Patrick Drahi will remain auction house's majority shareholder in $1bn deal, as ADQ buys shares to "reduce leverage" and support "growth and innovation"

The unusual move halted a court-ordered auction of around 1,400 objects for the second time in four months

But consistent strength in its sell-through rate and Asia Pacific buyer base show the auction house's ‘resilience’ amid obstacles

Slim auctions at Christie's and Sotheby's saw a rediscovered Quentin Metsys and a modestly priced Botticelli come to the block

The work, to be auctioned at Sotheby’s today, was one of more than 2,500 held as collateral and sold, shortly before the Nazi invasion, by the Dutch bank Lisser & Rosenkranz

The Venetian master's exquisite early depiction of the Holy Family, once recovered in a bag at a bus-stop seven years after being stolen from Longleat House, is estimated to fetch £15m-£25m in London sale

Bright spots in the heavily guaranteed auction included a £15m Basquiat and competition for the collection of Ralph I. Goldenberg

Conservation has revealed the extensive changes Rubens made to a work originally by Herri Met de Bles

Yayoi Kusama's "Phantom Polka Dots of Fate, Ordained by Heaven, Were the Greatest Gift Ever for Me" to be sold by Sealed Auctions and on view in Sotheby’s New Bond Street Galleries. Success of Sealed Auctions has led to an expansion into fine art

The portraits painted by Bartholomäus Zeitblom carry an estimate of £400,000-£600,000

Works by the painter, owned by the controversial "playboy" socialite, were offered at Christie's New York this month

Recently unsealed court filings show 71 works by artists like Basquiat, Twombly and Giacometti were unloaded over a two-year period

The show by the aspiring artist is supported by the auction house and the charity Art of Wishes

The reassuring result was a marked increase from last year's equivalent auction—despite a cyberattack that has taken down the auction house's website

The results were led by Monet's 'Meules à Giverny' and Leonora Carrington's record-breaking 'Les Distractions de Dagobert'

Major results for Félix González-Torres and Jean-Michel Basquiat lifted the De la Cruz collection and 21st-century double-header

Strong sell-through rate and multiple artist records offset soft demand for top lots

Defying market dogma, marquee sales results show “reallocation” to youth

Prehistoric pottery, a ceremonial dance mask and a blue-chip rocking chair are among this year’s gems

Fluttering butterflies enliven the greenery, but also remind us of the transience of life

The price paid by a buyer from Hong Kong was at the lower end of the estimate range, but still an auction record for Austria

The four works, spanning nearly 40 years of the Abstract Expressionist’s career, will hit the auction block at Sotheby’s in May

The artist’s dazzling, Boschian composition “Les Distractions de Dagobert” is expected to fetch as much as $18m at Sotheby’s in New York next month

The vases, which were estimated to sell for as much as $71,000, were pulled from a sale in New York this week

Punctured work is being offered at Sotheby’s New York after 20 years—and could fetch a record for the Italian post-war artist

The monumental canvas is expected to reset the record price at auction for any work from the series

Plus, a mid-career painting by African American artist Hughie Lee-Smith

A highlight of Sotheby's May evening sales, Bacon's first full-scale painting of George Dyer was exhibited at the Royal Academy of Arts in 2022

Sleeper hunter dealers must recognise they have an asymmetrical relationship to vulnerable people pressured by circumstance to sell off their treasured heirlooms

Overall auction results are strong—largely thanks to rise of second hand car purchases—but sales of fine art and antiques have fallen significantly from last year