Editor’s Note
This article previews a major art market event from Christie’s first half of 2025 results, highlighting a record-setting $47.6 million auction sale of a Piet Mondrian masterpiece.
New York, July 2025 – Piet Mondrian’s *Composition with Large Red Plane, Yellow, Black, Gray, and Blue* sold for $47.6 million. Coming from the Leonard & Louise Riggio Collection, it became the most expensive work sold at auction this semester.
Bonnie Brennan, President of Christie’s
- $2.1B: Total auction sales ($2.1B)
- 88%: Sell-through rate (87%)
- 115%: Hammer price to low estimate ratio (111%)
- 80%: Share of bids placed online (82%)
- 7: Of the 10 most expensive artworks sold at auction (6)
- 31%: Rate of clients from Generations Y and Z* (29%)
*Individuals born from 1981 onwards
In the first half, all our performance indicators are stable and strong. With an 88% sell-through rate and a 115% hammer price to low estimate ratio, Christie’s confirms its leading position in the market.
A composition by Piet Mondrian from the Leonard & Louise Riggio Collection, sold at Christie’s New York for $47.6 million, is the most expensive work of the semester globally. With a total of $272 million, the Leonard & Louise Riggio Collection is the most significant private collection to go under the hammer in the first half. In total, Christie’s sold seven of the ten most expensive artworks of the semester, including the top four. In 20th/21st-century art, our main category, our sales are stable at $1.3 billion, identical to the 2024 figure.
In the luxury domain, Christie’s sales increased by 29% in the first half. This figure includes the sales of collector cars from Gooding Christie’s (it is 12% excluding Gooding Christie’s sales). The first sale under the new Gooding Christie’s brand will take place in August in Pebble Beach, California.
Regarding jewelry, Christie’s sold nine of the top ten jewels sold at auction during the first half of 2025. In this area, Christie’s recorded growth of 25%.
Old Masters recorded a 15% increase. With a record amount of $43.9 million achieved in London on July 1st, Canaletto’s masterpiece, *Il ritorno del Bucintoro al molo nel giorno dell’Ascensione*, suggests this trend will continue in the second half.
This week continues with the opening of our exhibition *Marwan: a soul in Exile* in London and the opening of the tenth *Art + Tech Summit* at Radio City Music Hall in New York.
- Global Auction Sales: $2.1B / £1.6B / €1.8B / HKD 16.1B (Including online sales: $167M / £127M)
- Sales Distribution by Major Region: Americas 45% / Europe and Middle East 34% / Asia-Pacific 21%
- 20th/21st Century Art: $1,292M (-2%)
- Luxury: $468M (+29%)
- Asian Arts & World Art: $156M (-28%)
- Classical Arts: $90M (-32%)
- Old Masters: $55M (+15%)
- Total: $2,061M (-1%)
Notes to Editors: In accordance with standard accountancy practice, Christie’s uses a sales weighted average to account for exchange rate fluctuations. During first half 2025 please note that all cumulative sales figures are reported in £ and US$, using a sales weighted average (SWA) of £1: $1.315 (2024 SWA £1: $1.272). The prices for individual lots for 2025 are reported as when sold.