Sotheby’s kicked off a triumphant press conference this morning (Jan. 23) by announcing $6 billion in consolidated global sales for 2024—the highest in the industry—and an impressive 85 percent sell-through rate across all categories. In his fifth year as CEO, Charles Stewart opened the call with a candid acknowledgment of the market’s volatility but made it clear that Sotheby’s had not just weathered the storm but delivered one of its strongest years to date. “Against a market characterized by uncertainty, we delivered a solid $6 billion in sales in 2024 and invested in ways that hold real promise for the year ahead.”
Still, Stewart noted that global uncertainty and an adverse market environment resulted in a degree of stasis across the industry, making it difficult to secure high-quality consignments. “Many discretionary sellers stayed on the sidelines,” he explained. “That, coupled with the relative lack of large estates, resulted in the supply shortage at the very high end of the secondary fine art and luxury markets.” This set the stage for the admission that Sotheby’s total sales were down 23 percent from 2023’s record-breaking $7.8 billion.
But he was quick to point out that if supply took a hit, demand did anything but slow down. He emphasized that buyer appetite remained strong across categories. Sotheby’s fast-growing luxury segment saw a notable boost, surpassing $2 billion in sales to account for 37 percent of the company’s total. Demand was robust at all price points, with more bidders per lot than in 2023. At the $10 million and $15 million levels, twice as many lots sold above their high estimates compared to the previous year. Even in the $1-5 million range, the market remained highly active, bolstered by a wave of younger buyers—especially in Asia and the Middle East—where under-40 collectors have become an increasingly dominant force in both fine art and luxury sales.
“Outperformance in this price band has historically been an indicator of a healthy market,” noted Lisa Dennison, chairman of Sotheby’s Americas. Oliver Barker, chairman of Sotheby’s Europe and a familiar face at the podium at the auction house’s biggest sales, echoed the sentiment. “Even though our volumes have dipped, I feel that the intensity of bidding has grown, and naturally, that’s translated into a renewed vibrancy in the saleroom itself and an energy returning,” he said. He also took a moment to recall one of 2024’s most surreal bidding wars—the sale of Maurizio Cattelan’s Comedian for a jaw-dropping $6.2 million—admitting he never imagined he’d be hammering down that kind of piece for that kind of sum.
No Sotheby’s year-in-review would be complete without mention of the auction house’s biggest financial move: securing a $1 billion investment from the Abu Dhabi Sovereign Fund. Stewart hailed the deal as a “new chapter” for Sotheby’s, strengthening the company’s balance sheet while deepening its ties to the Middle East, a region he emphasized as a key growth market—especially with such a heavyweight equity partner in the mix.
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Stewart then took a moment to highlight the booming success of Sotheby’s financial services division, which had a record-breaking year with $1.3 billion in loans. Interestingly, Josh Pullan, global head of Sotheby’s Luxury Division, noted that one of the fastest-growing and most profitable segments is loans against cars—a niche but lucrative corner of the market. The auction house also completed last year’s landmark $700 million capital marketd securitization financing, further fueling the expansion of this increasingly vital part of the business. Stewart emphasized that Sotheby’s remains one of the few non-financial institutions capable of offering loans at this scale, and they are “continuing to see good growth there.”
Perhaps unexpectedly, Stewart also expressed enthusiasm for Sotheby’s media ventures, particularly following the relaunch of their magazine this year. “It is very much a chic and on-brand offering, and it has been immediately a profitable business for us,” he said. “Together with our sponsorship business, some of these media shows great promise for us, and we’re investing there.”
The final remarks of the conference came from Sotheby’s CFO David Kownator, who underscored the auction house’s robust financial standing, particularly after the $1 billion capital injection he described as “the largest financial transaction in the art world of the past years.” Kownator detailed Sotheby’s strategic expansion, including acquisitions like Sotheby’s Concierge Auctions and RM Sotheby’s, both of which had record-setting years. The firm has also been aggressively investing in real estate for its premier locations worldwide, with major expansions in Hong Kong and Paris and the completed acquisition of the Breuer Building in New York.
