Christie’s, Sotheby’s and Phillips are poised to auction more than $2.6 billion of art over a two‑week period that starts this Thursday. The spring sales feature eleven lots priced at $50 million or higher, a sharp jump from only two such pieces in May 2025. The uptick follows a market rebound after years of muted demand for high‑profile collectors and institutional buyers daily.

At the heart of the season lies the Newhouse estate, whose $450 million worth of pieces—including Jackson Pollock’s “Number 7A, 1948”—will be auctioned in four tranches. Pollock’s work, a rare early drip painting, could fetch close to $100 million, while other Newhouse works are expected to total more than $450 million overall. This influx signals a return to classic modernists after a contemporary‑artist‑dominated period era.

Meanwhile, Christie’s will also feature Donald Judd’s 1969 “Untitled,” a 10‑to‑15 million‑estimate piece from the Henry S. McNeil Jr. collection, and Phillips will auction a rare Gustav Klimt portrait that sold for $236.4 million in 2025. These high‑profile sales reinforce investor confidence, suggesting that even amid geopolitical tension, art remains a coveted store of value for collectors seeking tangible assets that outpace traditional financial instruments today.