Art & Design|In a Billionaire’s Playground, Six Artworks Could Predict the Market

There was a moment earlier this year when it seemed like the art market had lost its footing after three years of declining sales and increasing overhead costs, worries over President Trump’s trade policies and global conflicts like the Israel-Hamas war.

Galleries were closing, merging or exploring alternative business models, cutting employees and artists. At least 14 galleries have closed, with another five luxury dealers shuttering one of their branches.

The auction houses were not immune. Sotheby’s carried substantial debts and went to ADQ, Abu Dhabi’s sovereign wealth fund, for an injection of nearly $1 billion last fall. Christie’s recently folded its stand-alone digital art department — created shortly after the house’s 2021 sale of a $69.3 million Beeple NFT — into its 21st-century art division, as the metaverse’s momentum vanished.

But from the ashes, some smelled opportunity. Smaller galleries are opening in New York, Los Angeles and London. The auction houses have also played aggressively this season to win major consignments, which include a gold toilet (bidding starts at $10 million), a rare painting by Frida Kahlo (high estimate: $60 million) and artwork from the estates of the cosmetics heir Leonard Lauder, the hotel magnate Jay Pritzker and the philanthropist Cindy Pritzker, along with the collectors Robert F. and Patricia G. Ross Weis.

“When several big collectors pass, it is traditional that the lawyers call up their adviser and auction house,” said Caroline Sayan, chief executive of the art advisory Cadell North America. “And it goes immediately into the pipeline.”