Power Moves and Market Momentum: Global Art Market News (May 19–25, 2025)
This week in the art market: record sales from Marlene Dumas to Meléndez, leadership reshuffles at Phillips, and booming demand for Asian and Russian masters.
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Global Art Market News: May 19–25, 2025
The global art market news for the week of May 19–25, 2025, reflects a vibrant interplay of high-profile auctions, institutional shifts, and robust activity in Asia and beyond. This report captures the pulse of recent events, auction trends, and cultural developments — all contributing to the evolving landscape of the international art trade.
Major Auction Results and Records
Sotheby’s New York kicked off the week on a cautious note. Its May 21 Old Masters sale of the Saunders collection tallied $53.8 million (around $64.7M with fees) on a 62% sell-through (theartnewspaper.com). The sale nonetheless set a single-day, single-owner Old Masters record and saw seven artist records – notably a still life by Luis Meléndez selling for $5.1M ($6.2M with fees) theartnewspaper.com. The hammer price was even higher than the high estimate, making Meléndez’s 18th‑century kitchen scene a market standout.
The week’s marquee sales at Christie’s and Sotheby’s were in New York. Christie’s May 21 21st-century evening sale tallied $96.5M (news.artnet.com), surpassing last year. A highlight was Marlene Dumas’s Miss January (1997), which sold for $13.6M (hammer $11.5M) (en.thevalue.com) – the highest price ever paid at auction for a living female artist. Sotheby’s three-part Contemporary art session (May 22) brought $186.1M across 68 lots (news.artnet.com).
By contrast, Phillips’s modern and contemporary sale (May 20) was modest, totaling $52M – a steep drop from $86.3M last year (news.artnet.com). Notably, a rare Giacometti bust (est. $70M) offered at Sotheby’s modern sale failed to sell (theartnewspaper.com), reflecting persistent caution at the high end.
Christie’s auctioneer sells Marlene Dumas’s Miss January on May 21, 2025. The work set a new record for a living female artist by selling for $13.6M (news.artnet.com)
Institutional Moves and Market Strategy
Art businesses saw significant leadership changes. Phillips announced that long-time Global Chair Cheyenne Westphal will step down after 8 years, moving to a private advisory role; Jean‑Paul Engelen (President, Americas) is also leaving to join Acquavella Gallery (news.artnet.com). In response, Phillips promoted insiders: Robert Manley became Chairman of Modern & Contemporary Art and Miety Heiden was named Chairman of Private Sales (news.artnet.com). Heritage Auctions named Seth W. Armitage co‑director and senior specialist for European art in New York (news.artnet.com), boosting its Old Master team.
Gallerists and institutions also made strategic moves. Baltimore’s Scout Art Fair – an affordable-art fair launched by artist Derrick Adams – opens May 23–25 with every work under $5,000 (news.artnet.com). Art Basel unveiled its first-ever Art Basel Awards: a jury of curators selected 36 artists (e.g. David Hammons) for merit awards, who will then choose 12 finalists to be honored in Miami Beach 2025 (news.artnet.com). In London, Timothy Taylor Gallery added emerging painter Lauren Satlowski and Nathalie Khayat, while Stockholm’s first Black‑owned contemporary gallery (founded by curator Destinee Ross-Sutton) opened during Stockholm Art Week (news.artnet.com).
Major museums announced new initiatives. The Delfina Foundation (London) is expanding to North America with residencies supporting underrepresented artists in 2026 (news.artnet.com). Paris-based collector Frédéric Jousset (Art Explora) pledged £1.33M to the British Museum to bring 100,000 UK schoolchildren to local museums over four years (news.artnet.com). The Met Museum received a promised gift of 6,500 photographs (postwar and contemporary works from Africa, Japan, Germany, China, etc.) from the Walther Family Collection; many works by African artists will be shown in its upcoming Rockefeller Wing reopening (news.artnet.com). The Smithsonian’s National Museum of Asian Art signed a cultural-exchange pact with Saudi Arabia’s Royal Commission for AlUla, planning exhibitions on Dadan archaeology to bridge U.S. and Gulf institutions (news.artnet.com).
Leadership changes also made waves. At Phillips, Cheyenne Westphal stepped down, and Jean‑Paul Engelen departed to Acquavella Gallery. New leadership includes Robert Manley and Miety Heiden. Aurora Athena continues to monitor how institutional strategy affects secondary markets.
