Moore Record Lifts Christie’s London Evening Sales

Auction Roundup

Henry Moore’s King and Queen set a new world auction record for the artist at Christie’s London, drawing sustained bidding from multiple collectors in a packed evening of 20th/21st-century sales.

Auction snapshot

Christie’s London held its combined 20th/21st Century Evening Sale, The Art of the Surreal Evening Sale, and Modern Visionaries – The Roger and Josette Vanthournout Collection Evening Sale on 5 March 2026. The three sessions together offered around 90 lots (exact figures varied by session with some withdrawals), achieving a combined total of £197,472,600 ($263.8 million). Sell-through reached 96% by lot and 98% by value, with the main 20th/21st Century sale alone totaling £114,175,900. Results exceeded last year’s equivalent by 52% overall and 39% for the flagship evening sale.

Top lots

1. Henry Moore, King and Queen (conceived and cast 1952–53, bronze, edition of four plus one artist’s cast), lot from the 20th/21st Century Evening Sale, sold for £26,345,000 (hammer £22,500,000, more than double low estimate). The last example in private hands, acquired directly from the artist in 1954, went to a phone bidder after nearly eight minutes of competition involving six collectors.
2. Wassily Kandinsky, Le rond rouge (1939, oil on canvas), sold for £12,545,000 (hammer at low estimate). A late-period work shown publicly as recently as 2018, it carried a third-party guarantee.
3. Pablo Picasso, Le peintre et son modèle (1964, oil and Ripolin on canvas), sold for £8,520,000. The confident, large-scale double portrait performed solidly within a strong evening for blue-chip names.

Bidding tension built visibly as the Moore sculpture’s price climbed steadily, with applause rippling through the saleroom once the hammer fell on the new record.

Market context

Results pointed to resilient demand for works with strong provenance and historical significance, particularly in sculpture and Surrealism, where The Art of the Surreal session achieved 100% sell-through by lot and value. Mid-to-high price bands outperformed, with several artist records set (Moore, Dorothea Tanning, Toyen), while guarantees supported confidence and limited downside. Phone and international bidding dominated, reflecting selective but committed global participation. These outcomes matter because they show the market rewarding quality and narrative depth even amid broader selectivity, reinforcing London’s position for major 20th-century material.

Data highlight: Combined total £197.5 million, 52% above last year’s equivalent sales.

What to watch next

Christie’s day sales in 20th/21st-century categories continue later this week, offering more accessible entry points from the same collecting cycles. Private sales teams are expected to see knock-on interest in similar Moore bronzes or Surrealist works now that benchmarks have risen. Watch for post-sale settlement details and any reports on buyer demographics from the houses, which could signal further Asian or U.S. institutional appetite. Upcoming Sotheby’s and Phillips sessions in related categories will test whether momentum carries forward.