Noticeably absent from the press conference, however, was any mention of the sizable layoffs Sotheby’s executed in December. Instead, he spoke glowingly about the company’s recent retreat from its revised fee structure, set to take effect in mid-February. Initially introduced with “very positive ambitions” to encourage new and existing buyers by lowering fees and increasing “transparency,” the plan was well received by buyers but, as Stewart admitted, proved a tougher sell to the sellers. At the conclusion of the speeches, the auction house fielded only one question—from a reporter inquiring about preservation concerns surrounding the upcoming relocation of Sotheby’s New York headquarters into the former Met Breuer. Stewart had just begun his response when the meeting was abruptly cut off.
Below, we’ve summarized some of the key points from the call.
Single-owner sales, notable estates and provenance continue to drive auction activity
Both Stewart and Barker underscored the critical role of prestigious estates in driving Sotheby’s success, with the white-glove sale of the Sydell Miller Collection alone raking in a staggering $237.2 million. The crown jewel of the auction house’s year was Nymphéas by Claude Monet, which went to an Asian collector for $65.5 million, making it Sotheby’s top lot of 2024. Barker, in his remarks, emphasized that single-owner sales remain a strategic priority, noting a compelling shift in collector behavior—more sellers are choosing to consign during their lifetimes, opting to shape their own legacies rather than leave the process to their heirs. “We see a growing number of collectors working with us to define how their collections will be remembered, ensuring their vision remains intact,” he observed.
Beyond legacy concerns, single-owner sales also serve as a magnet for new buyers, particularly those drawn to blue-chip masterpieces resurfacing on the market after decades, often with storied provenance. “When we offer the rarest and best-in-class objects with exceptional provenance, we see record prices as competitive bidding intensifies,” said Dennison, pointing to the early David Hockney that Sotheby’s sold in London for $17 million as a prime example of the phenomenon.
Private sales remain solid
Private sales continued to be a powerhouse for Sotheby’s in 2024, pulling in $1.4 billion—up 17 percent from the previous year and marking the second-highest total in company history. “It’s a reminder that in times of market uncertainty, clients often favor the discretion, price control, and flexible timing that private transactions offer,” said Dennison. A full 20 percent of private-sale value came from works priced over $20 million, with demand heavily concentrated around blue-chip stalwarts like Jean-Michel Basquiat, Giacometti, Monet, Picasso and Warhol, the top five-selling artists by value this year. In terms of volume, however, Picasso, Warhol, Basquiat, François-Xavier Lalanne and Damien Hirst led the pack with the highest number of private transactions.
Luxury also proved to be a major growth area, with private sales in the category skyrocketing 350 percent compared to the previous year. Dennison emphasized the strategic role of curated exhibitions in fueling these sales, citing “London to Paris”—a two-part, cross-channel presentation of blue-chip modern and contemporary art—as Sotheby’s most valuable exhibition-driven private sale of the year. She also highlighted the auction house’s philanthropic efforts, noting that Sotheby’s generated $100 million for museums and charitable organizations through benefit auctions and donations.
Museums are buying and selling more at auction
Museum sales and acquisitions were a major driver for Sotheby’s in 2024, with the number of transacting institutions doubling from 25 to 50 and museum consignors increasing by 25 percent. This surge resulted in a record-breaking $100 million in total museum-related sales—nearly double the previous year’s figure. Among the institutions actively buying and selling across categories, Dennison highlighted heavyweight names such as the Louvre, the Musée d’Orsay, the National Portrait Gallery in London, the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the National Gallery of Victoria.
