Open Bid — Daily Morning Briefing on Auctions, Luxury & Markets

June 12: David Hockney Dies at 88; Christie's South Asian Sale Hits £18.9M; Luxury Rallies on the Iran Deal
The art world remembers David Hockney, a £18.9M South Asian sale at Christie's, a world-record Elizabeth Taylor handbag, and luxury stocks surging on a possible US–Iran peace deal.

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In Memoriam
- David Hockney has died at 88 (at home in London, June 11). Born Bradford, 1937; pop-art pioneer; the Los Angeles pool paintings ("A Bigger Splash," "Portrait of an Artist"); joiners, Yorkshire landscapes, and iPad drawings. Held at the Met, MoMA, Tate and Centre Pompidou; his 2017 Tate Britain retrospective was the most-visited in that gallery's history; Royal Academician and Order of Merit, and he turned down a knighthood. "Portrait of an Artist" sold for $90M at Christie's in 2018 (then the record for a living artist) — he first sold it for $20,000 in 1972
- Nigel Cabourn, British menswear designer, has died at 77. Known for military- and workwear-inspired clothing drawn from his own vast archive of 20th-century military uniforms; a touchstone of the heritage-menswear movement

Auction Results
- Christie's "Sublime Shadows: South Asian Art From a Distinguished Collection" (London): £18.9M total — Christie's first dedicated sale of its kind since 2019, on strong international demand for South Asian modern & contemporary art
- Christie's "Handbags Online: The New York Edit": $3.26M total, 97% sold by lot. A Fendi Baguette once owned by Elizabeth Taylor set a world record for the model at $21,590

Markets — Luxury Rallies on the Iran News
- Luxury stocks surged on reports the US and Iran are nearing a deal to end their war; LVMH up ~5% in early trading; oil at a multi-month low. Bloomberg notes a whipsaw week, swinging from the year's worst day (Wednesday) to this rally in a matter of sessions
- European luxury opens (vs Thursday's close; US names open later): LVMH (MC) 508 EUR +3% (~+5% mid-morning); Kering (KER) 268 EUR +3.4%; Hermès (RMS) 1,680 EUR +2.3%; Richemont (CFR) 179 CHF +2.9%; Swatch (UHR) 205 CHF +1.6%; Watches of Switzerland (WOSG) 715p +1.4%; Burberry (BRBY) 1,161p +2.1%

Luxury Brands
- LVMH's Pucci, under designer Camille Miceli, is one of the group's fastest-growing labels via a Gen Z-friendly take on its Mediterranean heritage (BoF)
- Farfetch launches "Farfetch First," a new service to elevate the customer experience and support its brand partners (BoF)

Week Ahead
- Today: Christie's Important Watches (New York) + Christie's Paris Hermès online sale opens + Sotheby's Gem Drop
- June 13: Bonhams National Automobile Museum (Reno) + Phillips New York Watch Auction
- June 15: Sotheby's Important Watches

Also from ALT/FNDATA:
- Closing Price — Mon-Fri at 5 PM ET
- Art Market — Tuesdays

Creators and Guests

Host
Sharon Obuobi

What is Open Bid — Daily Morning Briefing on Auctions, Luxury & Markets?

Open Bid is your weekday-morning briefing on the world of luxury and collectibles. In under five minutes, host Sharon Obuobi covers the biggest stories across fine art, jewelry, watches, handbags, and collector cars — the record auction results, the moves inside the luxury houses, and what the markets are doing that morning — all backed by proprietary data from ALT/FNDATA. Whether you collect, invest, or just love this world, it's the fastest way to start the day informed.

Learn more at www.altfndata.com.

OPEN BID — Friday, June 12, 2026

[INTRO]

Good morning. It's Friday, June 12. I'm Sharon, and this is Open Bid from ALT/FNDATA.

