![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Adrien-Meyer-sells-the-top-lot-of-The-Collection-of-Robert-F.-and-Patricia-G-Ross-Weis-Mark-Rothkos-.jpeg\")
Adrien Meyer sells the top lot of The Collection of Robert F. and Patricia G Ross Weis, Mark Rothko\u2019s No. 31 (Yellow Stripe) for $62,160,000. Christie’s<\/p>\n\t\tAdrien Meyer sells the top lot of The Collection of Robert F. and Patricia G Ross Weis, Mark Rothko\u2019s No. 31 (Yellow Stripe) for $62,160,000. Christie’s<\/p>\n
All eyes are on New York\u2014with small interludes in Abu Dhabi art week\u2014for the November marquee sales<\/a>, the last major thermometer of the market and the U.S. sector in particular, after almost a full year of the Trump administration and the ongoing schism over the Fed\u2019s interest rate decision. Pressure and attention are even higher this season, with more than $1.6 billion worth of art set to change hands, including some of the most notable American collections of the past century.<\/p>\n The start was strong, with $218 million generated by the The Collection of Robert F. Weis<\/a> and Patricia G. Ross Weis 18-lots single-owner sale, which opened the week for Christie\u2019s yesterday, November 17 at 6 p.m., achieving\u00a0 $218,066,600<\/a>\u2014well above its $92.35 million to $136.7 million presale expectations\u2014with 89 percent sold by lot and 92 percent by value.<\/p>\n Dominating the headlines was Mark Rothko<\/a>\u2019s vibrant No. 31 (Yellow Stripe). Held as the grand finale, it sold for $62,160,000 to a phone bidder after a fierce four-minute and forty-second battle\u2014the highest online bid ever placed during a live auction at Christie\u2019s. The 20th Century Evening Sale<\/a>\u00a0that followed added another $471,278,400 with a 98 percent sell-through rate and 100 percent by value.<\/p>\n In total, Christie\u2019s brought in $689 million in a single night, already matching what the auction house generated across all marquee sales during the same week last year\u2014enough to provide a reassuring jolt of confidence to the market. While the new era of strategic and secured auctioning continues, Christie\u2019s played it safe, with many lots covered by third-party guarantees. Most didn\u2019t need them: active bidding, including strong participation from the room, routinely pushed lots above estimate, often with five to eight bidders in play.<\/p>\n At least half of the Weis collection exceeded their low estimates. Another highly anticipated top lot was Picasso\u2019s iconic portrait of his muse Marie-Th\u00e9r\u00e8se\u2014his most coveted auction subject\u2014with La Lecture achieving $45,485,000. Piet Mondrian<\/a>\u2019s rare-to-market Composition with Red and Blue landed within expectations, selling for $23,600,000 after fees (estimated $20-30 million), already backed by a third-party guarantee.<\/p>\n Well above estimate soared all the early lots, beginning with Mir\u00f3\u2019s surreal abstract muse at $4,955,000 (estimate $2.5-3.5 million), followed by Giorgio Morandi<\/a>\u2019s Still Life achieving $3,003,000 against its $1.8 million high estimate. Henri Matisse<\/a>\u2019s metalinguistic composition Figure et bouquet (T\u00eate ocre) doubled its low estimate to reach $32,260,000, helped by a remarkable exhibition history including the Philadelphia Museum of Art in 1948 and the MoMA retrospective in 1992. Max Ernst<\/a>\u2019s haunting bronze Le roi jouant avec la reine sold above its high estimate for $20,185,000.<\/p>\n Among the evening\u2019s clamorous unsold lots\u2014despite prestigious provenance\u2014were Joan Mir\u00f3\u2019s bright surreal landscape Les flammes du soleil rendent hyst\u00e9rique la fleur du d\u00e9sert, which failed to find a buyer at its $8,000,000\u201312,000,000 estimate, and Franz Kline<\/a>\u2019s black-and-white Placita, estimated at $10-12 million.<\/p>\n The 20th Century Evening Sale confirmed a still-strong market for modern masters, particularly when reinforced by impeccable provenance and exhibition history. Several star lots came from Japan\u2019s Kawamura Memorial DIC Museum of Art, near Tokyo, which closed in March. The highly anticipated Claude Monet<\/a> Nymph\u00e9as triggered at least two minutes of global bidding, landing at $45,485,000\u2014comfortably within estimate even though the auction house\u2019s highest hopes hovered around $60 million. Acquired in 1970 from the Estate of Albert J. Dreitzer via Sotheby\u2019s, the work had long been a cornerstone of Kawamura\u2019s galleries, and its vertical composition is considered among the most luminous and harmonious depictions of Monet\u2019s Giverny waterlily pond. Also from Kawamura was Marc Chagall<\/a>\u2019s monumental dreamscape Le songe du Roi David, which doubled its high estimate to reach $26,510,000 after at least five minutes of bidding\u2014just shy of the artist\u2019s $28.45 million auction record. Another Chagall, Le Soleil rouge ou Le soleil des amoureux, met its high estimate at $10,525,000. Additional Kawamura highlights\u2014all sold above estimate\u2014included Pierre Auguste Renoir<\/a>\u2019s sensual Baigneuse, which sold with a third-party guarantee for $10,420,000, and Matisse\u2019s fluid Nu au fauteuil, main gauche sous la t\u00eate, which doubled its estimate to reach $6,785,000.