Kobel's
Art Weekly

Kobel's Art Weekly 48 2025

There hasn't been such good news from the auction market for quite some time. Art worth around two billion dollars changed hands at last week's autumn auctions in New York. Elisa Carollo reports on Sotheby's for the Observer, Zachary Small and Julia Halperin for the New York Times (paywall may apply) and Sarah Douglas for Artnews. Harrison Jacobs and Brian Boucher write about the week at Christie's in Artnews, Eileen Kinsella in Artnet (paywall may apply) and Elisa Carollo in the Observer. In his summary of the results for Artnews, however, George Nelson warns against euphoria: "One person who wasn't getting too carried away, though, was Fine Art Group founder Philip Hoffman, who told ARTnews, 'While there's certainly more interest, I wouldn't say that the market is rushing back. There's still a distinct lack of buying activity at the young contemporary galleries. The lower to mid-market remains a tough place to be.‘

Consultant Megan Fox Kelly puts the results into perspective in an interview with the Observer: ’I would describe the tone as confident but selective. The strength we saw wasn't a sudden “rebound”—it was the market responding to truly exceptional material. If there's one signal that matters, it's that demand for great works never disappeared. The narrative of a weakening market over the past six months came from a lack of supply, not a lack of buyers. When collections of this calibre appear—works with impeccable provenance and real art-historical weight—the bidding tells a very different story than the headlines. We also have to acknowledge something else: these results were driven by estates and long-held collections, not by collectors choosing to sell because the timing felt perfect. Had the Lauder or Ross Weis material surfaced in May, we’d be having a very different conversation about the spring season—and far fewer “market in decline” stories.

However, the two collections from Gund and Lauder that are fuelling the market this season could also be the last beacon of a dying breed of collectors and patrons, fears Robin Pogrebin in the New York Times: " Where are the most important arts patrons — the ones we could count on to support so many things?” said Michael M. Kaiser, chairman of the DeVos Institute of Arts and Nonprofit Management at the University of Maryland, who used to head the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington. “We’re now in this time where we’re losing so many of these around the country.” Donors in the league of a Gund or a Lauder are themselves often well past 70, without a clear crop of new blood in their wake."

The first Superman comic book from 1939 set a new record at Heritage Auctions with a sale price of $9.12 million including buyer's premium, reports George Gene Gustines in the New York Times.

Abu Dhabi visited Monopol editor-in-chief Elke Buhr for the art fair there and the parallel Manar light art show: "And Abu Dhabi Art is growing with it. Just a few years ago, it was a small, rather local salon fair. This time, 142 galleries are participating, a whopping 40 per cent more than last year. It is the last edition before Frieze joins in 2026 and takes the fair to a new level. The boom may seem sudden, but it has been planned for a long time, explains fair director Dyala Nusseibeh over a quick coffee in the fair restaurant. “Over two decades, a lot of work has gone into the museums and cultural ecosystems.”" Ingo Arend attempts to explain the state-fuelled art market boom in the Persian Gulf for Monopol (paywall): "The new fairs that are now emerging are, of course, not just luxury toys for the Arab bourgeoisie. They are part of a geopolitical shift of historic proportions. The Gulf states have become the centre of a powerful transformation. They attract global capital like a magnet. In 2025, an estimated 142,000 millionaires will move across borders, according to experts at Henley & Partners, an agency that manages the residences and citizenships of international investors. Of these millionaires, the largest share – 9,800 net – will move to the UAE, bringing with them around 63 billion US dollars in investable assets. The United Kingdom, on the other hand, is expected to lose 16,500 millionaires, according to the forecast.

Monopol reports from Luxembourg: "The name is Luxembourg Art Week, but behind it is a fair – one that has become the leading art market event in the region over the past ten years. [...] As every year, the fair is flanked by the Art Walk, which transforms Luxembourg into an extensive parcours of sculptures and temporary shop window projects. The route connects the city centre and the railway station, passes institutions and opens up numerous locations for artistic interventions. Talks also set the tone: from generative AI and questions of authorship to new financing models and a Montréal panel that provides insights into the dynamics of the Canadian art scene. The result is a fair weekend that remains compact but has an international feel.‘ For the Luxembourg Times, Lydia Linna reports: ’But buying art doesn't necessarily have to be a big investment. Among the hundreds of works on display this weekend, there are many opportunities for art lovers with small and large budgets. “Don't hesitate to ask questions,” advises Mélanie de Jamblinne, director of Art Week, to first-time buyers. “Being curious is the first step.”" Saarländischer Rundfunk was on site with a camera crew.

Shortly before the fair in Luxembourg, Deloitte published its 500-page new Art & Finance Report (PDF download): "Asset managers need to be aware that collectors' expectations of art as an investment are currently changing, especially among NextGen collectors. This group increasingly prioritises values such as identity, legacy and cultural impact when investing in art. In contrast, financial returns are less important for 72 per cent of this generation, and only 52 per cent cite returns as a primary motive (2023: 83%). At the same time, the proportion of collectors who pursue exclusively cultural and emotional motives is rising to new highs. Asset managers should therefore invest more in holistic strategies that, among other things, meet the need for cultural impact investment."

The Hamburg Salon of the Present is a privately organised project that presents an annual selection of current production at German art academies. Frank Kurzhals presents the current 15th edition in the Handelsblatt: "Every year, the couple writes to around 60 professors at art academies who specialise in painting. Around 40 respond regularly and comply with the request to name their three or four most talented students. Christian Holle then visits them on a tour of Germany in their studios and decides who will be included in the exhibition and with which works. His criterion is diversity, and that is exactly what the Salon der Gegenwart reflects."

Monopol has named the 100 most important people in the art world (paywall). First place goes to Gerhard Richter, second place to the Gulf States, and third place to Kara Walker. The ten most expensive paintings at auction are included free of charge.

The New York gallery Sperone Westwater is closing at the end of the year. Reported as a rumour by Katya Kazakina last Friday on Artnet (possibly paywall), Alex Greenberger has now confirmed the news on Artnews. This makes the gallery, which ranks just below the Mega label, the most high-profile victim of the gallery closures that have been rampant for some time.