"Christie's raised a projected $2.1bn in the first half of 2025-pretty much the same as last year. Sales in the 20th- and 21st-century art category were down 2%, but luxury, significantly, was up 29%. The headline numbers were almost identical at Sotheby's, whose first-half sales raised $2.2bn, just slightly down on the $2.3bn in the equivalent period last year."
"According to Hoffman, high transaction costs have been deterring the wealthy from buying and selling high-value art at auction. "Clients are thinking in a more financial way than they used to," Hoffman says. In June it was announced that he and four other art market grandees had launched New Perspectives Art Partners, focusing on lower-risk, lower-cost private sales for wealthy collectors."
Christie's reported $2.1bn in first-half 2025 sales, nearly matching the prior year, with 20th- and 21st-century art down 2% and luxury up 29%. Sotheby's posted $2.2bn, marginally below its previous $2.3bn. The market displayed continuity after Christie's 22% sales drop in the first half of 2024. Philip Hoffman characterized the current downturn as a two-to-three-year blip and predicted limited change over the next 12 months. High transaction costs are discouraging wealthy buyers from auction activity and prompting a shift toward lower-risk, lower-cost private sales.
Read at The Art Newspaper - International art news and events
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