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PRESS RELEASE
PHILLIPS’ MARQUEE MODERN & CONTEMPORARY ART AUCTIONS, FEATURING OUT OF THIS WORLD, ACHIEVE $92.1 MILLION
Day Sale Sets Auction Records for Mary Abbott, Lita Albuquerque, Calida Rawles, and Ana Segovia, with Auction Debuts for Reginald Madison and Alexis Ralaivao
New York, 19-21 November 2025 Day Sale Total: $22,101,067 / £16,878,565 / €19,192,672 Out of This World Total: $2,730,672 / £2,090,845 / €2,366,412 Evening Sale Total: $67,307,850 / £51,436,659 / €58,308,790 Combined Total for the Week: $92,139,589 / £70,406,069 / €79,867,874
Day Sale of Modern & Contemporary Art and Out of This World
Miety Heiden, Phillips’ Chairman, Private Sales, said, “Collectors today are seeking works that ignite curiosity and blur traditional boundaries. They’re creating conversations with intention within their collections and exploring connections across genres and eras. The $5.4 million sale of Cera, alongside the enthusiasm for the dedicated Out of This World auction, underscores this shift. It reflects how strongly collectors embraced the innovative cross-category approach of Wednesday’s Evening Sale and signaling a broader appetite for fresh perspectives in the market.”
Annie Dolan and Patrizia Koenig, Co-Heads of the New York Day Sale of Modern & Contemporary Art, jointly said, “This season’s Day Sale of Modern & Contemporary Art closed with noteworthy results, contributing to the overall success of our marquee auctions this week. The Morning Session began with Mary Abbott’s Forest of Dak, which achieved nearly three times its low estimate, setting a new auction record for the artist and the tone for the day. Auguste Rodin’s Les bourgeois de Calais, deuxième maquette, one of the earliest works in the sale, was the top lot of the session, and it was great to see such spirited bidding for Josef Albers’ Study for Homage to the Square: Ripening. The Afternoon Session was defined by two works by Sigmar Polke, complemented by a new benchmark for Alex Da Corte. We were also proud to present a wonderful selection of important auction debuts, including that of Alexis Ralaivao. It was wonderful to see such a great deal of international participation with phones and online, leading to such depth of bidding, with Edmund de Waal’s The rest of the way to Egypt selling for more than six times its estimate and works by Simone Leigh and Salvo each nearly tripling their estimates. These results were undoubtedly enriched by the dialogues created in our galleries, where natural history objects from the Out of This World sale were presented alongside Modern and Contemporary art, sparking fresh perspectives and inspiring conversations throughout the week."
Christian D. Link said, “I am delighted to have played a role in this important moment for the increasingly intertwined markets for natural history and contemporary art. The sales this week represent a defining moment for the industry and for me personally. My passion is bringing extraordinary objects — from fossils to meteorites — to collectors eager to explore new frontiers. These results show a growing appetite for discovery, and I’m proud to work with Phillips in helping guide connoisseurs of this material while also introducing it to new audiences.”
Top Ten Lots from the Day Sale of Modern & Contemporary Art
New Auction Records
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Top Five Lots from Out of This World
*Lot 186 and 391 were sold after the lot closed, whilst the sale was ongoing, and is therefore included in the total sale result. Exchange Rate on 21 NOVEMBER 2025: US$1 = £0.7632, €0.8688, HK$7.784
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