The November 2025 auction cycle in New York totalled approximately $2.2 billion across Christie's, Sotheby's, and Phillips — up 69% from the same period in 2024. All ten of the highest-priced lots were sold in New York, confirming the city's dominance as the global auction capital.

Gustav Klimt, Portrait of Elisabeth Lederer (1914-1916): Sold at Sotheby's for $236.3 million, becoming the second-highest price ever achieved at auction and setting a new record for a work of Modern art.

Mark Rothko, No. 31 (Yellow Stripe), 1958: Christie's highest-priced painting of the year at $62.1 million.

Frida Kahlo, El sueño (La cama): Surpassed its $40 million estimate to achieve $56.4 million with fees, setting a new auction record for Kahlo and for any female artist at auction.

Several contemporary artists achieved new auction milestones during November 2025:

Leonor Fini: A rare double portrait sold for $2.51 million at Christie's on November 17, surpassing the Surrealist artist's previous record of $2.32 million.

Noah Davis: "Casting Call" (2008) surpassed $2 million at Sotheby's, setting a new record for the late artist, who died in 2015 at age 32.

Wolfgang Paalen: The Austrian Surrealist's "Fata Alaska" (1937) sold for $1.06 million at Sotheby's, far exceeding his previous auction record of $911,100.

For the full year 2025, Sotheby's reported $7 billion in global sales — a 17% increase on 2024. Christie's posted $6.2 billion, up 6% year-on-year. U.S. auction sales across the three major houses rose 23% to $3.17 billion.

Single-owner collections proved particularly strong, generating $962 million — 43% of total revenue at the major houses, up 132% year-on-year.

Sources: Publicly reported results from Sotheby's, Christie's, and Phillips; Art Basel and UBS Global Art Market Report 2026.