The Headlines
PHILLIPS TAKES $54 M. ON WEDNESDAY. Before Phillips kicked off its own modern and contemporary evening sale on Wednesday in New York, almost $1.4 billion of modern and contemporary art had already found buyers this week at its much larger competitors, Christie’s and Sotheby’s. Phillips, for its part, was hoping to get a slice of the pie with a concise 33-lot sale featuring an untitled Joan Mitchell painting (high estimate: $15 million), a Francis Bacon diptych (high estimate: $18 million), and a juvenile triceratops skeleton (high estimate: $3.5 million). The sale netted a total of $67.3 million; only two lots failed to find buyers, achieving a sell-through rate of 94 percent by lot. Robert Manley, Phillips chairman and worldwide head of modern and contemporary art, told ARTnews after the sale that he was “ecstatic about the result,” adding that “when the only things you don’t sell are a large piece of gold, which I wouldn’t exactly call our specialty, and a painting that was just so massive that, frankly, very few people can handle it, it’s only good news,” he said, referring to Thunderbolt and Jadé Fadojumtimi’s 118-by-197-inch untiled work, respectively. “I only wish we had more work to sell because the market is so strong right now.”
BONHAMS ON THE MOVE. Bonhams will move its US HQ to 111 West 57th Street this February, creating a new flagship inside the restored Steinway Hall. Founded in 1793 and now operating globally across more than 60 categories, the company will occupy a 42,000-square-foot space, about 30 percent larger than its former Madison Avenue location. The headquarters features an 80-foot glass atrium and triple-height galleries designed for major exhibitions and sales. Steinway Hall, a Beaux-Arts landmark created by Warren & Wetmore for piano maker Steinway & Sons, had been closed to the public for a decade. Its limestone exterior, domed rotunda, mosaics, marble arches, and sculptural details have been meticulously restored by JDS Development Group and Gensler. Bonhams plans to reopen the building as a public cultural venue, offering free exhibitions, guest installations, and live performances. The move signals a pivotal stage in Bonhams’s US growth. Managing director Lilly Chan told ARTnews that the company needed a larger, unified base and emphasized the strategic importance of 57th Street’s cultural corridor. CEO Seth Johnson called the new space a “game-changer,” positioning the auction house to broaden its national reach and attract top-tier consignments.
The Digest
Arts and culture organizations across the US are declining grants when told to avoid DEI. [The New York Times]
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ArtReview looks into the future by analyzing the post-AI art landscape. [ArtReview]
The late British painter William Nicholson, who is often overlooked in favor of his more famous son, Ben, is coming out of the shadows as part of a new survey. [The Art Newspaper]
Demand for female photographers is rising, but are their prices rising in tandem? [Artnet News]
The Kicker
THE FUTURE OF BUYING ART? Promoted as the first “agentic AI platform” for art and collectibles, Artsignal is striving to transform how collectors navigate the art market, cofounder and chief executive Sam Glatman tells the Art Newspaper. The AI-driven platform, launched in September with backing from Christie’s Ventures (CV), uses open-source data to generate accessible market reports and valuation context. Artsignal compiles auction results, exhibition updates, and news, which its data engine analyzes to produce reports filled with pricing “signals.” These reports feature artist biographies, linked sources, and detailed auction metrics, like top and median prices, lots sold, and annual volume, along with assessments of public presence, market outlook, and comparisons with similar artists. Glatman says the goal is to democratize market intelligence traditionally accessible only to insiders or advisers.