<\/p>\n Given a prime spotlight in the preview, David Hockney<\/a>\u2019s monumental Christopher Isherwood<\/a> and Don Bachardy<\/a> (1968)\u2014the first of seven \u201cdouble portraits\u201d painted between 1968 and 1975\u2014met expectations, selling for $44,335,000 with a staggering 7,000 percent return for its consignors, forty years after failing to sell at Sotheby\u2019s in 1985 for its $625,000 reserve. Time passed, and the dramatic backstory no longer weighed on the canvas, apparently: in the 1980s, the painting was seized by one of the principal creditors of Andrew Crispo<\/a> Gallery, Rosenthal and Rosenthal, following Crispo\u2019s involvement in the \u201cDeath Mask Murder\u201d of a Norwegian male model and his subsequent tax evasion conviction.<\/p>\n The sale also featured works from other notable collections, including four masterpieces from the encyclopedic connoisseur Max Berry<\/a>. Timed with the Whitney\u2019s \u201cHigh Wire: Calder\u2019s Circus at 100\u201c, Berry\u2019s Acrobats\u2014considered the artist\u2019s first wire sculpture\u2014surpassed its high estimate, selling for $8,005,000 and setting a new record for a Calder wire sculpture, while his yellow hanging mobile Untitled (1938) achieved $3 million against its $1.5-2 million estimate. Giacometti\u2019s bronze Buste d\u2019homme (Diego) sold slightly below its $5-8 million estimate at $4,345,000, while his 1938 Nature morte achieved $1,966,000, just above its low estimate.<\/p>\n Performing less well was another highly anticipated collection: that of the \u201cQueen of Las Vegas,\u201d Elaine Wynn<\/a>. The star lot, Richard Diebenkorn<\/a>\u2019s Ocean Park #40 (1971), ultimately landed within estimate at $17,655,000\u2014far below the $27.27 million she paid at Sotheby\u2019s in 2021, and below the $27.3 million result achieved by a similar painting from the collection of John L. Marion<\/a> last May. This, despite Gagosian<\/a>\u2019s newly announced representation of the estate and the accompanying Upper East Side exhibition last week. Wynn\u2019s Joan Mitchell<\/a>, Sunflower V, met the middle of its estimate at $16,733,000, while her Turner\u2019s Ehrenbreitstein, Fernand L\u00e9ger\u2019s Les Confidences (Les deux femmes au bouquet), and Lucian Freud<\/a>\u2019s late self-portrait all sold below their low estimates at $11,955,000 (estimate $12-18 million), $5,687,000 (estimate $6-8 million), and $14,435,000 (estimate $15-25 million), respectively.<\/p>\n Momentum built around John Singer Sargent<\/a>\u2014fueled by the dazzling new Mus\u00e9e d\u2019Orsay exhibition, one of the highlights of Paris\u2019s art week before traveling to the Met in the spring\u2014proved potent. Opening the sale, his Venice-inspired gouache Gondolier\u2019s Siesta more than doubled its high estimate, selling for $7,395,000 from its $2,000,000\u20133,000,000 range and setting a new record for a Sargent gouache. Another gouache, Corner of the Church of San Stae, Venice, hit its mid-estimate at $7,395,000, while a dynamic Capri scene oil reached $11,445,000 from its $4,000,000\u20136,000,000 estimate. All three works came from the Collection of Carol and Terry Wall, which also included other Impressionist masterworks.<\/p>\n The auction also delivered surprises and new records. At lot two, Beauford Delaney<\/a>\u2019s The Sage Black\u2014 the American modernist whose career bridges the Harlem Renaissance, midcentury abstraction, and postwar Paris\u2014soared to $1,524,000 against its $500,000\u2013700,000 estimate.\u00a0Another record came from Leonor Fini<\/a>\u2019s theatrical\u00a0Dans la tour (Autoportrait avec Constantin Jele\u0144ski), which achieved $2,515,000, confirming the momentum for overlooked female Surrealist figures across geographies.\u00a0Meanwhile, Isamu Noguchi<\/a>\u2019s Myo sold for more than double its high estimate at $7,639,000 after a four-minute, nineteen-second bidding war, marking the second-highest auction price for the artist.