Christie’s amassed $1.1 billion from back-to-back sales, as a Pollock sold for triple record price.
Christie’s generated a record-breaking $1.1 billion in sales in a single evening during its May 18, 2026 marquee auctions in New York, marking the highest total ever achieved by the auction house in one night and signaling renewed strength at the top end of the global art market. Leading the sales was Jackson Pollock’s Number 7A (1948), which sold for $181.2 million after a prolonged bidding battle, setting a new auction record for the artist, while Constantin Brancusi’s Danaïde (1913) fetched $107.6 million, becoming the second-most expensive sculpture ever sold at auction. Much of the evening’s momentum came from works consigned from the collection of late media magnate S.I. Newhouse, whose 16 lots totaled $630.8 million, alongside strong results for artists including Mark Rothko and Alice Neel.
Dubai is set to open a museum dedicated to digital art.
Dubai has unveiled the Museum of Digital Art (MODA), a new five-story institution in the DIFC Zabeel District that will become the region’s first museum dedicated entirely to digital art and emerging technologies. Launched by Sheikha Latifa bint Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum during the special edition of Art Dubai, the museum is being developed by DIFC with Dubai Culture overseeing operations and strategic direction, and designed by Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture. MODA will feature immersive exhibitions, interactive installations, educational programming, and research initiatives focused on digital and computational art.
Venice Architecture Biennale 2027 establishes Wang Shu and Lu Wenyu’s “Do Architecture” as the curatorial theme.
The Venice Architecture Biennale has announced that Chinese architects Wang Shu and Lu Wenyu, founders of Amateur Architecture Studio, will curate the 20th International Architecture Exhibition in 2027, which runs from May 8–November 21, 2027 in Venice’s Giardini and Arsenale venues under the curatorial theme, “Do Architecture.” The duo—known for projects including the Ningbo History Museum and the Xiangshan Campus of the China Academy of Art—have built an international reputation through work that integrates recycled materials, vernacular construction techniques, craftsmanship, and local memory within contemporary architecture.
Six artists are competing to design New York City’s Billie Holiday monument.
New York City has unveiled six finalist proposals—from La Vaughn Belle, Nikesha Breeze, Nekisha Durrett, Tanda Francis, Thomas J. Price, and Tavares Strachan—for a permanent public monument honoring Billie Holiday in Queens as part of the revived She Built NYC initiative led by the Department of Cultural Affairs. The monument, planned for the grounds of the Jamaica Performing Arts Center, will commemorate Holiday’s legacy as one of the most influential jazz singers of the 20th century, with proposals developed following artist consultations with scholars, community leaders, and members of Holiday’s family. The final design will be selected by a Percent for Art panel and announced in summer 2026.
Charlotte Tilbury’s negotiations have paused the Estée Lauder-Puig merger talks.
According to Spanish newspaper Expansión, the founder of eponymous British cosmetics brand Charlotte Tilbury has complicated and even stalled merger talks between Estée Lauder Companies and Spanish luxury beauty group Puig through her desire to renegotiate her earn-out and compensation structure. The deal would create a combined business reportedly valued at roughly $40 billion—and would unite prestige brands including MAC, Clinique, La Mer, Jo Malone London, Tom Ford, and The Ordinary from Estée Lauder with Puig-owned labels such as Byredo, Rabanne, Dries Van Noten, Jean Paul Gaultier, Penhaligon’s, and, of course, Charlotte Tilbury.
Today’s attractive distractions:
Marseille hotspot Tuba Club and artist Alix Lacloche hosted a dinner party in the sea.
Turin’s Lève Office Bar is designed like a cinematic ‘60s corporate workplace.
Booking an Uber Boat will soon be possible in the South of France, Spain, Portugal, Italy, and Croatia.
The Original Sacher-Torte, a famed historic chocolate cake from Vienna’s Sacher Hotel, now arrives in a limited-edition KAWS box.
