Phillips- Modern & Contemporary Art Evening Sale
May 14th - New York
Executive Summary
The Phillips Modern & Contemporary Art Evening Sale presented a dynamic collection of 30 lots, with 25 successfully sold, achieving a strong sell-through rate of 83.33%. Despite this, the auction's financial performance fell short of expectations. The total auction value, inclusive of the buyer's premium, reached $86,297,799, while the total hammer price stood at $72,306,534.65, notably below the median estimate of $93,150,000. This resulted in a hammer ratio of 0.7762, indicating that the auction underperformed against its projected figures.
All sold lots were priced above $100,000, pointing to a strategic focus on high-value artworks. The top lots, including Jean-Michel Basquiat's "Untitled (ELMAR)" and Donald Judd's "Untitled" (1978), highlighted significant collector interest but also exposed vulnerabilities in relying solely on high-end segments. The auction's distribution analysis revealed no sales in lower price ranges, suggesting a deliberate targeting of high-net-worth collectors.