At Phillips’s $52 M. Sale, Breakout Moments from Female Artists Soften a Stark Drop from Last Year

At Phillips New York on Tuesday night, a far less lucrative sale night than 2024 bore out concerns of a cooling market.The house’s modern and contemporary evening sale generated $52 million, around 40 percent below last year’s haul of $86 million at the equivalent May sale. Tuesday’s auction also exactly achieved its pre-sale estimate of $52 million, likely caused by five lots failing to sell. (Another four were withdrawn prior to the sale.)That current state of affairs, howeve