<\/p>\n The strong results at Christie\u2019s last night reinforce the renewed confidence already signaled by solid sales in Europe last month, as Emily Kaplan<\/a>, Christie\u2019s Co-Head of the 20th Century Evening Sale, noted in her post-auction statement. \u201cThe outstanding outcome of tonight\u2019s sale is a clear demonstration of the ongoing strength and vibrancy of the market for the highest quality works of art. We were particularly delighted with the results,\u201d she said\u2014echoing her co-head Imogen Kerr<\/a>, who emphasized the \u201cgreat excitement, energy, and engagement from clients in our galleries around the world\u201d generated by the prestigious collections included in the sale. The week continues with even higher stakes on Tuesday, November 18, when the $400 million \u00a0Leonard A. Lauder: Collector<\/a>\u00a0sale hits the rostrum at Sotheby\u2019s.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Adrien Meyer sells the top lot of The Collection of Robert F. and Patricia G Ross Weis, Mark…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":387902,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5122],"tags":[184951,5229,80840,184961,9530,648,16438,184957,68158,184949,179967,64376,184950,184953,135344,184956,184947,142515,184944,184938,184945,184960,184959,24409,184943,184955,184954,3393,184939,184958,180013,135803,184942,58271,184963,184946,50558,184940,405,403,5226,5225,5228,5227,65527,184948,180022,184952,184962,15214,67,586,132,5230,68,2969,184941],"class_list":{"0":"post-387901","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-new-york","8":"tag-alberto-giacometti","9":"tag-america","10":"tag-america-united-states","11":"tag-andrew-crispo","12":"tag-art-market","13":"tag-arts","14":"tag-auctions","15":"tag-beauford-delaney","16":"tag-christies","17":"tag-christopher-isherwood","18":"tag-claude-monet","19":"tag-david-hockney","20":"tag-don-bachardy","21":"tag-elaine-wynn","22":"tag-emily-kaplan","23":"tag-fernand-leger","24":"tag-franz-kline","25":"tag-gagosian","26":"tag-giorgio-morandi","27":"tag-harlem-renaissance","28":"tag-henri-matisse","29":"tag-imogen-kerr","30":"tag-isamu-noguchi","31":"tag-j-m-w-turner","32":"tag-joan-miru00f3","33":"tag-joan-mitchell","34":"tag-john-l-marion","35":"tag-john-singer-sargent","36":"tag-kawamura-memorial-dic-museum-of-art","37":"tag-leonor-fini","38":"tag-lucian-freud","39":"tag-marc-chagall","40":"tag-marie-therese-walter","41":"tag-mark-rothko","42":"tag-max-berry","43":"tag-max-ernst","44":"tag-metropolitan-museum-of-art","45":"tag-musu00e9e-du2019orsay","46":"tag-new-york","47":"tag-new-york-city","48":"tag-newyork","49":"tag-newyorkcity","50":"tag-ny","51":"tag-nyc","52":"tag-pablo-picasso","53":"tag-pierre-auguste-renoir","54":"tag-piet-mondrian","55":"tag-richard-diebenkorn","56":"tag-robert-f-weis","57":"tag-sothebys","58":"tag-united-states","59":"tag-united-states-of-america","60":"tag-unitedstates","61":"tag-unitedstatesofamerica","62":"tag-us","63":"tag-usa","64":"tag-whitney-museum-of-american-art"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":"Validation failed: Text character limit of 500 exceeded"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/387901","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=387901"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/387901\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/387902"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=387901"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=387901"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=387901"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"Picasso](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/LOT-4A_PABLO-PICASSO-La-Lecture-Marie-Therese.jpg\")
Pablo Picasso\u2019s La Lecture from the Weis collection achieved $45,485,000. Christie’s<\/p>\n![\"David](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/LOT-29A_DAVID-HOCKNEY-Christopher-Isherwood-and-Don-Bachardy-1.jpg\")
David Hockney\u2019s monumental Christopher Isherwood and Don Bachardy achieved $44,335,000. Christie’s<\/p>\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/ALEXANDER-CALDER-Acrobats.jpg\")
Alexander Calder\u2019s Acrobats from the Max Berry Collection sold for $8,005,000. Courtesy of Christie’s<\/p>\n![\"John](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/LOT-58A_JOHN-SINGER-SARGENT-Capri.jpg\")
John Singer Sargent\u2019s Capri $11,445,000 from its $4,000,000\u20136,000,000 estimate. Christie’s<\/p>\n![\"Leonor](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/LOT-57A_LEONOR-FINI-Dans-la-tour-Autoportrait-avec-Constantin-Jelenski-1.jpg\")
Leonor Fini\u2019s Dans la tour (Autoportrait avec Constantin Jele\u0144ski) fetched $2,515,000, setting a new artist\u2019s record. Christie’s<\/p>\n