Hello everyone and welcome to this March edition of Artsy Insider. 

I’m writing this as I return from one of my favorite art fairs, TEFAF Maastricht. Anyone familiar with TEFAF will know its claim to represent “7,000 years of art history,” and let me tell you that it lives up to this slogan. Everything from medieval manuscripts to modern masters is on view across the fair’s 273 booths. It’s also a classy affair: Lavish displays of flowers adorn its aisles, oysters are dispensed across the fair, and, in classically European style, almost everyone is dressed to the nines. It may also be the booziest fair I’ve been to: By the stroke of midday at its VIP preview, trays of white wine seemed to magically appear. Anyway, safe to say it was a good time, and you can read my pick of five outstanding artworks from the fair here. 

TEFAF, of course, isn’t the only thing that’s been going on in the art market this month, and we’re here to share the key bits. A series of tentpole auctions took place in London, which we round up below. We’re about to head into a pivotal Art Basel Hong Kong and we’ve got some insights from Rebecca Wei, former head and president of Christie’s Asia, on what to expect. Also in this newsletter, we share the in-demand artists of the month, and our curatorial guru Adeola Gay presents some works from women artists that we’ve featured across Artsy Editorial this Women’s History Month.

It’s been an interesting month in the market. On the one hand, recent stock market volatility and tariff talk are causing jitters for dealers who were already nervous about instability in 2025. But I’ve also picked up on some solidity when it comes to sales across all levels of the market: Both the London auctions and TEFAF, for instance, saw seven-figure transactions. That much-needed collector demand, it seems, is slowly making its way back into the market.  

Until next time,

Arun Kakar

Senior Art Market Editor

The above chart looks at Artsy inquiry growth for artists from January through February 2025. Leading the list is the British painter Danny Fox. Known for his expressive canvases that capture the human condition in all its complexity, Fox is based between London, Los Angeles, and his native Cornwall, England. He has quickly gained acclaim since his emergence in the mid-2010s and is co-represented by Saatchi Yates—where he mounted his most recent solo show, “The Sower and other recent paintings,” in 2023—and Copenhagen’s V1 Gallery, where his work was featured in the group show “Landscapes” last month. Fox’s work is also in the collections of institutions including the Start Museum in Shanghai and the Denver Art Museum, and he was part of a group show, “Licked by the Waves | New Bathers in Art,” at the MORE Museum in Gorssel, the Netherlands, last summer. 

Fox is followed by Louise Bourgeois. The late French artist is among the most influential of the 20th century, known for her multidisciplinary explorations of domesticity, family, and sexuality. A perennial name in the art world today, the artist was the subject of a major retrospective last year at the Mori Art Museum in Tokyo, which has traveled to the Fubon Art Museum in Taipei. A solo show of the artist will also be opening at Hauser & Wirth Hong Kong during its art week. 

All three major auction houses held sales in London this month. We list the top five results from those sales below, but here we’ll offer a snapshot analysis. 

The volume of the sales and value of the top lots in London’s spring auctions have been on a consistent decline for the past few years. According to the fintech art platform ARTDAI, the March sales, which this year totaled $313 million overall, have contracted by 53% since their peak of $718 million in 2022. This year’s sales are also down by 16% compared to last year. (All figures include fees.) 

Still, it’s possible to read these figures as part of a broader recalibration, in which auction houses are being more selective about the works they’re putting up for sale, focusing on lots that match current levels of collector demand.

Leaner sales at Sotheby’s and Christie’s fell comfortably within their estimates. A dual sale of Surrealism and 20th- and 21st-century art at Christie’s totaled £130.25 million ($166.59 million) with just four works failing to find a buyer. And the Sotheby’s evening sale the previous night totaled £62.5 million ($78.62 million), close to its high estimate of £66.6 million ($86.2 million). Strong results were achieved for artists including Tamara de Lempicka, Egon Schiele, and Lisa Brice. Brice’s After Embah (2018) set a new record auction price for the artist of £5.4 million ($6.86 million) after a 10-minute bidding war. 

