Christie's New York "The Weiss Collection" sale in Autumn 2025 achieved a total of $218 million, led by Mark Rothko.
Christie's "The Weiss Collection" auction will be held in New York on November 18, 2025 at 7:30 a.m.The auction featured 18 lots, achieving a total sales value of US$218 million and a sell-through rate of 89%. 56% of the lots sold above their estimates, while 17% sold within their estimates.Mark Rothko's "No. 31 (Yellow Stripe)" sold for $62.16 million, becoming the top-selling item of the auction.
New record:
David Smith breaks artist's personal record;
Max Ernst sets a new record for the second-highest price ever paid by an artist;
Robert F. Weis (1919-2015) and Patricia G. Ross Weis were a legendary collecting couple from Pennsylvania, USA. Robert was the former chairman of the family's food chain Weis Markets and one of the most successful executives in the American food retail industry. Patricia, born in New York City, had an innate eye for art and design, with a particular passion for modern ceramic art. Together, they built this art palace over 57 years.
It has been meticulously constructed over 50 years (some sources say 70 years), adhering to the rigorous attitude that "nothing can replace seeing it in person". It adopts an academic research-style collecting method, extensively reads auction catalogs, communicates with gallery owners, and frequently visits museums and galleries; it focuses on top works from various schools of modern art, especially favoring masters such as Rothko, Picasso, Matisse, Mondrian and Miró.
- The unique value of the Weiss collection lies in:
Narratives of Art History:
The collection spans the entire development of modernism, from Fauvism (Bracer's "La Ciotat", 1907), Cubism (Picasso), Surrealism (Ernst, Miró) to Abstract Expressionism (Rothko, Klein), showcasing the historic shift of the art center from Paris in the 1930s to postwar New York. - The public value of private collections:
These works, kept hidden in the Weiss family’s private residence for decades, are now being auctioned to the public on a large scale for the first time, providing art researchers and collectors with an opportunity to re-examine classic works of modernism. - A paragon of collecting taste:
The couple insisted on collecting only the most representative works of each artist, forming a "less is more" collecting philosophy; this rigorous collecting attitude has made this special auction known as the "gold standard of private collections".
A total of 5 lots were sold for over ten million US dollars.Among the highlights, Mark Rothko's "No. 31 (Yellow Stripe)" sold for $62.16 million, Pablo Picasso's "La Lecture (Marie-thérèse)" for $45.485 million, Henri Matisse's "Figure Et Bouquet (Tête Ocre)" for $32.26 million, Piet Mondrian's "Composition With Red and Blue" for $23.06 million, and Max Ernst's "Le Roi Jouant Avec La Reine" for $20.185 million.
A total of 8 million-dollar lots were auctioned.Among the highlights, Georges Braque's *La Ciotat* sold for $6,419,000; Juan Miró's *Femme Nue* for $4,955,000; Pierre Soulages' *Peinture 161 x 200 cm, 14 Novembre 1958* for $4,955,000; Fernand Reger's *Composition Avec Personnages* for $4,955,000; David Smith's *Circle 2 Legs* for $3,613,000; Juan Miró's *Sans Titre (Personnages)* for $3,613,000; Georges Morandi's *Natura Morta* for $3,003,000; and Wassily Kandinsky's *Ohne Titel* for $1,587,500.
Top-selling item in this session:
Mark Rothko's "No. 31 (Yellow Stripe)" sold for $53.5 million, or $62.16 million including commission.
Top 2 in sales this session:
Pablo Picasso's "La Lecture (Marie-thérèse)" sold for $39 million, or $45.485 million including commission.
Top 3 transactions in this session:
Henri Matisse's "Figure Et Bouquet (Tête Ocre)" sold for $27.5 million at hammer price, or $32.26 million including commission.
Several artists broke auction records
Other items sold at auction:
In addition to the top three most expensive lots, the sale also includes masterpieces by numerous artists, including Piet Mondrian, Max Ernst, Georges Braque, Juan Miró, Pierre Soulages, and Fernández Reger.
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For more details on the auction items, please click to view the special session.
Stay tuned to ArtPro for the latest updates on the global art market.