Walk the auction: your guide to Christie’s 20th and 21st Century Art sales in NY this May 

Christie’s 20th and 21st Century Art auctions offer art that defines an era, from Impressionism through Modernism to the cutting edge of contemporary painting and sculpture. Twice per year, in May and November, the global sale series comes to New York, where visitors to Christie’s Rockefeller Center galleries can explore works by the artists who transformed art history — from the 20th century to today.

This spring’s 20th and 21st Century Art sales week in New York (12-15 May 2025) includes masterpieces by Claude Monet, Piet Mondrian, Mark Rothko, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Simone Leigh, Lisa Brice and more. The week will feature world-class selections from Leonard and Louise Riggio, Anne and Sid Bass, Tiqui Atencio and Ago Demirdjian and other renowned stewards of exceptional art and objects.

Here’s a snapshot of everything you need to know about Christie’s marquee week in New York:

How to visit

More than 500 works will be on view at Christie’s iconic Rockefeller Center galleries from 3 May through 15 May. The exhibition is free and open to the public from 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM daily (Sunday 4 May, we open at 1:00 PM). Stop by Christie’s Café for a coffee or tea while exploring works ranging from the revolutionary Impressionists to the cutting-edge artists of today. Browse all lots.

What’s on

From 12-15 May, Christie’s 20th and 21st Century Art sale week comprises six live auctions. The evening of 12 May begins with Leonard & Louise Riggio: Collected Works. Led by a rare 1922 Mondrian as well as René Magritte’s Les droits de l'homme and one of Pablo Picasso’s iconic portraits of Lee Miller, the collection of the entrepreneurial founder of Barnes & Noble and his wife presents an anthology of the artists who challenged some of our most established ideas about art, culture and society.

Directly after the Riggio sale on 12 May, the 20th Century Evening Sale showcases the vanguard artists who defined the most significant movements of the modern and post-war eras, headlined by one of the most exquisite paintings from Monet’s coveted Les Peupliers. The sale will open with a single-owner presentation, Art from the Bass House, featuring works from Anne and Sid Bass’s famous Fort Worth residence designed by Paul Rudolph, led by an influential Rothko from 1950-1951 and excellent examples from Frank Stella, Alexander Calder and more.

The morning of 13 May begins with the Impressionist and Modern Works on Paper sale. For more than 40 years, Christie’s dedicated Works on Paper Sale has celebrated this unique category as a platform for connoisseurs of a medium rich in experimentation and invention. Highlights include Magritte’s poetic Sans titre, as well as standout lots from Amedeo Modigliani, Salvador Dalí, Pablo Picasso and more.

On the afternoon of 13 May, the Impressionist and Modern Art Day Sale includes important paintings and sculptures by Claude Monet, Camille Pissarro, Auguste Rodin, Jean (Hans) Arp and Barbara Hepworth. While led by rarities with seven-figure estimates, the Day Sales offer big name artists at a range of price points, including must-have finds under $50,000.

On 14 May the 21st Century Evening Sale presents masterworks from the past 50 years, spotlighting the work of celebrated blue-chip artists, such as a 1982 masterpiece Jean-Michel Basquiat triple-portrait, alongside the emerging creators of today. The sale will open with For Art’s Sake: Selected Works by Tiqui Atencio & Ago Demirdjian, a grouping from one of the most respected collectors and authors in the contemporary art world, featuring major works from Ed Ruscha, Cecily Brown and Julie Mehretu. Also, don’t miss two monumental figurative works — at 10 feet and 9 feet tall respectively: a totemic sculpture by Simone Leigh and a provocative oil painting by Marlene Dumas.

The Post-War and Contemporary Art Day Sale concludes the week on 15 May with masterful works by some of the most impactful artists of the last century, such as Joan Mitchell, Helen Frankenthaler and Richard Prince. Many exceptional lots hail from prestigious private and public collections, including the Collection of Sir Anthony Caro and Love, Keith: Works from the Estate of Joan P. Haring, as well additional works from For Art’s Sake.

