We highlight some auctions in mid-May, including contemporary, modern, medieval, and ancient art, jewelry, design, and Decorative Arts from the most important international and Italian auction houses.
Christie’s
The evening auctions of 20th and 21st Century Art at Christie’s in New York, scheduled for May 2025, will feature a selection of works that define entire artistic eras. Among the highlights are masterpieces by Monet, Mondrian, Rothko, Warhol, and Basquiat. The works come from prestigious collections such as those of Leonard and Louise Riggio, Tiqui Atencio and Ago Demirdjian, and the Bass House.
Leonard & Louise Riggio: Collected Works
This evening sale inaugurates the series of auctions presenting over 30 significant works, including:
- Piet Mondrian – Composition with Large Red Plane, Bluish Gray, Yellow, Black and Blue(1922)
- Andy Warhol – The Last Supper (1986)
- René Magritte – The Rights of Man (1947–48)
- Balthus – Young girl in green and red (The candlestick) (1944–45)
The auction of works on paper in New York
The auction Impressionist and Modern Works on Paper by Christie’s in New York will be live on May 13 at 10:00 AM. The drawing with the lowest estimate is Trois Femmes by Jules Pascin (1885-1930), estimated at USD 2,000 – USD 3,000. The highest estimate reaches 300,000 USD for a drawing by Odilon Redon, 500,000 USD for drawings by Pablo Picasso and Henri Matisse, 800,000 USD for the Cariatide by Amedeo Modigliani and the San Titre by Rene Magritte. Many lots also embrace a medium estimate.
1-54 Contemporary African Art Fair
It is not an auction but we highlight it for the influence it could have on the upcoming auctions! In New York, the eleventh edition of 1-54 Contemporary African Art Fair was held. Until May 11, it was hosted by Halo, 28 Liberty Street, in the heart of the Financial District of Manhattan. It is a fair that focuses solely on contemporary African artists. 30 galleries from 17 countries, with 15 absolute debuts and 18 galleries exhibiting in the Big Apple for the first time.
Among the artists present:
- Aïcha Snoussi (Tunisia). The Parisian gallery Galerie La La Lande presents a series of works by Snoussi, including Ritual Tunics of Love and Resistance (2024).
- Laetitia Ky (Ivory Coast). At the LIS10 Gallery, Ky exhibits photographs in which her sculpted hair takes on sculptural forms, transforming into feminist and activist manifestos.
- Nabir Yo (Uganda). The young Ugandan artist is represented by the Amasaka Gallery, which exhibits works like The Cleaner (2024), made with fabrics, bark, and acrylic on denim.
https://www.christies.com/en/events/20th-21st-century-new-york
Phillips
The next Phillips auction in New York: Post-War and Contemporary Art
The next Phillips auction is scheduled for tomorrow, May 13, at 432 Park Avenue in NY: a sale of 40 post-war and contemporary art works. 90% of the works are being presented on the market for the first time in over 15 years. The selection includes Jean-Michel Basquiat, Ed Ruscha, Pablo Picasso, Gerhard Richter, and Donald Judd, responding to a growing demand for these iconic artists. What are the most prestigious works? A Standing mobile by Alexander Calder from the Winston Malbin collection and a portrait of Sigmar Polke as a child with his family, painted by Gerhard Richter.
Among the Highlights, also, an Untitled (1984) by Jean-Michel Basquiat, coming from the collection of David Bowie, and the auction debuts of Olga de Amaral, James Turrell, and Kiki Kogelnik.
The Phillips auction in Geneva and the 53-carat yellow diamond
The most anticipated lot of today’s Geneva Jewels Auction, May 12, is a pendant consisting of a diamond and a Fancy Vivid Yellow diamond of 53.14 carats. The estimate is between 3.5 and 4 million Swiss francs. Next to it, two pendant earrings with diamonds of 10.92 and 10.58 carats, color D and Flawless clarity, estimated at 1.2 – 1.8 million francs. This selection goes beyond, embracing a kaleidoscope of colors and stories. Jewels from legendary maison such as Van Cleef & Arpels, Cartier, Bulgari, Graff, and Buccellati intertwine with pieces that evoke the timeless design of Art Deco, celebrating the centenary of an era that revolutionized art and craftsmanship. Estimates range between 50,000 and 2 million francs. After being exhibited in Hong Kong, New York, Singapore, and London, the collection has arrived at the Hôtel Président Wilson, in conjunction with the GemGenève salon.
Sotheby’s
The jewelry auction in Geneva on May 13
The Sotheby’s auction in Geneva, scheduled for May 13, presents itself as a major event in the jewelry sales calendar. It will take place just the day after the Phillips auction, also in the same city. There are pieces signed by some of the most prestigious high jewelry maisons in the world, as well as vintage jewelry, exceptional colored stones, and high-quality diamonds. The true protagonist will be the “Mediterranean Blue,” a Fancy Vivid Blue diamond of 10.03 carats. It is cushion-shaped and stands out for its color reminiscent of the blue waters of the Mediterranean.
The Earth Star at Sotheby’s auction
Other lots to mention are The Earth Star, an orange-brown diamond, of 111.59 carats, set in a carved azurmalachite frame. The piece is further decorated with brilliant-cut diamonds and was mounted by David Webb. The estimate is 450,000 – 620,000 CHF and has already received a Bid of 300,000 CHF. Two cushion-shaped diamonds, 23.88 and 23.76 carats respectively. The estimated value ranges between 3 and 4 billion Swiss francs and have already received an offer of more than 2 billion.