[IN MEMORIAM]

We begin with the art world's biggest loss in years. David Hockney died at his home in London on Thursday, at the age of 88. He was, by almost any measure, the most celebrated British painter of his generation. Born in Bradford, in Yorkshire, in 1937, he rose to prominence as a pioneer of pop art in the 1960s. David Hockney’s work hangs in the Metropolitan Museum, the Museum of Modern Art, the Tate, and the Centre Pompidou. His 2017 retrospective at Tate Britain was the most-visited exhibition in that gallery's history. He was a member of the Royal Academy and the Order of Merit. And, famously, he turned down a knighthood from Queen Elizabeth the Second. In 2018, his 1972 painting "Portrait of an Artist," also known as "Pool with Two Figures," sold at Christie's for 90 million dollars, at the time the most expensive work ever sold at auction by a living artist.

[CHRISTIE'S — SOUTH ASIAN ART]

Yesterday, we covered the first Christie’s South Asian Art auction in 7 years and the results are in.

Christie's in London held "Sublime Shadows: South Asian Art From a Distinguished Collection," and it totaled 18.9 million pounds. It was Christie's first dedicated sale of its kind in London since 2019, and the house reported strong international demand for South Asian modern and contemporary art.

[HANDBAGS — A RECORD FOR ELIZABETH TAYLOR'S FENDI]

We have a new world record in the handbags market.

Christie's "Handbags Online: The New York Edit" closed for bidding and totaled 3.3 million dollars, 97% sold by lot. The standout was a Fendi Baguette once owned by Elizabeth Taylor, which set a world record for the model at 21,590 dollars.

[LUXURY STOCKS — RALLYING ON THE IRAN NEWS]

The big driver in the markets today is geopolitics.

Luxury stocks are surging on reports that the United States and Iran are nearing a deal to end their war. The Middle East had become a fast-growing market for luxury, and the sector was hit hard by the conflict, so the prospect of peace sent these names sharply higher. Stocks rallied broadly, and oil fell to its lowest level in months. Bloomberg notes that after months of steady gains, investors have spent the past week without a reliable playbook, swinging from the year's worst day on Wednesday to this rally in a matter of sessions.

Here is where the European luxury names opened this morning, against Thursday's close:

LVMH, ticker MC on Euronext Paris, opened at 508 EUR, up 3% from Thursday's 493, and was up around 5% by mid-morning. Kering, ticker KER, opened at 268 EUR, up 3.4%. Hermès, ticker RMS, opened at 1,680 EUR, up 2.3%.

In Zurich, Richemont, ticker CFR on the SIX Swiss Exchange, opened at 179 Swiss francs, up 2.9%, and Swatch, ticker UHR, opened at 205 Swiss francs, up 1.6%.

In London, Watches of Switzerland, ticker WOSG, opened at 715 pence, up about 1.4%, Burberry, ticker BRBY, opened at 1,161 pence, up 2.1%. The US names open later, at 9:30 AM Eastern.

[LUXURY BRANDS]

At LVMH, one of the smallest brands is now among the fastest growing. Business of Fashion reports that Pucci, under designer Camille Miceli, has been revived with a Gen Z-friendly, unabashedly commercial take on its Mediterranean heritage.

And in e-commerce, Farfetch has launched a new service called Farfetch First, which its chief commercial officer describes as a way to elevate the customer experience and support the brands it sells.

[WEEK AHEAD]

Today in the salerooms: Christie's Important Watches in New York, Christie's opens its Paris Hermès handbag sale online, and Sotheby's runs its Gem Drop sale.

Tomorrow, Saturday the 13th, Bonhams will sell about 100 cars from the National Automobile Museum in Reno, and Phillips will hold its New York Watch Auction.

Sotheby's Important Watches is sale on Monday the 15th.

We’ll cover the results from all these auctions with a big update on Monday.

[OUTRO]

That is Open Bid for Friday, June 12. Closing Price publishes this evening at 5 PM Eastern, and Open Bid returns Monday morning at 6.

I'm Sharon, from ALT/FNDATA. Subscribe for notifications, give us a five star rating on Spotify and Apple Podcasts. I’ll talk to you in the next episode. Thank you for listening.