Press | Phillips

PHILLIPS’ NEW NOW: MODERN & CONTEMPORARY ART SALE ACHIEVES £3.3 MILLION, LED BY CAI GUO-QIANG

London, 10 April 2025

Sale Total: £3,300,857 / $4,246,553 / €3,849,459

Lots Sold: 126 | Lots Offered: 160

Sold by Lot: 79% | Sold by Value: 85%

Louise Simpson, Associate Specialist, Head of New Now, London, said “We are delighted with the results of today’s New Now: Modern & Contemporary Art auction, which achieved a total of £3.3 million. In true New Now fashion, the top ten lots reflected a dynamic mix of blue-chip names and cutting-edge talent, led by Cai Guo-Qiang’s Poppy Series: Animals No. 2, which soared to more than eleven times its presale estimate, and Tony Cragg’s Runner. This season marked the debut of ULTIMATE within the New Now sale, and we are thrilled with its success, achieving a strong 92% sell-through rate. We were especially pleased to set a new record for Sangbin IM, whose Central Park 2 achieved £27,940—more than double its presale estimate. With collectors from over 50 countries bidding online, by phone, and in the room, the sale reaffirmed the global reach and continued momentum of the middle market. We look forward to our next Modern & Contemporary Art sales, which will take place in New York on 13 and 14 May.”

Top Ten Lots

Lot	Description	Estimate	Price Achieved
31	Cai Guo-Qiang, Poppy Series: Animals No. 2, 2016	£50,000 - 70,000	£571,500 $735,235/€666,483
10	Tony Cragg, Runner, 2009	£180,000 - 250,000	£190,500 $245,078/€222,161
21	Sherrie Levine, Horned Steer Skull, 2002	£90,000 - 150,000	£114,300 $147,047/€133,297
12	Gerhard Richter, Park, 1990	£70,000 - 100,000	£107,950 $138,878/€125,891
16	Christopher Wool, Untitled, 1989	£60,000 - 80,000	£107,950 $138,878/€125,891
3	Jennifer Guidi, Light on the Mountain (Painted Green Sand #7A, Light Pink-Pink-Orange-Yellow Sky, Dark Purple-Blue Mountain, Green Ground), 2020	£20,000 - 30,000	£82,550 $106,201/€96,270
70	Peter Beard, Waterbuck Family on the Uaso Nyiro/ for The End of the Game/ Last Word from Paradise, Photographed in 1968 and executed no later than 1997	£30,000 - 50,000	£81,280 $104,567/ €94,789
9	Miriam Cahn, ergeben, 1996	£50,000 - 70,000	£69,850 $89,862/€81,459
15	Andy Warhol, Shadow, 1979	£60,000 - 80,000	£63,500 $81,693/€74,054
17	Jenny Holzer, Under a Rock, 1986	£40,000 - 60,000	£60,960 $78,425/€71,092

New Auction Records

Lot

Description

Estimate

Price Achieved

Sangbin IM, Central Park 2, 2007

£12,000 - 18,000

£27,940

$35,945/€32,584

*previous record price: 15,240 GBP set in 2024

*Lots 11, 52, and 112 were sold after the lots closed, whilst the sale was ongoing, and are therefore included in the total sale result.

Exchange Rate on 10 April 2025: GBP£1 = US$1.2865, €1.1662, HK$9.9876