Phillips Day Sales in New York Disappoint, Auguring More Tumult at November’s Auctions

Last week, Phillips held two back-to-to back sales of contemporary art at its New York headquarters, generating $7 million in total sales with fees. These auctions may not be as closely watched as the November evening sales by Phillips and its competitors, but they provide a window onto trends that may be seen next month on the block.

Phillips specialists initially expected the more than 200 lots auction last week to bring in up to $9 million. But almost 50 lots went unsold, and total hammer prices ended up adding up to just over $5 million. This may not bode well for the November sales.

Many recent reports have suggested that sales at the market is slumping, with auction houses’ sales declining by more than 20 percent since 2023, according to one survey. The day sales, which often mirror what is taking place elsewhere in the market, could be further proof of the downturn feared by many.

Yet the Phillips day sales also brought some positive news, showing that lesser-known names could still stand out, even when some collectors have scaled back their buying.

At the top end, work by famous figures like Richard Prince and George Condo still sold well. Prince had two works in the sales, with Untitled (de Kooning) realizing $279,400, while Condo saw three works cross the auction block, with Stepmonk’s Diary selling for $279,400. Each work by Prince and Condo hammered above its low estimate.

Rising names with niche audiences also made strong showings. Among the most expensive lots was one by 30-year-old painter Daisy Parris, who was featured in a group show at Hauser & Wirth in April. Their painting I’d Rather Get No Sleep Next to You Than Sleep Alone brought in $254,000, a big number for an artist still early in their career, far surpassing the $30,000 high estimate. When it was shown in 2022 in the artist’s first New York gallery show, the large-scale text-laden triptych got a shout out in the New Yorker, earning Parris a comparison to Joan Mitchell.

Three of the ten artists who had the most bidding—Moira Dryer, Jörg Immendorff, and Ron Gorchov—are deceased. The others are Sara Anstis, Bernadette Despujols, Jordy Kerwick, Thilo Heinzmann, Chase Hall, and Violeta Maya, all of whom are still alive. All of the ten artists are painters.

Records were set for Parris, Dryer, and photographer Deana Lawson. Lawson was represented by Portal (2017), a photograph of a hole ripped into a leather couch that sold for $40,600.

Many works struggled to meet their high estimates. Carroll Dunham’s Down (Mound E) sold for $99,000, and Manolo Valdés’ Daphne I for $150,000. The works came to auction with low estimates of $100,000 and $200,000, respectively.

This was a wider trend across the New York sales last Wednesday, where, of the nearly 200 works that ended up selling, 105 lots hammered at prices below their low estimates.

While some major names like Prince continued to bring in expected prices, the once increasing prominence of younger artist seen in comparable sales from year before appears to be waning. Ambera Wellmann, a painter known for her tableaux featuring cascades of figures clustered together, recently joined Hauser & Wirth and is currently featured in the Gwangju Biennale. Despite these accolades, her 2016 painting Simper II, feature a lone bulbous figure, sold for below its hammer price at $27,900.