NEW YORK, NY.- Sotheby’s Modern Evening Auction delivered a strong result during marquee week, bringing in $303.9 million against a presale estimate of $242 million to $320.2 million and posting a 98% sell-through rate. The sale marked a 63% increase over the equivalent sale last May and more than doubled the total achieved in the comparable November auction. The result lifted Sotheby’s running total for its marquee sales to $839.6 million.

The evening was led by Henri Matisse’s La Chaise lorraine, a painting from the Barbier Mueller Collection that had not appeared on the market for nearly half a century. Estimated in excess of $25 million, the work soared to $48.4 million, becoming the second-highest price for a painting by Matisse ever achieved at auction. Four bidders competed for more than ten minutes before the painting sold to a telephone bidder.

Another major highlight was Pablo Picasso’s Arlequin (Buste), from the collection of Adele and Enrico Donati, which sold for $42.6 million. The work had been acquired by Donati from Picasso’s dealer Daniel-Henry Kahnweiler, adding historical weight to one of the evening’s most closely watched lots.

Vincent van Gogh’s La Moisson en Provence achieved $29.4 million, resetting the benchmark for the same work and becoming the second-highest price ever paid for a work on paper by the artist. Alberto Giacometti’s La Clairière (Composition avec neuf figures) also performed strongly, selling for $23.1 million after five minutes of bidding, while Matisse’s La Séance du matin sold to an Asian collector for $20 million.

The sale also showed continued international demand, with participation from collectors in 31 countries. Sotheby’s reported notable activity from Asia, including bidding or buying on works by Mark Rothko, Alberto Giacometti, Pablo Picasso, Paul Klee, Yves Tanguy, Henri Matisse, Marc Chagall, Georgia O’Keeffe, Edgar Degas, Egon Schiele and others. One Asian collector under the age of 40 acquired Degas’s Femme à sa toilette.

Several new benchmarks were established. Mark Rothko’s Untitled from 1959 sold for $9.3 million, setting the highest price for a work on paper by the artist at that scale and for a 1959 work. Sotheby’s also noted that Rothko works sold across the houses this season have now totaled $230.5 million. Additional milestones included the second-highest auction price for a Matisse painting, the second-highest price for a Van Gogh work on paper, a record for a bottle by René Magritte, and the second-highest price for a work on paper by Georgia O’Keeffe.

Women artists were another bright spot of the evening. All five works by women artists sold above their high estimates. Georgia O’Keeffe’s Inside Clam Shell brought $8.9 million, above its $6 million to $8 million estimate. Varvara Stepanova’s Two Figures sold for $2.3 million, the second-highest auction price for the artist. Works by Dorothea Tanning, Leonor Fini and Leonora Carrington also exceeded expectations.

The auction further underscored the strength of works from distinguished private collections. Three works from the Collection of Enrico and Adele Donati brought $58.9 million, led by Picasso’s Arlequin (Buste) and Wassily Kandinsky’s Rote Tiefe (Red Depth), which sold for $14.5 million. Six works from the David and Shoshanna Wingate Collection were 100% sold, totaling $40.5 million, while works from the Collection of Sybil Shainwald and the Collection of Jean and Terry de Gunzburg also exceeded expectations.

With further Modern works scheduled for sale, including Sotheby’s Modern Day auction and an additional $200 million of Modern art from the Lewis Collection to be offered in London in June, the evening’s results suggest continued depth in the market for blue-chip Modern art, particularly when major names are paired with strong provenance, rarity and fresh-to-market appeal.