Galleries like Timothy Taylor and Ross-Sutton launched initiatives tied to equity and emerging voices. Magdalena Abakanowicz, Le Pho, and S.H. Raza continued to trend across both private and auction sales.
The art world mourned one of its stars. On May 23, Koyo Kouoh, the visionary executive director of Cape Town’s Zeitz MOCAA and curator of record for the 2026 Venice Biennale, died at 57 (theartnewspaper.com). Kouoh had transformed Zeitz MOCAA into a globally respected institution showcasing African and diaspora art, and she was the first African woman appointed to curate the Biennale. (theartnewspaper.com)
Exhibitions and Cultural Highlights
In London, Photo London 2025 (May 17–19) marked its 10th edition, featuring historic masters and new talent alike (news.artnet.com). The fair spotlighted vintage prints by Cartier-Bresson, Brassaï and others alongside emerging photographers. Meanwhile, Rotterdam is set to open FENIX – Museum of Migration Stories in May (architect: MAD Architects) (news.artnet.com), using a transformed industrial warehouse to explore migration narratives with a dramatic double-helix sculpture (“The Tornado”) at its core.
Artistic legacies continued to resonate globally. Major auction price records drew attention to women artists and mid-market works. (See stats from Art Basel/UBS showing rising mid-tier sales and five out of seven top records this May were women artists (artsy.net).) In dealers’ inventories and upcoming auctions, works by early 20th-century masters remain in focus – from Nicolai Fechin and Russian émigrés like Konstantin Korovin, to modern Indian and Southeast Asian painters – reflecting Aurora & Athena’s long-standing specialty in these area
Legal and Restitution News
New regulatory requirements came into force this week. On May 14, the UK implemented a stricter sanctions-reporting regime for art market participants (theartnewspaper.com). Dealers must now immediately report any client dealings involving sanctioned individuals and freeze those transactions. The UK government has labeled the art sector “high risk” for money laundering, prompting small galleries to brace for heavier compliance burdens (theartnewspaper.com). (By contrast, the U.S. Treasury signaled a softer stance on beneficial-ownership rules.)
Art-museum controversies flared. Valparaiso University (Indiana) announced the sale of two of three major paintings from its Brauer Museum (including a Georgia O’Keeffe Rust Red Hills and a Childe Hassam) to raise $12M for dorm renovations (news.artnet.com).
The move, however, has sparked protests and a lawsuit by alumni and donors who argue these works are held in trust for the public (news.artnet.com).
Elsewhere, restitution efforts remain ongoing (though no major rulings were reported this week). Countries and museums continue negotiating returns of cultural property from colonial and wartime looting, from Benin Bronzes to Nazi-era art. (For example, Germany and Belgium recently announced new restitution commissions, and various tribes received repatriated artifacts.) The pace of these developments underscores a broader scrutiny on provenance and ethics in the art trade.
Looking Ahead
June evening sales in New York and London are on the horizon. Despite volatility, mid-tier segments remain healthy, with younger buyers driving private sales and artist rediscoveries. Aurora Athena expects continued attention on 20th-century masters from Asia and Russia — including Nicolai Fechin, Etel Adnan, and Cheong Soo Pieng.
Collectors and dealers are eyeing the upcoming Asian sales. Late-May Hong Kong auctions are on the horizon: Christie’s “Luxury Week” (handbags, jewellery and select Asian art) runs May 22–29, following spring Asian Art Week (press.christies.com). Sotheby’s Hong Kong will also hold live sales of modern and contemporary works in that window. These events coincide with the region’s participation in global art fairs (e.g. Art Basel Hong Kong in October).
Back in the US, summer auction season kicks off with Impressionist/Modern and contemporary evening sales in London and New York in June. Art fair season will slow as museum blockbuster exhibitions take center stage. Industry analysts note a shift: fewer speculative consignments of “blue-chip” works and more interest in young-collector segments. UBS/Art Basel data suggest transaction volume is rising at mid-tier price levels, especially among younger buyers, even as megasales become uncertain (artsy.net).
Overall, after a turbulent spring market, dealers say stability is returning – balanced between high-end caution and broader demand for mid-range and established names. Key upcoming dates and new festival initiatives will test whether this week’s lessons carry forward into the summer season.