New York's November Auctions Could Top US$2 Billion, Led by a US$450 Million Family Collection
Four major auction houses expect their New York sales in November 2026 to bring in at least US$2.04 billion between them. The total could go above US$2.4 billion, according to a preview published by The Art Newspaper on 12 November 2026. The four houses are Sotheby's, Christie's, Phillips and Bonhams.
Auction houses are companies that sell art to whoever bids most. The figures are projections, not final results, and they will only become real once the hammer falls on each lot. The hammer price is the bid the auctioneer closes on, before buyer's premium, the fee the buyer pays on top.
Sotheby's projects more than US$1.1 billion from its marquee sales in New York this November. Marquee sales are the top-tier auctions that draw the most attention in a season. If the projection holds, it would be the house's record for a marquee season.
The headline sale is a collection of 12 paintings from the Blaquier-Arrieta family. The works are Impressionist, Post-Impressionist and Fauvist, three painting movements from France between the late 1800s and the early 1900s. Sotheby's expects the group to sell for around US$450 million at its New York sale, and the collection is fully guaranteed. A guarantee is a promise to the seller of a minimum sum, whatever happens in the saleroom. The preview describes it as the highest-value single-owner collection on offer this season.
The collection was built by Carlos Pedro Blaquier, an Argentine sugar businessman, and his wife, María Elena "Nelly" Arrieta de Blaquier. Their five children are the consignors, meaning the people handing the works over for sale. The paintings go under the hammer on 18 November 2026. Sotheby's sale of the collection will be followed straight away by its multiple-owner evening sale of Modern art, a sale of works from many different owners.
Mr Blaquier's name carries a darker history in Argentina. He faced charges linked to the kidnapping of suspected left-wing activists during the country's military dictatorship, which ruled from 1976 to 1983. He denied the allegations. He died in 2023 without standing trial.
The sales come after a strong first half of the year. Global auction sales at Christie's, Sotheby's and Phillips rose 70 per cent year on year in the first six months of 2026, the preview reports.
For buyers, the final price is the hammer price plus fees, so a lot's total cost can run well above its winning bid. For sellers and the staff who pack, ship and insure the works, a sale this size means a long run of crating, transport and paperwork before any painting changes hands. The results will show how much of the projected total turns into sales.
