Global auction house Phillips will hold its modern and contemporary art sale starting November 19 (local time) at 43 Park Avenue in New York. The total estimate stands at $87 million (approximately 120 billion won), roughly double that of last May's auction. The figure is seen as reflecting the mood of a global art market entering a recovery phase after nearly three years of stagnation. The combined offerings from the four major auction houses — Christie's, Sotheby's, Phillips, and Bonhams — concentrating their marquee sales this month reach approximately $2 billion.
The most-watched lots at the November 19 Evening Sale, composed exclusively of ultra-high-end blue-chip works, are a face-off between Andy Warhol's two women: Jacqueline Kennedy and Marilyn Monroe. Warhol's 1964 work "Sixteen Jackies" goes up for auction with an estimate of $15 million to $20 million (approximately 21.8 billion to 29.1 billion won). The piece arranges a single press photograph from the 1963 assassination of President Kennedy, repeated 16 times in black-and-white silkscreen on one canvas. Warhol's method of image repetition strips away the subject's inherent narrative, transforming the portrait into a "commodity" or "sign" akin to mass-produced consumer goods.
Another Warhol work on offer, "4 Colored Marilyns" (1979-86), is estimated at $4 million to $6 million (approximately 5.8 billion to 8.7 billion won). Four Marilyns rendered in blue and green against a black background are arranged on a single canvas. The work is a significant offering, appearing on the market for the first time in the 100th anniversary year of Marilyn Monroe's birth, having never been auctioned before.
Claude Monet's 1879 work "La route de Vétheuil, effet de neige" also seeks a new owner that day. It is the first of three winter road paintings Monet created under the same title, with an estimate of $7 million to $10 million (approximately 10.2 billion to 14.6 billion won). The painting has a history of being featured in major exhibitions at the Phillips Collection in Washington, the San Francisco Museum of Art, and the Brooklyn Museum.
Joan Mitchell's 1989 work "Plain" (estimated $5 million to $7 million), representing the second generation of American abstract expressionism, is another highlight of the auction. Held by the foundation of Tina Hills, a Miami art world heavyweight and philanthropist, it will be unveiled on the market for the first time through this sale, alongside works by Helen Frankenthaler and Adolph Gottlieb. The Evening Sale also includes Gerhard Richter's "Besen" ($6.5 million to $8.5 million), Paul Signac's "Les Diablerets" ($2 million to $3 million), Marc Chagall's "Lovers of Saint-Paul-de-Vence" ($1.5 million to $2 million), and "Two Friends" ($180,000 to $250,000) by Pakistani-American painter Salman Toor, who has been drawing market attention.
The Day Sale on November 21 will feature approximately 260 lots ranging from the late 19th century to contemporary art.
In the Morning Session, works by Robert Rauschenberg draw attention. "Climb" (1993, $500,000 to $700,000), part of the "Urban Bourbon" series, and "South Hunt" (1990, $300,000 to $500,000), from the "Borealis" series, are on offer. The works have been consigned on the back of a series of commemorative exhibitions held at venues including New York's Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum to mark the 100th anniversary of Rauschenberg's birth.
The top lot of the Afternoon Session is Richard Prince's 2017 work "High Times" ($600,000 to $800,000). The sale also includes works by Korean artists such as Lee Ufan, Ha Chong-hyun, and Do Ho Suh.
Lee Ufan's 1986 work "With Winds" is offered with an estimate of $250,000 to $350,000 (approximately 360 million to 500 million won). Through a special exhibition organized by New York's Dia Beacon Foundation at the 2026 Venice Biennale, which opened recently, Lee is showcasing the qualities of a master who continues to produce new works rather than resting on past achievements.
