Editor’s Note
A painting by Marlene Dumas has set a new auction record for a living female artist, underscoring a significant moment in the art market.
A painting by Marlene Dumas, “Miss January,” was sold for $13.6 million (approximately 1.977 billion yen) at Christie’s Evening Sale in New York on May 14, setting a new record for the highest price achieved by a living female artist at auction.
“Miss January” (1997) had a presale estimate of $12–18 million (approximately 1.744–2.62 billion yen). The work was consigned from the collection of the Rubell Family, who are listed on ARTnews’ annual TOP 200 COLLECTORS list, and came with a third-party guarantee.
The hammer fell in less than a minute after the auction began. The final buyer was an anonymous collector represented by Sara Friedlander, Deputy Chairman of Christie’s Post-War and Contemporary Art department. The sale price of $11.5 million (approximately 1.672 billion yen, before fees) was met with applause from the room celebrating the new record.
“Miss January” is considered a reinterpretation of Dumas’s early work “Miss World,” which she painted at age 10. The title is also seen as an extension of her first retrospective, “Miss Interpreted,” at the Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam in 1992, and the self-portrait “Misinterpreted” (1988).
Prior to this record, the highest price for a living female artist was set by Jenny Saville’s self-portrait “Propped” (1992), which sold for £9.5 million (approximately 1.4 billion yen at the time) at Sotheby’s London in 2018. “Propped” had a presale estimate of £3–4 million.
Dumas’s previous auction record was held by “The Visitor” (1995), which sold for £3.18 million at Sotheby’s London in July 2008.
Seven of Dumas’s top ten auction results have exceeded their high estimates (including fees), with six of those sales occurring in New York.
However, a recent trend shows that of the 15 works by Dumas offered at auction between 2022 and 2024, only five sold for over $1 million, and only two exceeded their high estimate (including fees). According to the Artnet Price Database, most of Dumas’s works offered in the past three years were sold in Paris, London, and Hong Kong.
The Rubell Family rarely deaccessions works from their collection, making the consignment of “Miss January” exceptionally rare.
Don Rubell told The New York Times in a past interview.
The painting was exhibited at the Rubell Museum during Art Basel Miami Beach last December.