One of the most headline-grabbing purchases of 2024 was Les Distractions de Dagobert (1945), Leonora Carrington’s masterpiece that sold for $28.5 million to Argentinian collector Eduardo F. Costantini for the Museo de Arte Latinoamericano de Buenos Aires. The sale not only set a new auction record for Carrington but also marked the highest price achieved last year for a woman artist, further underscoring the surging market for Latin American art—a category Sotheby’s has now fully integrated into its Modern and Contemporary sales. The result also reflected the ever-increasing demand for women surrealists, whose market continues to strengthen year after year.
The growing importance of Sotheby’s luxury business
The auction house’s growing luxury business is written all over its latest real estate moves, with the newly designed Hong Kong and Paris headquarters doubling as sleek, immersive retail experiences. Branded “Another World,” these spaces aren’t just about displaying art and collectibles—they’re offering a high-touch, multi-dimensional buying experience where luxury and fine art converge. Representing 37 percent of the auction house’s consolidated sales, the $2 billion luxury segment was “a growth engine” in 2024, as Pullan described it, and the primary gateway for attracting new and younger buyers.
Under this umbrella, Sotheby’s has aggressively expanded its luxury categories, now spanning everything from watches and jewelry to sports jerseys, classic cars and even dinosaurs—like the $44.6 million fossil stegosaurus Apex that racked up an astonishing 13 million views across Instagram, YouTube and TikTok, making it the most-watched Sotheby’s video in history. Some of these newer categories—fashion, sports, natural history and pop culture—delivered a 40 percent surge in consolidated sales compared to the prior year. Younger buyers are fueling the charge, with their purchasing power up 65 percent, according to Sotheby’s internal data.
But, as Pullan emphasized, the strategy isn’t just about boosting sales, adding categories, or onboarding new clients. “Value creation is not just about more sales, categories, and clients. It’s really about the interplay between art and luxury, serving all aspects of collectors’ desires,” he explained. And that, it seems, is what Sotheby’s is betting on with its new flagship selling venues—spaces designed to cultivate crossover collectors, nudging luxury buyers into fine art acquisitions and vice versa.
The auction house is investing in new boutique-style venues and new markets
While America remains Sotheby’s powerhouse—accounting for 60 percent of the total global business—the auction house is doubling down on fast-growing markets in Asia and the Middle East. Despite ongoing discussions about a slowdown in the Chinese and South Korean markets, Oliver Barker emphasized that “Asia is still the most active region in terms of bidding, both for volume and highest prices.”
Sotheby’s has seen a surge in Millennial and Gen Z buyers across all categories, but nowhere is this more pronounced than in Hong Kong, where about 32 percent of auction bidders are under 40. This signals not just a strong present but a future-proofed market, and Sotheby’s is fully committed—evident in its new luxury headquarters in Central that opened last year. The expansion into both Hong Kong and Paris has broadened Sotheby’s audience significantly, doubling foot traffic to over 664,000 visitors at its key selling locations while also driving a major spike in digital engagement.
Meanwhile, the auction house is aggressively positioning itself in the Middle East, a region already delivering record numbers of luxury buyers. Now, Sotheby’s is taking an even bigger step, testing the Saudi market for the first time on February 8 with Origin, a cross-category sale to be held in Diriyah, the UNESCO-protected historical city just outside Riyadh.
Positive outlooks for 2025
Looking ahead to 2025, Stewart expressed strong optimism, citing a renewed sense of confidence among collectors. To drive client acquisition and engagement, Sotheby’s is set to ramp up investments in both physical and digital platforms. The new flagship galleries are designed to deliver a multi-category luxury experience, while digital innovations will focus on leveraging data and enhancing the accessibility and efficiency of the auction process. With 86 percent of bidding now taking place online, technology remains a major priority—especially when it comes to engaging younger audiences. In line with this, Sotheby’s is preparing to expand its acceptance of cryptocurrency across a broader range of sales and categories. The auction house is also gearing up for a blockbuster year of single-owner sales, with $800 million already in the pipeline for the first quarter of 2025. According to Stewart, this should be one of the most active and profitable opening quarters Sotheby’s has seen in years.
