Sotheby’s had also had a hit in London, where its GBP 59m auction of the collection of Pauline Karpidas in September arguably got the market’s motor going again in 2025. This sale illuminated a change in taste as design objects, notably by Les Lalanne, prove particularly in demand on the art market. By the end of the year, François-Xavier Lalanne’s copper Hippopotame Bar, piece unique, made a record USD 31.4m for the artist and for any design object offered at auction. Its estimate had been a mere US 7-9m and the work attracted a rare 26-minute bidding war. “We are in a market driven by masterpieces, and this was the ‘ultimate icon’ by the artist,” says Jodi Pollack, Sotheby’s Chairman and Co-Worldwide Head of 20th Century Design, noting too “the continued momentum” behind Lalanne.
Elsewhere, taste has erred towards the tried and tested as buyers adopt a ‘safety first’ mindset. At the same time, estimates have generally come down to more realistic levels, helping to generate the magic of auction, plus ensuring more work actually gets sold. The increasing level of third-party guarantees, which the auction houses use to secure sales while mitigating their own risks, has helped the so-called ‘Bought In’ rates (the percentage of works that don’t get sold). Pi-eX finds that these sat at just 4% by value, one of the lowest levels ever, at the November sales in New York.
For art galleries, essentially small businesses where activity lags the more voluminous auction segment, some of the pinch from the market’s 2023 decline began to be felt this year. The most notable closure was of Blum Gallery, which in July announced that after more than 30 years, with a staff of nearly 50 people and a roster of about 60 artists, it was time to “sunset” its public spaces in Los Angeles and Tokyo. With the closures, ambitious plans to open in New York’s Tribeca in the autumn were also shelved. Blum described the nature of the gallery business as “a relentless, hamster wheel grind” of “cyclical intensity”. His views chimed across the sector, facing increasing costs in an inflationary economic environment and with a seemingly unsustainable calendar of art fairs and exhibitions to balance the books. Blum urged that it was this relentless activity that lay behind his decision, rather than purely financial challenges. As the curator and consultant Carrie Scott puts it “What if this isn’t collapse — what if it’s just… retirement?… We conflate legacy with longevity. But maybe this isn’t the end of something bad. Maybe it’s the natural cycle.” Either way, the news sent shockwaves through the market and subsequent closures, including of Venus Over Manhattan and Clearing Gallery (both in New York), were viewed as the beginning of the end of the gallery model.
