LONDON.- On 14 October 2026, Christie's London combined 20/21 Evening Sales generated a total of £218,603,400 /$289,430,902 /€258,389,219, with a 103% increase on the total achieved last year. Our running total for 20/21 sales year to date sits at £494 million with five sales to come in the Marquee Week. Tonight's auctions realised sell-through rates of 91% by lot and 96% by value.

In an auction rich with extraordinary international works, two museum-quality masterpieces – Wassily Kandinsky's Das bunte Leben (1907) and Piet Mondrian's Composition III (1920) - achieved over £25 million each. More than 10,000 people visited the Christie's galleries during the exhibition at King Street, drawn by the exceptional pieces exhibited. The anticipation and buzz in the view translated into a packed saleroom, where we saw great depth of bidding and excitement, online, on the phones and in the room.

“This has been an extraordinary year for London,” Bonnie Brennan, CEO comments. “Across the market, we have seen some of the strongest sales the city has witnessed in years, demonstrating London's enduring importance as a global center for art and collecting. For Christie's, following our exceptional season in March, tonight's £219 million result reinforces that momentum and gives us tremendous confidence in the continued strength of London.”

• Monsoon: The Peter Simon Collection Evening Sale totalled £107,508,800/$142,341,651/€127,075,402, and is the highest value single-owner collection ever sold at Christie's London, with sell-through rates of 98% by lot and 99% by value, and with 43% of lots selling above the high estimate.

• The top lot in the Collection was Francis Bacon's 1978 Figure in Movement, achieving £17,185,000, sold to a bidder in the room.

• Liubov Popova's Painterly Architectonic (1918), sold after almost eight minutes of competitive bidding in the room and on the phones, achieving £7,640,000 against a low estimate of £1,800,000, and a world auction record for the artist.

• The 20th/21st Century: London Evening Sale totalled £111,094,600 / $157,089,250 / €131,313,817.

• Leading the sale was Wassily Kandinsky's 1907 masterpiece Das bunte Leben, which achieved £31,560,000 after almost six minutes of intense bidding in the room. The work was offered following a landmark restitution to the heirs of Hedwig Lewenstein-Weyermann in June 2023.

• Another lot sold above the £25 million mark is Piet Mondrian's iconic masterwork Composition III (1920), which realised £25,235,000.

• Igshaan Adams' The certainty of being a rose (ii) (2026), sold to benefit Artists for Climate Action, achieved a new auction record for the artist*. Artist for Climate Action is a collaborative fundraising initiative from world-leading climate charities Gallery Climate Coalition and ClientEarth.

• Seven notable world auction records were set across the evening sales: Portia Zvavahera, Dame Barbara Hepworth (auction record for a painting), Bridget Riley, Liubov Popova, David Bomberg, Igshaan Adams, and Gerhard Richter (auction record for a tapestry).

Katharine Arnold, Vice-Chairman 20th/21st Century Art, Christie's: “What an incredible night for London, the atmosphere at King Street was electric, and our results reflect the city's strongest sales in years, building on what we achieved in March. Monsoon: The Peter Simon Collection is now the highest value single-owner collection ever sold at Christie's London. It has been a privilege to be entrusted with one of the most significant collections of modern and contemporary art, assembled through Peter Simon's unparalleled creative vision. The world auction records achieved for Bridget Riley, Liubov Popova, Barbara Hepworth, Portia Zvavahera and David Bomberg, as well as the strong performance of the top lot – Francis Bacon's Figure in Movement - highlight the relevance of Peter Simon's discerning eye as one of the foremost collectors in Britain today. We look forward to Monsoon: The Peter Simon Collection Day Sale tomorrow, as well as the dedicated online auction.”

Keith Gill, Vice-Chairman 20th/21st Century Art, Christie's: “The combined results tonight – £219 million – and prices achieved for Kandinsky, Mondrian and Bacon, further reinforce London's position as a key international market for museum-quality masterpieces. We are honoured to have been entrusted with Kandinsky's Das bunte Leben following the landmark restitution to the heirs of Hedwig Lewenstein-Weyermann, which attracted strong competition, selling for £31,560,000, and becoming the highest-value lot sold in the London October season in the last five years. Mondrian's rare 1920 masterpiece Composition III achieved £25,235,000, another strong result for the artist, following the sale of Composition with Large Red Plane, Blue, Gray, Black and Yellow from Masterpieces: The Private Collection of S.I. Newhouse which realised $39,735,000. We look forward to following this success with the same energy and confidence throughout Frieze Week, and into Paris and New York.”