Bonnie Brennan, Chief Executive Officer, Christie's: “In the first six months as CEO, my focus has been on ensuring continuity and a global commitment to our strategy. We have achieved strong results by concentrating on what we do best – selling exceptional art and objects and maintaining a focus on delivering extraordinary service.
She continues: From our leadership in 20th and 21st Century art to record-breaking moments in Luxury and Old Masters, Christie's continues to deliver market leading results for our clients. With a stable, seasoned team driving innovation and results across categories, we have cemented our leadership in the market, and we are well-positioned for continued success in the second half of the year."
In the first half of 2025, Christie's key performance indicators, including overall sell through rate at 88% and hammer vs. low estimate index at 115%, have all showed strength and demonstrated our market leadership.
Christie's sold the most valuable work of the year, Piet Mondrian's Composition with Large Red Plane, Bluish Gray, Yellow, Black and Blue for $47.6M in New York from the Leonard & Louise Riggio Collection which totalled $272M, the most important private collection sold this first half. Christie's sold seven of the top 10 and every one of the top four works of art at auction. In addition, overall auction sales in their leading category, 20/21, were stable to last year at $1.3B.
In the first half, Luxury sales were up 29%, which includes car sales at Gooding Christie's (up 12% without Gooding Christie's). The Old Master Group drove a 15% rise in auction sales in H1. Confidence for this continued momentum in the second half has been demonstrated by the record breaking $43.9M sale in London earlier this month of Canaletto's masterpiece Venice, the Return of the Bucintoro on Ascension Day.
Main Image: Piet Mondrian's Composition with Large Red Plane, Bluish Gray, Yellow, Black and Blue sells for $47.6 M from the Leonard & Louise Riggio Collection - most valuable work of art sold at auction.