Christie’s leads (by a narrow margin) the art market’s recovery in the first half of the year
They recognise major works of art of exceptional quality and collections held by individual owners. All economic indicators are on the rise
Christie’s has just recorded “its best first half of the year in the last five years”. This was announced by its CEO, Bonnie Brennan . The auction house has “grown across all departments, in all geographical areas and in every price bracket, with a 71 per cent increase in sales compared to last year”. Sales at (public) auctions totalled $3.5 billion, to which must be added the $1 billion generated by private sales, making a cumulative total of $4.5 billion in the first half of 2026 alone. This figure, released by Christie’s in a follow-up announcement, places it just ahead of its rival Sotheby’s, which recorded a total of $4.4 billion.
The role of trophy works
The world’s second-oldest auction house (Christie’s celebrates its 240th anniversary this year) has been rewarded by the availability of works of exceptional quality, as well as collections from private owners: substantial, coherent and well-curated. The three most expensive art lots of the first half of 2026 are all from Christie’s: towering above them all is the monumental painting ‘Number 7A’ (1948) by Jackson Pollock, which sold for a gross total of 181.2 million dollars at the ‘Masterpieces: The Private Collection of S.I. Newhouse’, held in New York in May, which alone raised $630.8 million.
This collection also included the runner-up, Constantin Brancusi’s ‘Danaïde’ (107.6 million dollars). ‘No. 15 (Two Greens and Red Stripe)’ by Mark Rothko takes third place on the podium with $98.4 million, currently an all-time record for the artist, whose work is currently on display at Palazzo Strozzi. This piece belonged to the American philanthropist and patron Agnes Gund.
Economic indicators
All the performance indicators reported showed an improvement across all price ranges. In addition to sales, the sell-through rate stood at 91 per cent (87 per cent in 2025) and the ratio of hammer price to low estimate was 124 per cent (112 per cent in 2025). The increase in the value of lots is even greater for items with an estimate of between $20,000 and $100,000: here, the ratio of hammer price to minimum estimate reached 148 per cent, up 21 per cent on the previous year. Furthermore, millennials and Gen Z now account for almost half of all buyers (47 per cent; in 2025, the figure was 45 per cent).
The value of purchases made by international clients outside their local auction houses rose by 34 per cent, whilst unsuccessful bids (‘underbidding’) increased by 69 per cent. Christie’s also set a new record for the number of bidders per lot. The contribution from daytime and online auctions is growing. Indeed, the latter continue to be the main channel for attracting new clients: 63 per cent of new bidders and buyers came through this channel. Collectors came from: the Americas (54 per cent); Europe, the Middle East and Africa (26 per cent); and Asia-Pacific (20 per cent).
Brennan commented: “These results were achieved by maintaining a disciplined approach to capital management, further improving profitability and strengthening an already extremely solid financial position.”
In parallel with the growth of the auction business, Christie’s Art Finance has also significantly expanded its international operations, extending its financing services to a growing number of collectors, categories of artworks and currencies.
Below are the categories that performed best, in both absolute and relative terms. Of particular note is the exceptional growth in the Old Masters category, as well as the cumulative growth generated by 20th- and 21st-century works (within this category, modern and post-war art were the standout performers).
