United States: rain of sales on the art market in New York

Auction at Christie's in New York, November 9, 2015 (illustration image).

AFP PHOTO / TIMOTHY A. CLARY

Text by: RFI Follow

1 min

The art market is booming in New York in May 2022. Auction houses Christie's and Sotheby's are hoping for a shower of new records in the coming days.

Christie's even describes this season as a unique moment that only happens once a decade. 

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Christie's

opens the ball this Monday, May 9 with an iconic work of the 20th century, one of the portraits of Marilyn Monroe by Andy Warhol.

And more precisely the

Shot Sage Blue Marilyn

on a turquoise background.

A one-meter square that takes its name - according to legend - from an incident that occurred in the artist's studio.

A woman asked if she could " 

photograph 

" the paintings and shot them with a revolver.

Because the term " 

shoot 

" in English can be used in both senses. 

$200 million

Nearly sixty years later, Christie's hopes to see him leave for 200 million dollars.

This would make it the most expensive 20th century work of art ever sold at auction.

Proceeds will fund health and education programs for children.

Christie's will also sell three Monets this week, including a version of the

Water Lilies

.

Estimate: about $60 million each.

The counters are going crazy 

Its major competitor,

Sotheby's

, is not to be outdone.

From May 16, the house should sell for a billion dollars of contemporary and modern works.

In the catalog of these auctions in particular: a second lot from the Macklowe collection.

The first had already panicked the counters in November.

Sotheby's had then totaled 676 million dollars in sales in a single evening!  

►Also read

: Unpublished auction of NFT art in France, a first

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