Year End
With Near $18 Billion Haul, This Was the Best Auction Year Ever
But that’s not quite the same thing as the best year ever for art.
Andy Warhol’s Shot Sage Blue Marilyn from 1964 was the most expensive artwork to sell in 2022.
Photographer: Dia Dipasupil/Getty ImagesIt’s been a banner year for the auction houses.
Christie’s, Sotheby’s and Phillips have just released superlative-filled yearend reports. Christie’s global sales hit $8.4 billion, the highest annual total in art-market history, the auction house claims. Sotheby’s was close behind with $8 billion in sales, also its highest (though it comes with some major caveats) and the much smaller Phillips reported its best year ever too, with a final tally of $1.3 billion.