Open Bid — Daily Morning Briefing on Stocks, Auctions, Luxury Market

June 1: Spring Sales Achieve $1.8B Across Christie's, Sotheby's, and Phillips
New York's May spring auction season has concluded with $1.8 billion across Christie's, Sotheby's, and Phillips.

In this episode:
- Christie's posts $1.1B evening session; Pollock's "Number 7A, 1948" realizes $181M
- Sotheby's finishes at $909M; Rothko's "Brown and Blacks in Red" at $85.8M
- Phillips posts $115M, more than double its 2025 total
- Sotheby's High Jewelry sale achieves $31.4M with 95% sell-through
- 73.11-carat Fancy Vivid Yellow diamond by Glenn Spiro leads June 9th Magnificent Jewels
- Heritage Auctions spring sale features signed Hermes Birkin
- Christie's Paris announces dedicated Hermes handbag auction for June
- Centre Pompidou Hanwha opens in Seoul on June 4th
- John Armleder receives carte blanche at Musee d'Art et d'Histoire, Geneva
- The Market by Bonhams: 2009 Ferrari California ~$34,000 | 2018 Jaguar F-Type ~$20,000 | 1991 Porsche 944 Turbo ~$8,000
- Week ahead: RM Sotheby's Bavaria (Thu-Fri), Sotheby's Magnificent Jewels (June 9)

Links:
- ALT/FNDATA: https://www.altfndata.com
- Sotheby's Magnificent Jewels June 9: https://www.sothebys.com/en/digital-catalogues/magnificent-jewels-3
- Centre Pompidou Hanwha: https://www.artsy.net/article/artsy-editorial-inside-centre-pompidou-hanwha-seouls-newest-museum
- John Armleder at MAH Geneva: https://news.artnet.com/art-world/john-m-armleder-mah-geneva-2776555

Also from ALT/FNDATA:
- Closing Price — Mon/Wed/Fri at 5 PM ET: Connecting public equities to the global auction and luxury asset markets

What is Open Bid — Daily Morning Briefing on Stocks, Auctions, Luxury Market?

Open Bid is your weekday morning briefing on the global auctions and marketplaces for luxury alternative assets. In under five minutes, host Sharon Obuobi delivers the key results, market data, and institutional developments across fine art, jewelry, watches, automobiles, and luxury goods — backed by proprietary data from ALT/FNDATA. Learn more about us at www.altfndata.com

OPENING BID — Monday, June 1, 2026
Runtime target: 3-4 minutes
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[INTRO]

Good morning. It's Monday, June the 1st. I'm Sharon, and this is the first session of Opening Bid from Altfndata.

[MAY SPRING SALES]

New York's May auction season has concluded. The combined total across Christie's, Sotheby's, and Phillips was $1.8 billion.

(Pause)

Christie's led with a $1.1 billion evening session. The top lot was Jackson Pollock's "Number 7A, 1948," which realized $181 million.

(Pause)

Sotheby's concluded the season at $909 million. The headline result was for Mark Rothko's "Brown and Blacks in Red" from the Robert Mnuchin collection at $85.8 million. Phillips posted $115 million - more than double its 2025 total.

[JEWELRY & LUXURY]

In jewelry, the Sotheby's New York High Jewelry sale brought in $31.4 million with a 95% sell-through rate. This was the highest for a various-owner jewelry auction at Sotheby's New York.

(Pause)

The upcoming June 9th Magnificent Jewels sale in New York is led by a 73.11-carat Fancy Vivid Yellow diamond ring by Glenn Spiro.

(Pause)

In handbags, the recent Heritage Auctions' spring luxury accessories sale featured a signed Hermes Birkin with Jane Birkin's signature.

(Pause)

Christie's Paris has a dedicated Hermes handbag auction scheduled for June, with a rare 1998 Birkin 40 in gold, silver, and bronze goatskin estimated at 20,000 to 30,000 EUR.

[INSTITUTIONAL NEWS]

Centre Pompidou Hanwha opens in downtown Seoul on June the fourth. This the Pompidou's first permanent outpost in South Korea.
(Pause)

In Geneva, the Musee d'Art et d'Histoire has given Swiss artist John Armleder a full carte blanche to reinterpret the museum's permanent collection through a contemporary lens.

(Pause)

[MARKET DATA]

In online car sales, The Market by Bonhams cleared a 2009 Ferrari California at roughly $34,000, a 2018 Jaguar F-Type at just under $20,000 (Pause) and a 1991 Porsche 944 Turbo at around $8,000.

(Pause)

[WEEK AHEAD]

This week: RM Sotheby's holds a boutique auction in Bavaria on Thursday and Friday, featuring rare German sports cars. Sotheby's Magnificent Jewels is June 9th in New York.

(Pause)

Artist Jeremy Olson has unveiled a new window installation at the Hermes flagship in New York.

[OUTRO]

That is Opening Bid for Monday, June the first. Join me this evening at five PM Eastern for Closing Price.

I'm Sharon Obuobi, from ALT/FNDATA. Thank you for listening.