Christie’s New York Post-War to Present Auction Achieves Over $21.3 Million
Christie’s New York Post-War to Present auction achieved $21.3M, with top sales including works by Frankenthaler, Ruscha, and Arbus.
Post-War to Present, the first live auction of Christie’s New York Week of Contemporary Art sales, took place on 27 February 2025, beginning at 10 AM in the esteemed Rockefeller Center saleroom. The auction generated significant excitement, with enthusiastic bidding from collectors around the world. The sale concluded successfully, realising a total of $21,334,714, with 86% sold by value and 97% exceeding its low estimate.
A diverse range of artists from post-war legends to contemporary visionaries commanded exceptional prices. The top lot of the sale was Concerto by Helen Frankenthaler, sourced from an important San Francisco collection. The painting outperformed expectations, tripling its high estimate of $700,000 to achieve $2,107,000—the second-highest price ever recorded for a 1980s Frankenthaler.
Other notable sales included Pressures by Ed Ruscha, which fetched $1,986,000, Richard Estes’ East River, which realised $693,000, and Diane Arbus’ iconic photograph Identical Twins, which sold for $630,000.
Additionally, Bob Thompson’s La Gamme d’Amour achieved $504,000, while a new auction record for Yu Nishimura was set at $296,100.
The afternoon session featured a selection of works Sold to Benefit L’Alliance New York, the city’s leading French-language education, cultural, and arts institution. The group raised $444,780, far surpassing its low estimate of $295,000. Standout pieces included Lisa Yuskavage’s PXLP, which secured $201,600, and Gerhard Richter’s Farbfelder. 6 Anordnungen von 1260 Farben f (Blau-Rot-Gelb), which sold for $69,300.
Christie’s New York contemporary art sales remain open for bidding online, including Augmented Intelligence (open until 5 March), Latin American Art Online (open until 6 March), and Modern Collector (open until 11 March).
