New York art sales near $3 billion in two weeks as uber-rich hunt trophies

Global buyers have dropped nearly $3 billion on art in New York in two weeks, a record haul rooted in a billionaire thirst for trophies, Chinese purchasing power and growing diversification. Christie’s chalked up $1.79 billion in sales, including every single item from the iconic collection of the late David and Peggy Rockefeller which, for the first time, spread their flagship May sales across two weeks. Sotheby’s sold $859 million, including $157.2 million for a Modigliani nude — the most expensive lot of the season, after Christie’s last November smashed records by selling a single Leonardo da Vinci for $450.3 million. “It’s colossal. It really is huge and especially after the dip of 2016,” says Georgina Adam, author of the “Dark Side of the Boom: The Excesses of the Art Market in the 21st Century.” “As long as the auction houses have really managed to do their marketing very well and reach a big audience of collectors, the top end of the market is still doing very well,” says Rach