A belated thank you to Alex Horowitz and his colleagues in the New York office of EPIC Insurance Brokers & Consultants for inviting me to speak last month. Among other topics, the presentation examined recent sales in the highest echelons of art market and their relevance to HNW + UHNW insureds.

In May 2026 alone, 12 auction lots fetched $40M+ each, cumulatively realizing $851M (including buyer’s premium). All of these lots carried third-party guarantees.

The auctions were led by the sale of Jackson Pollock’s Number 7A for $181.2M, followed by Constantin Brancusi’s Danaïde, both at Christie’s, New York. Individual artist’s auction records in the $40M+ price tranche were also set for Miró and Rothko.

The presentation compared results this season with those in recent past marquee seasons (e.g., only three realized $40M+ auction lots in the entire first 10 months of 2025), and we had a lively discussion about the takeaways from these sales and recent trends for brokers and collectors alike.