London in Frieze week, October 2026: 218.6 million pounds at Christie's, 61 million dollars at Sotheby's
On 14 and 15 October 2026 Christie's and Sotheby's held their London evening sales: a 31.6 million pound Kandinsky, a fully guaranteed single-owner collection and a 12.95 million dollar de Kooning.
On 14 October 2026 Christie's sold 218.6 million pounds of art in a single evening in London, fees included, 178 million pounds at the hammer. Two sales back to back, The Art Newspaper reported: the collection of Peter Simon, founder of the Monsoon fashion chain, then the 20th/21st Century Evening Sale.
The Simon collection made 107.5 million pounds with fees, the highest total for a single-owner collection at Christie's London. Every one of its 41 lots was guaranteed before the sale, 11 by the house and the rest by third parties. 98% sold, 43% above the high estimate; only a 1967 Frank Auerbach found no buyer. Francis Bacon's Figure in Movement, 1978, made 17.2 million pounds. Liubov Popova's Painterly Architectonic, 1918, set a record for the artist at 7.6 million pounds.
The various-owner sale was tighter. 111.1 million pounds with fees, against a presale estimate of 86 to 126 million pounds at the hammer. Five lots were withdrawn beforehand and seven of the remaining 46 were bought in, a sell-through of 85%. Wassily Kandinsky's Das bunte Leben, 1907, restituted in 2023 to the heirs of Hedwig Lewenstein-Weyermann, sold for 31.6 million pounds, above its 25 million pound high estimate. Piet Mondrian's Composition III, 1920, made 25.2 million pounds. Both had third-party guarantees. The total edged past the 106.9 million pounds of the same sale in October 2025.
Sotheby's answered on 15 October. Its Contemporary Evening Auction made 61 million dollars, 45.95 million pounds, with fees, within the presale estimate, according to HENI. 28 of the 37 lots announced sold, 76%. Three were withdrawn and six bought in, Banksy's Grannies, 2006, among them. Ten works carried guarantees.
An untitled Willem de Kooning from 1977 led at 12.95 million dollars, 22% above its low estimate. Then Gerhard Richter's Abstraktes Bild, 1992, at 8.86 million dollars. Both guaranteed. The real surprise sat further down the catalogue: Michael Andrews's Butterfly Fish, 1978, made 934,500 dollars against a low estimate of 106,000.
Guarantees settled the big lots before the auctioneer opened the bidding. The withdrawals and the bought-in works in the middle of the catalogue say more about demand this autumn than the top prices do.
Auction results for Bacon, de Kooning, Richter, Kandinsky and Mondrian can be followed on Unicorn Art Watch. If you would rather hold a share of one blue-chip work than bid alone, the Unicorn Art Club guide is listed among the sources.
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Sources
- The Art Newspaper, Christie's achieves £219m in steady, solid London sales (Peter Simon collection and 20th/21st Century Evening Sale), 15 October 2026
- HENI, Sotheby's Contemporary Evening Auction in London totals $61m, 15 October 2026
- Artnet News, Sotheby's notches $61M at London contemporary sale, buoyed by $12.9M de Kooning, October 2026
- Sotheby's, Contemporary Evening Auction, London, 15 October 2026, lot results
- Unicorn Art Club, guide: how to invest in blue-chip art through Unicorn Art Club