NEW YORK, NY.- Christie’s kicked off the week of Post-War and Contemporary Art Sales in New York with a live Post-War to Present auction, which totaled $23,087,875, selling 86% by lot, 92% by value and 123% hammer over low estimate. The top lot of the sale was Keith Haring’s Untitled, which achieved $3,000,000, followed by Matthew Wong’s Luminous Night, which achieved $2,190,000, more than double its high estimate. The sale saw four new artist records set for Derrick Adams, Elaine de Kooning, Lucas Samaras and Jammie Holmes. Exceptional prices were also achieved by Emily Mae Smith, Salman Toor, Henry Taylor and Ruth Asawa among others.

Christie’s Contemporary Edition sale totaled $1,679,875, selling 85% by lot, 90% by value and 120% hammer over low estimate. The sale was led by Gerhard Richter, Frau mit kind (Woman with Child), which achieved $93,750. Additional top lots of the sale include David Hockney, Hotel Acatlán: First Day, from Moving Focus, which realized $81,250 and KAWS, URGE, which sold for $75,000.

The online auction First Open achieved $1,867,250, sold 91% by lot and 127% hammer above low estimate. The top lot of the sale was Sam Gilliam, More Than Water (Assissi) Subtle Jungle, which realized $162,500, more than double its high estimate.

Contemporary Art Asia online sale totaled $1,257,125, sold 98% by lot and 231% hammer above low estimate. The sale achieved strong results for Liu Shuishi, including The Smart One, which sold for $125,000, against a low estimate of $30,000, and Toady, which realized $81,250, against a low estimate of $30,000. Additional strong results were achieved for Yayoi Kusama’s Rain and Rain on the Pacific, both sold for $93,750.

Noutchy in New York City, the online sale of all new paintings and works on paper by the artist ABOUDIA totaled $1,066,875. The sale was 100% sold by lot and achieved 717% hammer above low estimate. The top lots of the sale were Noutchy dans la rue and La renaissance du Christ, both sold for $187,500.




On March 11, 2021, Christie’s concluded its single lot online sale of Beeple’s Everydays: The First 5000 Days, achieving $69,346,250 and setting the third highest price for a living artist at auction in a watershed moment in the development of digital art. The sale of the first purely digital NFT based work of art by a major auction house achieved a new world record for any work of digital art, the highest price for any lot in any online-only auction, the highest price for any winning bid placed online, and the highest total for any online-only auction.

Digital Art has been an established artistic medium since the advent of the personal computer. However, before the introduction of NFTs and Blockchain technology it was impossible for even the most celebrated digital artists to claim their place in the art market. These mechanisms have paved the way for future of art of purely digital means, and Christie’s is proud to have been on the forefront of this pivotal movement. As the art world continues to embrace digital art, Christie’s looks forward to holding further sales of NFTs. Full details on these plans will be released in due course.

Christie’s is grateful to both the artist and MakersPlace, a leading marketplace for online collectibles, for facilitating this monumental sale, and for helping us to usher the international art market into the exhilarating world of digital art.

Beeple, Digital Artist, remarked: "Artists have been using hardware and software to create artwork and distribute it on the internet for the last 20+ years but there was never a real way to truly own and collect it. With NFT’s that has now changed. I believe we are witnessing the beginning of the next chapter in art history, digital art. This is work that has just as much craft, message, nuance and intent as anything made on a physical canvas and I am beyond honored and humbled to represent the digital art community in this historic moment."

Noah Davis, Specialist, Post-War and Contemporary Art, Christie’s, added: “The last year has been an extraordinary period for the art market, and today’s result is a fitting tribute to the significant digital transformation that has taken place at Christie’s. And just as our business has evolved, so has the way in which art is being made.

I'm thrilled to have had the opportunity to introduce the Christie's audience to Beeple’s work, and I'm honored to welcome all the of the remarkable new clients, who not only bid with us, but reached out to share their brilliant ideas on how to further the crypto art movement. Beeple’s success is a testament to the exciting possibilities ahead for this nascent marketplace. Today’s result is a clarion call to all digital artists. Your work has value. Keep making it.”