The auctions of modern and contemporary art
The evening and daytime New York auctions dedicated to modern art will cover works from the late 19th and early 20th centuries, highlighting the historical connections, conceptual revolutions, and dialogues between continents over approximately 150 years of art. It ranges from Impressionism to Abstract Expressionism, from Pop Art to Minimalism, up to the established and emerging artists of today.
Woman: Sunlight, Moonlight. Estimate 4,000,000 – 6,000,000 USD
Woman: Sunlight, Moonlight. Estimate 4,000,000 – 6,000,000 USD
On May 15th for The Now and Contemporary Evening Auction, 9 works from the private collection of Dorothy and Roy Lichtenstein will be presented, covering about four decades of stylistic evolution of one of the champions of American Pop Art. References to Picasso, Surrealism, Monet, and the architecture of ancient Greece can be noted, demonstrating Lichtenstein’s wide range of interests and innovations.
Regarding the selection of works from the “Avant-garde after the Second World War,” there are works by Frank Stella, Robert Rauschenberg, Donald Judd, and Gerhard Richter. Among the geometric and symmetrical works of Stella, “Adelante” is for sale, and from Rauschenberg, the sculpture “Rigger”.
Cambi Auction House
After the success of Asta Live Design 200, held in a single session on Wednesday, March 26, achieving sales of approximately 1,175,000 euros, with 80% of the lots sold and an increase of 230% over initial estimates, Cambi Casa d’Aste proposed another auction dedicated to design in April. The auction “Dimore Italiane,” held in Genoa on April 16, offered a selection of over 400 lots from important Italian residences. Let’s now see what the appointments for May are.
Cambi Auction House
Mackenzie Castle, Genoa
www.cambiaste.com
The appointment of Cambi on May 13 with the Murano Glass
Tomorrow, May 13, over 300 glass objects will be auctioned, created by the most important authors and Murano glassworks of the 20th century. Among the most significant pieces, we find lot 59, a rare large vase from the Turchese e Nero series by Tomaso Buzzi (Venini, 1932). It is in opaline glass with a turquoise casing and decorated with a twisted cord. Estimate? Between 20,000 and 25,000 euros. Other notable pieces are lots 38 and 39, works by Napoleone Martinuzzi: a “fantastic fish” and a large egg-shaped vase. Both are in pulegoso glass with blue glass details, estimated respectively between 8,000-10,000 and 1,000-1,200 euros. Also for sale is the rare 1950 vase by Fulvio Bianconi (lot 147), estimated at 7,000-8,000 euros, and the sculpture “L’Ermellino” by Guido Balsamo Stella from 1930 (lot 7), in iridescent blown glass, estimated at 5,000-6,000 euros.
https://www.cambiaste.com/it/asta-1020/vetri-di-murano-del-900
Cambi Fine Art Selection
cori”. Sienese work from the first half of the 15th century
The next appointment on Wednesday, May 21, 2025, is with Fine Art Selection through which Cambi will bring Ancient Art to Milan. It is a selection of over 100 period masterpieces, coming from the historic headquarters in Genoa, to rediscover Ancient Art. This initiative aims to enhance the growing interest in the past, offering high-quality furniture, paintings, sculptures, ceramics, and art objects. The pieces from the Collezione Podda stand out, a historic Lombard collection by Giuseppe Podda: works from the Middle Ages to the Renaissance, including a Sienese sculptural group, in wood, depicting the Annunciation, attributed to Domenico di Niccolò, known as “dei cori”.
There are also an 18th-century chest of drawers by Giuseppe Maggiolini and a Trapani nativity scene made of precious materials. Notable are paintings by Valerio Castello and Giacomo Ceruti. The section of silver and goldsmith objects includes rare pieces such as a Roman chalice by Luigi Valadier and a London Rococo basket.
Lempertz
For the Milan design Week, the auction house displayed a selection of Decorative Arts. The protagonist is Eileen Gray, a famous interior designer. On May 16, in Cologne, A table of one’s own will take place. It is an auction centered around the famous table from Villa E.1027, built between 1926 and 1929 in Roquebrune-Cap Martin, on the French Riviera. The “E.1027” table, named after the villa, is estimated at € 150,000-200,000.
The auction on Old Masters and 19th-century paintings
In Colonia on May 17, the next auction will offer a selection of old masters and 19th-century paintings.
There will be some exceptional lots. First among them, the small copper Cristo e la Samaritana by Francesco Albani from the Colbert Collection (estimate 100,000-150,000 euros). It has been identified by Marco Riccomini as the lost work of the artist. The copper was owned by the dukes of Orléans and then by the princely art collection of the Palais Royal in Paris. Albani’s work made painting on copper popular in early seventeenth-century Rome.
The Dutch still lifes at auction
Additionally, two exquisite Dutch still lifes from private collections will be auctioned. The first by Jan Davidsz. de Heem, an influential still life painter during the “Golden Age,” the 17th century: Still Life with Flowers and Fruit on a Stone Ledge (estimate: 1,000,000-1,500,000 euros).
The second is a Vanitas by Willem Kalf (estimate: 300,000-400,000 euros).
What will the June auctions be? To stay updated, follow Econique.art!
She has collaborated for many years with art magazines such as Artribune, XIBT Contemporary, ArtApp, Insideart and Espoarte, preferring contemporary art in its many facets and media drifts.
