Francois Xavier Lalanne – Set of four Grenouille Fountains (1981) at Christie’s.
The most expensive frog fountains in the world are heading to the auction block at Christie’s design sale in New York on June 10. From the collection of American designer Alexandra Marshall, who commissioned them directly from the artist in 1981, the set of four Grenouille fountains designed by Francois Xavier Lalanne are estimated at $2.5 million – $3.5 million (€2.15 million – €3 million). Cast in patinated bronze the playful fountains are finished in a bright turquoise green with mouths that open when the water is turned on and close when it is turned off. They are the most expensively estimated lot at a sale at Christie’s which features titans of design from Tiffany studios and William Morris to Alberto Giacometti, Charlotte Perriand, Jean Prouvé and Joaquim Tenreiro.
ATTRIBUTED TO DOMÉNIKOS THEOTOKÓPOULOS, CALLED EL GRECO (CRETE 1541-1614 TOLEDO) Portrait of a man, bust-length Courtesy Christie’s Images Ltd., 2026. UPDATE: THIS SOLD FOR $635,000
This portrait of a man attributed to El Greco is at Christie’s Old Masters and 19th century paintings in New York on June 2. The estimate is $300,000-500,000. The live auction spans half a millennium of western art including a selection of 15 trompe l’oeil works dating from the 15th to the 17th centuries. There are early Renaissance Northern works, Baroque Italian pictures, decorative arts and a selection of 19th century paintings in the sale.
SIR THOMAS LAWRENCE P.R.A. (1769–1830) – Portrait of Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, K.G., K.B., M.P. (1769-1852)
Sir Thomas Lawrence painted this celebrated portrait of the Duke of Wellington, Britain’s greatest military hero, following his defeat of Napoleon at the Battle of Waterloo in 1815. Considered by Wellington himself to be ‘one of the best if not the best’ that Lawrence ever painted it will highlight Christie’s Old Masters evening sale on June 30 during Classic Week in London. The estimate is £8-£12 million. Begun in 1820, the year that Lawrence was elected President of the Royal Academy where the picture was later exhibited to great acclaim in 1822, the artist succeeded in penetrating Wellington’s aura of heroism and masterfully capturing the essence of the man. It was this portrait – of the eight that Lawrence executed of Wellington – that the sitter chose to gift to his friends and admirers in the form of a mezzotint by Samuel Cousins, thus establishing it as one of the best-known images of him.
Jackson Pollock (1912-1956) – Number 7A 1948 sold for $$181,185,000
Jackson Pollock, Constantin Brancusi and Mark Rothko propelled Christie’s to a record shattering sale in New York last night. Masterpieces: The Private Collection of S I Newhouse, co owner of Condé Nast, and the 20th Century evening sale totalled $1,121,126,500. The Newhouse collection made $631 million and sold 100% both by lot and value. The 20th Century sale made $490.3 million. After almost seven minutes of bidding, Pollock’s Number 7A, 1948 realised $181,185,000, nearly tripling the artist’s previous record. Brancusi’s Danaïde (circa 1913) inspired lively bidding before selling for $107,585,000. At the 20th Century evening sale Rothko’s No. 15 (Two Greens and Red Stripe) made $98,385,000 setting a new record for the artist.
With bidders from around the world the evening set eight new records, including artist records at auction for Constantin Brancusi, Joan Miró, Alice Neel, Jackson Pollock and Mark Rothko. Records in medium were set for Henri Matisse, Aleksandr Rodchenko and Remedios Varo.
Together with three prior sales from Mr. Newhouse’s collection sold at Christie’s in 2018, 2019 and 2023, the Newhouse Collection reached a cumulative total of $1.05 billion, becoming the second highest in history after the collection of Paul Allen in 2022 — the only other collection to exceed $1 billion, also at Christie’s.
