David Hockney painting leads Art Basel 2025 sales with eight-figure transaction. https://ift.tt/0pPdLjh

Mid November Tunnel, 2006
David Hockney
Annely Juda Fine Art

Art Basel 2025 kicked off its VIP preview on Tuesday, June 17th, transforming Messeplatz into a magnet for the art world’s major players. The Swiss mega-fair, widely regarded as the art world’s final major moment before the summer slowdown, returns for its 56th edition this week with 291 galleries—an increase from last year’s 285—from 40 countries. Leading the reported initial sales was David Hockney’s Mid November Tunnel (2006), sold by Annely Juda Fine Art for a price in the range of $13 million–$17 million.

The opening day of Art Basel 2025 brought together a mix of collectors, museum directors, artists, and advisors. On a sweltering day in the Swiss city, the aisles were warm and packed. Although foot traffic was steady, the mood was more composed than frenzied, thanks to a wave of presales that alleviated some of the pressure on the booths.

That measured atmosphere didn’t preclude some major deals from being struck. Several galleries reported seven-figure sales, including placements of significant works with both private and institutional buyers.

“In a moment of instantaneous PDF sharing and digital everything, Art Basel proves that the greatest rewards come from showing up in person,” Iwan Wirth, president of Hauser & Wirth, said in a statement. “This is the fair where you are guaranteed to see masterworks you otherwise wouldn’t, to be reminded of the best art’s ability to ambush ennui and shock the senses back to life.”

Meanwhile, the unexpected breakout hit of the fair wasn’t a painting or sculpture but Labubu dolls. A limited-edition monster, made in collaboration between Hong Kong–born artist Kasing Lung and Art Basel, drew frenzied crowds to the Art Basel Shop in the early hours of VIP day. In 23 minutes, the 100 figurines, priced at CHF 200 ($245), had sold out.

As the bluest of blue-chip art fairs, Art Basel may have generated more nerves than in years past, due to a sustained slowdown at the higher end of the art market (evidenced most recently at the lackluster auctions last month in New York). However, by the close of VIP day, some of those anxieties appeared to have been quelled. “When it came to Basel, they said ‘the Americans aren’t coming’ and ‘the hotels aren’t full’.…Well, we can barely move in our booth, and the velocity of the sales has been as vigorous as any year in the past,” Marc Glimcher, CEO of Pace Gallery, said in a statement. “It has been confirmed that the energy to collect has returned.”

Here, we round up a selection of leading sales reported by galleries at Art Basel 2025. Check back on Monday for our full sales report.

Leading sales at Art Basel 2025

• David Zwirner’s reported sales were led by a Ruth Asawa sculpture for $9.5 million, a Gerhard Richter painting for $6.8 million, and two new paintings by Dana Schutz for $1.2 million and $850,000 each.
• Hauser & Wirth reported selling a range of major works. Two 2025 paintings by Mark Bradford, Ain’t Got Time To Worry and Sin and Love and Fear, each sold for $2.5 million. The gallery placed George Condo’s Streets of New York (2025) and The Insanity of the Devil (2025), for $2.45 million each. Jack Whitten’s Kritiko Spiti (1974–75) sold for $2 million. Louise Bourgeois’s Couple (2002) was placed for $1.9 million. Additional works by Nicole Eisenman, Eva Hesse, and Rashid Johnson were also sold.
• Pace Gallery reported the sale of Agnes Martin’s Untitled #5 (2002) for over $4 million. The painting was sold privately and was not on view at the booth.
• White Cube’s early sales include Georg Baselitz’s Oh ho, siamo ritornati, am deutschen Wesen, Weltgenesungsbild (2023), which sold for €2.2 million ($2.52 million); Cai Guo-Qiang’s Red Birds (2022), which sold for $1.2 million; and Danh Vō’s In God We Trust (2025), which sold for €250,000 ($287,000)

Hier jetzt hell, dort dunkel dunkel, 2012
Georg Baselitz
Thaddaeus Ropac

• Thaddaeus Ropac reported several high-value sales, including Georg Baselitz’s painting Hier jetzt hell, dort dunkel dunkel (2012) for €1.8 million ($2.07 million); James Rosenquist’s Playmate (1966), a four-part oil on canvas work, for $1.8 million; and Robert Rauschenberg’s Lipstick (Spread) (1981) for $1.5 million.
• Karma’s sales included Matthew Wong’s The Smoke (2017), which sold for $1.2 million, and Andrew Cranston’s A Sicilian snake (2025), which sold for $250,000.
• Yares Art’s reported sales were led by Larry Poons’s The Outlerlands (2022), which sold for $1.2 million.
• Xavier Hufkens’s early sales were led by Tracey Emin’s Hunter (2025), which sold for £1 million ($1.34 million), and Alice Neel’s Pink Table (1956), which sold for $1 million.
• Stephen Friedman Gallery reported selling more than 15 works. The early sales were led by historical works by Jaune Quick-to-See Smith in the range of $750,000 to $1 million.
• David Kordansky Gallery’s early sales included Akio Takamori Shelf (2025) and Shio Shelf (2025) by Jonas Wood, which sold for $975,000 and $900,000, respectively; and Rashid Johnson’s Broken Soul “Flight Risk” (2025), which sold for $750,000.

• Lisson Gallery reported sales of 14 works on VIP day. Highlights included Lee Ufan’s Response (2025) for $850,000 and Carmen Herrera’s Untitled (1948) for $800,000.
• Almine Rech’s early reported sales included a painting by Ewa Juszkiewicz in the range of $500,000 to $600,000 and a painting by Javier Calleja in the range of $400,000 to $450,000.
• Tina Kim Gallery’s reported early sales were led by two paintings by Ha Chong-Hyun, which sold for $550,000 and $250,000 apiece.
• Perrotin’s top sales were led by Takashi Murakami, whose work sold for $550,000, and Hernan Bas, with a painting placed for $400,000. The gallery also reported selling out of works by Mr., Genesis Belanger, and Izumi Kato. Mr.’s presentation included shaped canvas paintings priced between $85,000 and $250,000, drawings at $30,000, and a sculpture that sold for $120,000. Works by Belanger were placed in the $30,000 to $50,000 range, while Kato’s paintings sold for between $70,000 and $120,000, with sculptures ranging from $50,000 to $100,000.
• Lehmann Maupin’s early sales were led by Cecilia Vicuña’s Jaguar I (2025), which sold in the range of $200,000 to $250,000.

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