Even in a market defined by caution and recalibration, the November marquee sales in New York still generate their own gravitational field. Trophy works have become rarer, and bidders more selective, but when the top houses muster genuine blue-chip material, the season pivots around it.
This year’s upper bracket is striking for both its concentration—Sotheby’s dominates the top end almost entirely—and its breadth across major 19th-, 20th-, and 21st-century names. From a trio of Klimts to a near-perfect Max Ernst sculpture to a seven-figure dinosaur at Phillips, the sales reflect a market that’s not exuberant so much as selectively confident—and clearly gaining momentum. There’s more than $1.5 billion on the table this year across Phillips, Sotheby’s, and Christie’s, a healthy bump from last year, when estimates were more than 50 percent lower.
The catalogues are out, the previews have come and gone. The sales begin next week, and there’s still time to see this abundance of top-tier pictures and sculptures before they return to private and museum collections—possibly never to be seen in public again. (Or at least for a season or two.)
Here’s a look at next week’s top lots..
