#20th-century-art

#20th-century-art

The terms are often conflated to portray an air of desirability and a limited opportunity. Rarity generally refers to the unusualness of an object—something that is infrequently encountered or 'rare to market.' With modern works from the past century, rarity can stem from limited original production, or the fact that many examples are held in museum or institutional collections, reducing their availability in the marketplace.

Last night (17 November), Christie's kicked off New York's marquee November auctions with its 20th-century evening sale, plus top-notch offerings from a virtually unknown single-owner American collection. The auction house racked up $574.7m from both sales, which rises to $690m with fees. The result well surpassed last November's $485.9m total (with fees), indicating that the market is regaining confidence. It also lands squarely within its pre-sale estimate of $358m to $533m (all estimates calculated without fees).

"We are deeply grateful to Arthur and Marny Solomon for their careful stewardship of these artworks over many years, and for their generous impulse to share them with the Harvard Art Museums..."