Christie’s closed 2025 with $6.2 billion in projected global sales, up nearly seven percent from last year’s $5.8 billion and in line with its 2023 total.

After a sluggish first half, the house saw auction sales pick up considerable this fall, with deep bidding across the house’s core categories. Auction sales totaled $4.7 billion, up eight percent from last year, while private sales held flat at $1.5 billion.

The house also reported an 88 percent sell-through rate and a hammer-to-low-estimate ratio of 113 percent, both improvements on 2024. The year’s top lot—Mark Rothko’s No. 31 (Yellow Stripe) from the Ross Weis collection—fetched $62.1 million in New York on November 17.

Momentum was broad rather than spectacular. London posted its best Old Masters result in years with the sale of the Fabergé Winter Egg for £22.9 million ($30.2 million), while Hong Kong reset the regional Picasso record at $25.4 million. Christie’s two marquee single-owner collections of the year, the Riggio and Ross Weis sales, together brought in nearly $500 million. The firm also leaned heavily on its newly...