Roy Lichtenstein – Anxious Girl 1964 sold for $46,060,000
(See post on antiquesandartireland.com for May 2, 2026)
Jackson Pollock (1912-1956) – Number 7A, 1948 at Christie’s UPDATE: THIS SOLD FOR $181,185,000
So far in 2026 the rebound in the art market which began in the second half of last year has continued. In a world full of new uncertainties the big New York art sales this month look set to continue the trend. In a market where the premium is on rarity and quality there are some amazing offerings.
In the late 1940’s Jackson Pollock pioneered a revolutionary painting style that was utterly baffling to most people. Nowadays the art of ‘Jack the Dripper’ is unbuyable unless you happen to be one of the growing global band of billionaires – whose numbers now approach 4,000 from a figure of just 140 in 1987. The largest example of Jackson Pollock’s monumental drip paintings left in private hands, Number 7A, 1948 – from the collection of legendary Condé Nast co-owner S I Newhouse – is at Christie’s on May 18.
The first and only large scale drip painting ever to appear at auction was last seen at an exhibition at the Whitney Museum in 1977.
Constantin Brancusi (1867-1957) – Danaïde, 1913 at Christie’s. UPDATE: THIS SOLD FOR $107,585,000
Another great rarity from the S I Newhouse collection is Danaïde, conceived and cast in 1913 by Constantin Brancusi. Of the six bronzes cast of this model four are held in institutional collections, the Pompidou in Paris, the Philadelphia Museum of Art, Tate London and Kunst Museum, Winterthur. This sculpture is the only gilded example left in private hands.
Both works are estimated at around $100 million. The Newhouse collection, which includes masterworks by Bacon, Johns, Matisse, Miro, Mondrian, Picasso, Rauschenburg and Warhol, is poised to become only the second collection ever to surpass the $1 billion mark established in 2022 with the sale the collection of Microsoft founder Paul G Allen.
At Sotheby’s on May 14 the collection of financier Robert Mnuchin featuring Franz Kline, Willem de Kooning and Mark Rothko is expected to make around $130 million. Sotheby’s Modern evening auction on May 19 is headed by Arlequin (Buste) painted by Picasso in 1909 and estimated in the region of $40 million. There are just ten works at this sale, which offers art by Georgia O’Keeffe, Wassily Kandinsky, Degas, Monet and Matisse.
Elizabeth Peyton (b1965) – Earl’s Court (Liam + Noel) at Sotheby’s. UPDATE: THIS MADE $1.9 MILLION
With masterworks from the last 80 years the Now and Contemporary evening auction at Sotheby’s in New York on May 14 is led by Basquiat’s Museum Security (Broadway Meltdown) (1983). There is art by by Rothko, Fontana and Calder from the collection of Jean and Terry de Gunzburg. Earl’s Court (Liam + Noel) December 1995 and dated 1996 by Elizabeth Peyton captures Oasis frontman Liam Gallagher kissing his brother Noel on the cheek. By appropriating a photograph from two concerts at Earl’s Court in London in November 1995 at the height of their fame she contrasts their strained relationship, unprecedented success with their care and appreciation as siblings, their glories with their faults. The estimate is $1.5 million – $2 million.
Later last year it became apparent that major collectors are becoming more picky. The upcoming New York sales offer lots of rich pickings for the super rich.
Mark Rothko No. 1 (1949) at Sotheby’s. UPDATE: THIS SOLD FOR $20.8 million
This set of five Irish George III leather fire buckets made £82,550 over an estimate of £2,000-£3,000 at Christie’s Collections London sale. Dating from the third quarter of the 18th century they from Ardbraccan House in Co. Meath. Within a sale which brought in £3.2 million the lots from Ardbraccan realised £1.2 million, selling 148% above the low estimate. Among them was a painting by Richard Wilson of Phaeton’s Petition to Apollo which made £82,550 over a top estimate of £30,000 and a mid 18th century Irish side table which made £76,200 over a top estimate of £60,000.