At Phillips, the modern and contemporary sale totaled £15.38 million ($19.99 million), above its £16.4 million ($21.23 million) low estimate. These figures are far from the doom and gloom that many were fearing, and a promising sign that the right works—placed in front of the right collectors—are continuing to sell well. 

As we’ve recapped, all three major auction houses held sales this month in London. Leading the most expensive lots from the auctions was René Magritte’s La reconnaissance infinie (1933), which sold at Christie’s for $13.19 million. The work, of a small man atop a mysterious orb, was painted after the artist left Paris for Brussels, and contains many of the elements that now define his oeuvre: ambiguous figures, uncanny scenes, and unusual encounters. The auction result marks the latest sale in a long line of significant results for Magritte at auction: L’empire des lumières (1954) sold last November for $121.16 million at Christie’s, setting the current auction record for the artist. 

That top result is followed by Yoshitomo Nara’s Cosmic Eyes (in the Milky Lake) (2005), which sold for $11.46 million at Sotheby’s. This painting of a young girl gazing at the viewer is notable for its meticulously detailed irises and is a sterling example of the Japanese artist’s deceptively simple approach to depiction. Nara—who will be the subject of a retrospective at London’s Hayward Gallery later this year—achieved his current auction benchmark in 2019 with KNIFE BEHIND BACK (2000), which sold for HK$195.69 million (US$24.96 million) at Sotheby’s Hong Kong.

From Emily Kame Kngwarreye’s detailed abstractions to Kaari Upson’s uncanny sculptures, the work of late women artists has caught my eye this month.

Adeola Gay

Senior Curatorial Manager

For this month’s mailbag, we spoke to Rebecca Wei, founder of the Hong Kong–based art advisory Wei & Associates. A former president and chairman of Christie’s Asia, Wei knows the Hong Kong market better than most. With Asia’s most significant art world moment—Hong Kong Art Week, anchored by Art Basel Hong Kong—about to get underway, we asked Wei for her insights. 

What can we expect from Hong Kong Art Week this year?

As we approach Hong Kong Art Week, I am filled with excitement about the diverse programs and artistic expressions that will invigorate this dynamic cultural hub. These include the highly anticipated Art Basel Hong Kong fair and grand exhibition openings at numerous participating galleries, along with the first-ever overlapping evening sales from auction giants Christie’s and Sotheby’s, and special initiatives presented by local museums and neighboring regions. 

I am particularly eager to see “Picasso for Asia: A Conversation” at M+ and “Picasso & The Animal Kingdom” at Phillips, where these two adjacent organizations offer innovative interpretations of the artist’s legacy. The Paul Cézanne and Pierre-Auguste Renoir exhibition at the Hong Kong Museum of Art, running until early May, is also a must-see for those who have yet to visit. “Louise Bourgeois: Soft Landscape” at Hauser & Wirth marks the artist’s return to Hong Kong following her inaugural exhibition in the city in 2019. The exhibition builds on her celebrated retrospective that recently closed at the Mori Art Museum in Tokyo and is traveling to the Fubon Art Museum in Taipei, further enriching cross-regional cultural dialogues. Additionally, “Robert Indiana: The Shape of the World” at Pace Gallery will showcase significant sculptures, paintings, and prints from throughout the artist’s career. Collectively, these exhibitions not only honor the legacies of the artists but also underscore Hong Kong’s capacity to host world-class art events. 

Overall, I am optimistic about Hong Kong Art Week and look forward to witnessing the market’s response. With the active participation of Asian buyers at recent auctions in London, confidence in art collecting is returning. While the market may still be relatively individual-driven, I believe this momentum will ultimately reflect in the growth of both primary and secondary transactions, further solidifying Hong Kong’s stature on the global art stage.

René Magritte, La reconnaissance infinie (1933). Courtesy of Christie’s. Yoshitomo Nara , Cosmic Eyes (in the Milky Lake) (2005). Courtesy of Sotheby’s. Tamara de Lempicka,  Portrait du Docteur Boucard (1928). Courtesy of Christie’s. Francis Bacon, Portrait of Man with Glasses III (1963). Courtesy of Christie’s. Amedeo Modigliani, Portrait de Lunia Czechowska (1918). Courtesy of Christie’s.