According to executives, the rebound is fueled by new fortunes generated by AI, IPOs, and stock market gains.
Auctioneers including Phillips and Heritage similarly experienced strong beginnings to the year.
"There are people willing to sell great objects and there are people spending great amounts of money to acquire those special one-of-one works," Christie's CEO Bonnie Brennan said at the Christie's Art + Tech Summit last week.
Sotheby's CEO Charles Stewart added: "The wealth being created now is the number one factor in our business right now. It's obviously very visible when you sit here in New York and talk about the SpaceX IPO and these different tech IPOs coming and the AI fever."
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According to Artnet, eight items each fetched over $50 million in the first half, whereas zero did in 2024 and 2025. Topping the half-year sales was a Jackson Pollock drip painting, "Number 7A, 1948," that went for $181 million at Christie's. A Brancusi sculpture previously owned by media magnate S.I. Newhouse went for $107.6 million.
Hedge-fund magnate Ken Griffin bought a stegosaurus fossil from Sotheby's in 2024 for $44.6 million.
Charles Stewart commented, "Institutions as well as individuals are bidding up dinosaur fossils." A total of seven bidders competed over Gus for ten minutes.
"I say it's 'SpaceX to T. rex,'" Stewart said. "It's not just that these people have made the money. They're looking at market valuations and they're making a judgment about store of value."
Sotheby's sold a jersey that Jalen Brunson wore during Game 1 of the NBA finals against the Spurs for $1.024 million.
Phillips, in partnership with Bacs & Russo, announced $235 million in watch auctions during the first half, a record for the firm. The top-selling timepiece was an F.P. Journe Souscription Résonance that achieved $13.9 million. In recent years, Mark Zuckerberg has emerged as a prominent enthusiast of F.P. Journe.
"Thirty percent of our buyers in the first half were new to Christie's, with 47% of them millennials or younger, and 85% of bids were placed online," Brennan said.
"What we show people and how they engage with Christie's is evolving," she added.
Jeffrey Yin, who leads both Artsy and Artnet, commented: "People are spending money on fun, collectible items that they want to have."
This surge in auction revenue reflects a broader shift in the art and collectibles market, where newly minted tech billionaires are diversifying their portfolios with tangible assets. According to Sotheby's CEO, these buyers view items like dinosaur fossils and rare watches as stores of value, akin to real estate or gold. The trend is also evident in the growing demand for high-end timepieces, with Phillips and Bacs & Russo achieving a record $235 million in watch auctions, led by an F.P. Journe watch that sold for $13.9 million. Meanwhile, social media and online platforms have lowered the barrier to entry, attracting a younger, tech-savvy demographic.
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