(See post on antiquesandartireland.com for March 22, 2026)
RICHARD WILSON, R.A. (PENEGOES 1713/14-1782 COLOMENDY) – Phaeton’s petition to Apollo
This 1600 Mughal painting of the Virgin Mary standing in Prayer is rare and almost identical to an example at the Chester Beatty Library in Dublin. It comes up at Christie’s sale of the Mary and Cheney Cowles collection of Indian paintings and calligraphy in London on April 28. The estimate is £30,000-50,000 (€34,780-€57,970). Christie’s the Mughal incorporations of European motifs and techniques can be seen as expressions of their cultural cosmopolitanism and universal order. Construction of the Taj Mahal started in 1632. The Seattle based couple hold one of the most distinguished private assemblages of East Asian painting and calligraphy in the western world. Their collection tells stories of emperors, poetry, love, faith and daily life across India and the Islamic world. Estimates for this portion of it, comprising 86 lots, range from works offered without reserve to £180,000 (€208,700).
Meet the most expensive guitar ever sold. David Gilmour’s 1969 Fender Stratocaster – nicknamed the “Black Strat” – was played on all six of Pink Floyd’s albums between 1970 and 1983. Among them were The Dark Side of the Moon, Wish You Were Here and The Wall. It made $14.6 million (€12.73 million) at Christie’s auction of the Jim Irsay Collection in New York where 44 lots made 373% times the low estimate. The auction brought in $84 million (€73.25 million). A piano owned by John Lennon made $3.2 million (€2.79 million). The previous record for a guitar was Kurt Cobain’s 1959 Martin D-18E played during Nivana’s legendary MTV unplugged performance in 1993 which sold for $6 million (€5.23 million) in 2020.
An interior view at Ardbraccan, Co. Meath. Courtesy Christie’s Images Ltd., 2026. UPDATE: LOTS FROM ARDBRACCAN IN THE SALE REALISED £1.2 MILLION
Heartening to see an Irish house making waves on the international decorative arts and interiors markets. A carefully curated selection of beautiful English and Irish decorative arts from Ardbraccan House, a Palladian mansion in Co. Meath, will feature at Christie’s Collections London sale online from April 1-15. It has been home for over a decade to celebrated interior designer Serena Williams-Ellis and her partner Charles Noell.
An Irish George II side table from the mid 18th century is estimated at £40,000-£60,000 (€46,170-€69,250). A set of five mid 18th century leather fire buckets from the collection of the Dukes of Leinster at Carton House (£2,000-£3,000)(€2,308-€3,462), a portrait of Sophia Southwell, nee Campbell later Lady de Clifford by Sir Joshua Reynolds (£30,000-£50,000)(€34,630-€57,710) and a group of sporting pictures led by horse paintings by John E Ferneley Senior all feature.
Serena Williams-Ellis, who likes a house to smile, said: “The collection at Ardbraccan was organic in its formation over the years. I wished to get the balance of being grand enough for the house but in no way was it to feel austere, the all important thing was to feel as if it had always been there and was comfortable as it sat within the house. I wanted all things in our collection to have the charm factor – something of beauty or to make you smile. Ardbraccan under our tenure became a Stud Farm”.
Mid 18th century Irish George II side table from Ardbraccan Courtesy Christie’s Images Ltd., 2026. UPDATE: THIS MADE £76,200
David Hockney, Autour de la maison, été (2019). Courtesy Christie’s Images Ltd., 2026. UPDATE: THIS WAS UNSOLD
David Hockney’s monumental Autour de la maison, été (2019) measuringan astonishing 12 metres in length will headline Christie’s Contemporary Edition London sale from March 17-31. The estimate is £200,000-300,000. Printed on a single sheet of paper, it is one of the largest works ever created by the artist, and his largest editioned print. It depicts Hockney’s home in Normandy, France, with his garden in the height of summer, the vibrant greens of the grass, trees and hedgerows in contrast with the architecture of the medieval barns and contemporary elements such as a swing set, treehouse and parked vehicles.
