NEW YORK, NY.- Post-War to Present, the first live auction of Christie’s New York week of contemporary art sales took place on 27 February 2025 beginning at 10AM in the auction house’s storied Rockefeller Center saleroom. From the outset, the auction brought excitement, with eager bidding and buying coming in from clients across the globe. The sale was a success, achieving a final total of $21,334,714, selling 86% by value and 97% by its low estimate.
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Exceptional prices came for an array of diverse artists ranging from the most notable names of the post-war era to contemporary standouts of today. The top lot of the sale was a fantastic canvas by Helen Frankenthaler, Concerto, which came to Christie’s from an important San Francisco collection. The painting tripled its high estimate of $700,000 to realize $2,107,000 and is 2nd highest price for a 1980s Frankenthaler. Additional top lots include Pressures by Ed Ruscha, which sold for $1,986,000, Richard Estes’ East River which sold for $693,000, Diane Arbus’ Identical twins photograph which sold for $630,000, and Bob Thompson’s La Gamme d’Amour which sold for $504,000. In addition, the auction record for Yu Nishimura was achieved at $296,100.
The afternoon session of the auction began with a selection of works Sold to Benefit L’Alliance New York. L’Alliance New York is the city's leading French language education, cultural and arts institution. The group achieved $444,780, far surpassing its low estimate of $295,000. Highlights from the sale include Lisa Yuskavage’s PXLP, which made $201,600, and Farbfelder. 6 Anordnungen von 1260 Farben f (Blau-Rot-Gelb) by Gerhard Richter, which realized $69,300.
Christie’s New York Contemporary art sales remain open for bidding online with First Open | Post-War & Contemporary Art, open through tomorrow, Augmented Intelligence, open through March 5, Latin American Art Online, open through March 6, and Modern Collector open through March 11. The final live sale, Latin American Art, will take place tomorrow at 11am at Christie’s New York.
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