Christie's posts $4.5bn for the first half of 2026

Christie's reported $4.5 billion in total sales for the first half of 2026, comprising $3.5 billion at auction with a 91 percent sell-through rate and $1 billion in private sales, according to figures published by Artnet News on 15 July 2026. The total is 71 percent higher than the same period in 2025 and the house's strongest first half in five years.

Twentieth- and twenty-first-century art accounted for $2.3 billion. Old Masters reached $183 million, a 232 percent year-on-year rise; Asian and world art took $249 million, classics $241 million, luxury $539 million and pop culture $94.4 million. Three lots carried much of the season: Pollock's Number 7A at $181.2 million, Brancusi's Danaïde at $107.6 million and Rothko's No. 15 at $98.4 million. Sotheby's reported $3.4 billion at auction. A headline growth figure built on three consignments says less about market health than the shift toward scarcer historical material.