The Five Artists Who Achieved Records at Phillips $52m Evening Sale in New York
Olga de Amaral, Grace Hartigan, Kiki Kogelnik, Ilana Savdie, and James Turrell reached new highs. Save to My Ocula
Phillips’ Modern and Contemporary Evening sale on Tuesday brought in $52 million (all figures USD with fees), demonstrating that even amid a cautious market, demand for exceptional talent persists.
New highs were achieved for five artists, including four women. For artists like Olga de Amaral, it was a record-breaking evening.
The Colombian fibre artist’s gold-gilded textile Imagen perdida 27 (1996), estimated at $300,000 to $500,000, brought in $1.2 million—breaking her previous record of $698,500, which was achieved only last year.
More modest increases were noted for Grace Hartigan, whose abstract painting The Fourth (1959) sold for over double its high estimate at $1.6 million, bringing the artist above her $1.3 million record from 2022.
James Turrell’s light sculpture Ariel (2022) marginally broke a record for the artist by $400, selling within estimate ($500,000–$700,000) at $660,400.
Meanwhile, Austrian artist Kiki Kogelnik sold her portrait Rainy (1973) to an online bidder at triple its estimate ($150,000–$200,000) for $355,600 and Ilana Savdie’s painting Imperial diet, y otros demonios (2021) sold for $228,600 (estimate: $100,000–$150,000).
But leading the sale was Jean-Michel Basquiat’s 1984 painting Untitled. The work was acquired by a buyer in the room for $6.6 million, slightly above its high estimate. It is followed by an Ed Ruscha painting for $4.9 million and a Donald Judd stack for $4.3 million.
Most works in the top ten lots sold toward the lower end of their estimates, including works by Judd, Gerhard Richter, Richard Prince, David Hockney, and Ed Ruscha.
An exception was noted for a second Basquiat, a work on paper (Untitled, 1985–1986) priced at $1.5 to $2 million, which outperformed expectations, selling for close to $3 million.
More highlights include Yu Nishimura’s landscape marin drive (after the rain), which opened the night and outperformed, selling at $279,400 (estimate $80,000–$120,000) to a U.S. phone bidder. The Japanese artist recently joined David Zwirner.
Other lots surpassing prediction included Danielle Mckinney’s 2020 portrait To Pretend, which sold for $120,650 (estimate $50,000–$70,000), while Barbara Hepworth’s small bronze Vertical form (St. Ives) (c. 1960s) achieved $457,200 (estimate $250,000–$350,000). —[O]
Main image: Phillips Modern and Contemporary Evening Sale, May 2025. Courtesy Phillips.
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