How to watch

Tune in from anywhere in the world for a high-definition experience at your fingertips on Christie’s YouTube, Facebook and Instagram, where the sales will be livestreamed from our salerooms at Rockefeller Center.

For real-time results and of-the-moment updates, tune into Christie’s LIVE on Christies.com.

To attend live sales in person, tickets are required — seats in the sale room are reserved for select registered bidders.

How to bid

Whether you want to attend a live auction or bid online from the comfort of your home, buying art at Christie’s has never been easier or more accessible. To bid in the auction or review auction results, visit Christie’s LIVE on Christies.com.

Learn more about how to create an account, find what you love, register and bid.

A season of masterpieces

The week’s offerings include masterpieces of Impressionist, Modern, post-war and contemporary art: Mondrian’s Composition with Large Red Plane, Bluish Grey, Yellow, Black and Blue (1922), Monet’s Peupliers au bord de l’Epte, crépuscule (1891), Basquiat’s Baby Boom (1982), Rothko’s No. 4 (Two Dominants) [Orange, Plum, Black] (1950-1951), Magritte’s Les droits de l'homme (1947-48) and Picasso’s Femme à la coiffe d’Arlesienne II (1937).

Read more top picks from Christie’s specialists.

Celebrate Latin American art

Admirers of Latin American art will find excellent examples throughout the week from modern masters such as Diego Rivera, Leonora Carrington and Hélio Oiticica, as well as contemporary leaders of category like Felix Gonzalez-Torres. Works by Carmen Herrera and Lygia Clark will be offered in the 20th Century Evening Sale as part of For Art’s Sake: Selected Works by Tiqui Atencio & Ago Demirdjian. Atencio was a passionate supporter of Latin American art, including works by practitioners from her native Venezuela, including Gego and Carlos Cruz-Diez.

3 surprises to look out for

Lisa Brice’s liberated women

You may have seen Midday Drinking Den, After Embah I and II (2017) at Tate Britain or The Hague’s KM21 — it appeared in Lisa Brice’s solo presentations at both institutions. With a bold palette and voluptuous forms, the monumental diptych depicts women at ease, dancing and drinking amongst themselves. The South African painter has been building a growing profile and breaking auction records with her astute reinterpretations of the female nude.

Read about more artists taking over the globe with major museum moments.

Remedios Varo’s only sculpture

The Surrealist painter and writer Remedios Varo only produced one sculpture in her lifetime: Homo Rodans (1959), a fantastical skeleton with a wheel-like tail, for which she composed a satirical pseudoscientific manuscript. The chicken, turkey, rabbit and fish bones that comprise the body are believed to be discards from one the many dinners she shared with Leonora Carrington, where the two would discuss their work and exchange ideas about the universe, mysticism and alternate realities.

Calder’s early jewelry

In the 1940s sporting a piece of Alexander Calder’s brass wire jewellery, whose wearers included Peggy Guggenheim and Georgia O’Keeffe, was the epitome of art world chic — and they could be had for $5-25. The Collection of Ellin and Bernhard Blumenthal, from close friends of the artist, includes two works of Calder’s highly coveted wearables: a pair of elegant earrings and a ring, now estimated at $40,000-60,000 and $30,000-50,000 respectively.

Check out Lot 1

In the auction world, Lot 1 — a sale’s opening lot — is one to watch. The first lot of Christie’s 21st Century Evening Sale aims to capture the current moment and where contemporary art is headed. Past sales have seen Anna Weyant, Jaune Quick-to-See Smith and others make their evening sale debut as Lot 1.

Elizabeth Peyton held her first exhibition in 1998 at the Chelsea Hotel. Visitors had to ask reception for a key to the room, where they found beguiling drawings of European historical figures. Since then the American artist has attracted worldwide attention on the market and in the art world’s hallowed institutions, including a major retrospective at London’s National Portrait Gallery in 2019. Watch for an important early painting, Jarvis and Liam Smoking, which will open the 21st Century Evening Sale on Wednesday night.