sotheby's

Culture news

Auction of historical Buddha gems postponed after India backlash

Sotheby’s in Hong Kong postponed an auction of gems with ties to early Buddhism after backlash from India’s government, which said the jewels were the country's religious and cultural heritage.

08/05/2025

Design

Multi-million Frank Lloyd Wright lamp to be auctioned

The lamp could be the most expensive ever sold from the legendary designer.

23/04/2025

Art

Lichtenstein pop art masterpieces head to auction for the first time

Forty works spanning four decades of Roy Lichtenstein’s career will go under the hammer at Sotheby’s in New York next month, expected to fetch over $35 million (€30.8 million).

22/04/2025

Art

Blink-182 frontman sells Banksy at auction for €5.2 million

After the death of Jack Vettriano, the painter who inspired the original, Blink-182 frontman Mark Hoppus has sold his Banksy painting for £4.3 million (€5.2 million) at a London auction.

05/03/2025

Culture news

Oldest-known Ten Commandments tablet fetches €4.8 million at auction

The world’s oldest-known Ten Commandments tablet sold on Wednesday (18 December) for $5 million (€4.8 million) at Sotheby’s, far surpassing expectations. The marble slab, previously used as a paving stone, will be donated to an Israeli institution.

20/12/2024

Art

Famous duct-taped banana sells for €5.8 million at art auction

Sotheby’s had estimated its value between $1 million and $1.5 million (€924,000 and €1.4 million). It sold for $6.2 million (€5.8 million) in NYC.

21/11/2024

Art

A portrait of Alan Turing created by a robot has sold for €1 million

The sale marks the first time an artwork by a humanoid robot has ever been sold at auction and has been described as a “new frontier in the global art market.”

08/11/2024

Art

Going bananas: Viral fruit artwork to auction for staggering amount

The world’s going bananas – and now an infamous artwork heading to auction will a-peel to wallets...

28/10/2024

Culture news

18th century diamond necklace with royal connections to go on sale

The historic piece, which was owned by the highest ranking of aristocracy and worn during at least two royal coronations, is part of auction chain Sotheby's 'Royal and Noble' sale in Geneva this November.

25/09/2024

Culture news

Rare and iconic instruments on sale at Sotheby’s pop culture auction

“The selection of significant and rare works will showcase the cultural and artistic reach of genres including Rock, Pop, Metal and Britpop," the auction house says.

29/08/2024

Culture news

161-million-year-old Stegosaurus to go under the hammer at Sotheby's

Discovered in May 2022 in Colorado’s Morrison Formation, "Apex" is touted as the most complete Stegosaurus ever found, with 79% of its bones intact.

11/07/2024

Art

Masterpieces by Monet, Picasso, and Bacon to go up for sale in London

In the 150th anniversary since the first Impressionist exhibition in Paris, works by the master of Impressionism - Claude Monet - are going under the hammer at Sotheby's.

29/02/2024

Culture news

Russian billionaire loses art fraud lawsuit against Sotheby's

The Russian oligarch alleged that Sotheby's conspired with an art dealer in a scheme involving high-profile artworks, including Leonardo da Vinci's "Salvator Mundi", which later became the most expensive painting ever sold.

31/01/2024

Culture news

Russian oligarch sues Sotheby’s after paying 'inflated prices' for art

Russian billionaire Dmitry Rybolovlev, owner of football club AS Monaco, is suing auction house Sotheby’s for allegedly helping an art dealer cheat him out of tens of millions of euros.

08/01/2024

Art

What were the most expensive paintings sold at auction in 2023?

Only two artworks fetched prices exceeding $100 million (€91.1 million) in 2023, in contrast to the six works that achieved this milestone in the previous year.

03/01/2024

Culture news

Will Messi's World Cup Final shirt break the all-time auction record?

A set of six shirts that Lionel Messi wore during Argentina's victorious 2022 World Cup run will be auctioned in December, with Sotheby's estimating their value at more than $10 million (€9.2m).

02/12/2023

Art

This 1,000-year-old bronze astrolabe could fetch millions at auction

The bronze astrolabe, originating from the 9th and 10th century Baghdad, forms part of the Sotheby’s ‘Arts of the Islamic World and India’ sale in London.

24/10/2023

Food and Drink

How much would you pay for the world's 'most sought-after' Scotch?

The Macallan Adami 1926 is believed to be world’s ‘most sought-after’ bottle of Scotch.

21/10/2023

Art

Picasso masterpiece could sell for over €113 million at auction

The 1932 oil painting will be the focal point of a two-day auction event at Sotheby's in New York in November, featuring artworks from the Emily Fisher Landau collection.

26/09/2023

Culture news

Rare portraits of ill-fated Arctic expedition crew up for auction

A haunting set of portraits being sold at Sotheby's offer a fascinating glimpse into a tragic chapter of Arctic exploration history.

06/09/2023