abstraktes Bild (522-1)”, at $2,932,625 (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 | Andy Warhol American | $1,443,482 | 50 | Mickey Mouse, from Myths (F. & S. 265) — $258,826 |
| 2 | Rashid Johnson American | $565,020 | 3 | Untitled Anxious Red Drawing — $335,400 |
| 3 | Roy Lichtenstein American | $406,548 | 14 | Reflections on Crash, from Reflections Series (C. 239) — $207,060 |
| 4 | Maurice Brazil Prendergast American | $400,000 | 1 | The Sands, St. Malo — $400,000 |
| 5 | Tom Wesselmann American | $398,216 | 3 | Drawing After Bedroom Painting #6 — $348,300 |
| 6 | Alfonso A. Ossorio American | $307,033 | 3 | Sidrach, Misach, Abendnego — $211,085 |
| 7 | John Chamberlain American | $258,832 | 2 | SMILE CODE — $258,000 |
| 8 | Hans Hofmann American | $258,000 | 1 | The Climb — $258,000 |
| 9 | Keith Haring American | $190,530 | 7 | Untitled — $141,900 |
| 10 | Kaws American | $182,585 | 25 | UNTITLED — $36,170 |
Top European artists
| # | Artist | Total sold | Priced sales | Top result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | David Hockney British | $3,216,167 | 87 | Autour de la maison, été (Around the House, Summer) — $258,206 |
| 2 | Gerhard Richter German | $3,132,793 | 10 | Abstraktes Bild (522-1) — $2,932,625 |
| 3 | Zao Wou-ki French | $1,416,530 | 2 | Sans titre (La Théière) — $1,413,930 |
| 4 | Fernando Zóbel de Ayala y Montojo Spanish | $1,009,370 | 3 | Saeta 82 - Filadelfia (Blanco sobre gris) — $498,928 |
| 5 | Pablo Picasso Spanish | $830,709 | 48 | Le déjeuner sur l'herbe, d'après Manet I (Luncheon on the Grass, After Manet I) (Bl. 1027, Ba. 1287) — $241,571 |
| 6 | Marc Chagall Belarusian | $566,692 | 23 | Bouquet sur fond orange — $460,349 |
| 7 | Yves Klein French | $368,545 | 3 | Monochrome bleu sans titre (IKB 321) — $335,400 |
| 8 | Banksy British | $283,422 | 5 | Girl with Balloon — $146,668 |
| 9 | Damien Hirst British | $239,193 | 24 | Ellipticine — $37,961 |
| 10 | Le Pho French | $230,175 | 2 | Portrait de Jeune Femme — $123,308 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Maurice Brazil Prendergast | The Sands, St. Malo Brunk Auctions | $400,000 | $204,000 (14 earlier) |
| Juan Genovés | Meollo I Phillips | $193,500 | $171,950 (17 earlier) |
| Ouyang Chun | Soul and Flesh - Trio Phillips | $180,852 | $110,463 (9 earlier) |
| Chris Burden | Viagra Tower Bonhams | $152,900 | $93,750 (38 earlier) |
| Ha Chonghyun | Conjunction 21-08 Phillips | $147,969 | $129,000 (4 earlier) |
| Lee Man Fong | Snack Stall in Bali Phillips | $123,308 | $71,702 (4 earlier) |
| Erik Laubscher | Still Life Strauss & Co | $91,368 | $69,279 (52 earlier) |
| Abdulmari Imao | Water Buffalo León Gallery | $88,272 | $30,444 (39 earlier) |
| Samuel Yellin | Gate transom from the Arch Street Workshop, Philadelphia Toomey & Co. | $83,200 | $40,000 (36 earlier) |
| Esias Bosch | Koi Strauss & Co | $77,312 | $57,415 (111 earlier) |
| George Morrison | Cerulean Shadows. Approaching Night (Red Rock Variation: Lake Superior Landscape) Phillips | $70,950 | $5,513 (6 earlier) |
| Lee Bae | Landscape-2000-8 Phillips | $69,052 | $51,983 (3 earlier) |
| Menci Clement Crnčić | Family of Ploughmen (Ploughman) Artmark | $63,047 | $31,393 (25 earlier) |
| Verner Panton | Prototype "UFO" lamp Phillips | $61,920 | $25,200 (196 earlier) |
| Ivan Rabuzin | Five Red Flowers Artmark | $57,315 | $10,332 (47 earlier) |
Auction houses this month
Phillips (1,028)Artmark (773)Morgan O'Driscoll (657)Strauss & Co (594)Bruun Rasmussen (470)Art+Object (429)Gormley's Art Auctions (396)DuMouchelles (378)Morton Subastas (374)Los Angeles Modern Auctions (LAMA) (320)Toomey & Co. (294)Hagelstam (278)Clarke Auction Gallery (209)Helmuth Stone Gallery (198)Farsettiarte (194)Bonhams (170)Pandolfini (167)Maison Bibelot (159)Piguet Hôtel des Ventes (157)Leonard Joel (149)Brunk Auctions (140)León Gallery (135)Arthouse Hejtmánek (129)Capitolium Art (124)Colasanti Casa d'Aste (124)Circle Auction (121)Sopocki Dom Aukcyjny (121)Austin Auction Gallery (112)Billings (90)Agra-Art (74)Anderson & Garland (70)Vogt Auction (58)Chorley's (53)Bertolami Fine Art (49)Ketterer Kunst (45)Elstob & Elstob (44)Toovey's (36)Grisebach (35)Batemans of Stamford (22)Olympia Auctions (16)Sworders (3)