For the first time in 14 months, the auction calendar is behaving as it used to before Covid-19, as rivals Christie's and Sotheby's gear up for a week of marquee evening and day sales in New York. The events will begin on May 11 and end on May 14.

The phrases “masterpiece” and “museum-quality” are once again straining from overuse by auction specialists, and Sotheby's will even allow in-person bidders, though in a highly limited capacity.

But even though the calendar looks like it used to and auction house specialists are sounding the same notes, the makeup of the auctions themselves, particularly in the contemporary art categories, is strikingly different than in years past.

“I think you're right to do a double take, because we intentionally decided this season to mix it up,” says Sara Friedlander, the deputy chairman of the postwar and contemporary art department at Christie's in New York. “It's a sale that I think has more variety of price points than we've ever done before.”

Big ticket items

At Sotheby's, an hour before its contemporary art evening au­c­t­ion on May 12, works from the estate of the late oil heiress Anne Marion will hit the block, inc­luding a rare Clyfford Still from 1948 that carries a high es­t­imate of $18 million and above.
Then, in the official evening sale, Sotheby's will offer Jean-Michel Basquiat's 7-foot tall Ve­r­sus Medici, with a high esti­m­ate of $50 million, and a “black­board” painting by Cy Twom­bly from 1970 that car­r­ies a high estimate of $45 million.

Together, Sotheby's Marion sale and its contemporary art evening sale carry a high estimate of $400 million.

Not to be outdone, Chris­t­ie's also has a Basquiat priced “in excess of $50 million” in its May 11th 21st cen­tury evening sale. Two days later, in its 20th century evening auction on May 13th, the auc­t­ion house will feat­ure a Claude Monet painting of Water­loo Bridge from 1903, estimated in the region of $35 million; a Picasso portrait of his lover Marie-Thérèse from 1932 that carries an estimate around $55 million; and a deep blue and green painting by Mark Rothko from 1970, the year he died, which carries an estimate in the range of $40 million.

Christie's 21st century even­ing sale carries a high estimate of $200 million; its 20th century evening sale carries a high estimate of $440 million.

Art in demand

Yet this week's auctions are primarily notable for the abundance of smaller-ticket items, which serve as a surprisingly diverse cross section of what Friedlander says is currently in demand.

A work by Alex da Corte, an artist whose installation on the Metropolitan Museum of Art's roof garden is igniting New Yorkers' Instagram feeds, is estimated at just $60,000 to $80,000, and a 2019 painting by Salman Toor, whose recent solo show at the Whitney Museum was a must-see, carries an estimate of $100,000 to $150,000.

Sotheby's has a more established mix in its contemporary evening auction, with prices that get a lot higher a lot faster. But it also has a Toor (The Arrival) which was in the Whitney show and is estimated to draw from $60,000 to $80,000.

Crypto breaks through

In another major break from tradition, Christie's will inc­l­ude a group of NFTs called Cr­yp­to Punks. The rough, digital images of cartoon heads are connected to blockchain tech­nology and have become a cult collectible in the crypto space. Bidders can pay for the collection, which carries an estimate of $7 million to $9 million in Ether.

And over at Sotheby's, a work by Banksy, Love is in the Air, which is estimated from $3 million to $5 million, can also be paid for in Ether or Bitcoin, though the buyer will have to pay the buyer's premium in fiat currency.

Friedlander says it's too soon to say if NFT bidders are also interested in the sale's more traditional art. “It's still early days,” she says.