Recent auctions have made it clear that market forces are primarily concentrated at the top, where continued global demand for art is finally clashing with new supply as the long-anticipated economic transfer begins to take hold. At the same time, continued volatility has accelerated a corresponding shift in private commerce, with both private private sales and private, invitation-only auctions dramatically changing activity at the highest levels—something Artnet's latest Intelligence Report underscores.
Now, veteran dealers and art market figures Dominique Lévy, Brett Gorvy and Amalia Dayan, currently partnering under Lévy Gorvy Dayan, enter together into the “dark side” of private works with the launch of LGD Hammer, a live bidding platform integrated closely with their gallery system. The platform's first live sale, scheduled for May 16, will feature a special 1984 painting by Willem de Kooning, Milkonce held by the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, with an estimate of $10-15 million.
The goal is to add urgency—that level of competition that auctions produce—to gallery sales, which can take months or even years to complete, especially for works worth millions of dollars. “We realize that our clients, especially our many Asian clients, are currently looking to live bidding to confirm prices and have access to compete for large works of art,” Gorvy told the Observer, positioning the move as a natural evolution of the gallery, whose founding partners are all veteran auctioneers in a unique position to leverage their experience for the benefit of buyers and sellers. “LGD Hammer is a natural evolution of our gallery and our partnership. Together we have unparalleled auction experience and advise our clients on selling and buying at public auctions.”
Gorvy, who served as Chairman and Global Head of Postwar and Contemporary Art at Christie's for more than 23 years, oversaw the first billion-dollar house sale and record-breaking prices for artists such as Francis Bacon, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Willem de Kooning and Andy Warhol. Amalia Dayan began her career at Phillips, overseeing high-value single-owner and artist-focused sales, while Lévy began at Sotheby's and later founded the private sales department at Christie's in 1999 as its international director.
Private sales at Christie's and Sotheby's are down slightly in 2025 compared to last year. Christie led the sector with sales of about $1.5 billion—about 24 percent of its total revenue—followed by Suthu at about $1.2 billion, or 17 percent. During that time, private sales at Phillips rose 66 percent, to nearly $200 million. At all three auction houses, private sales now play an important role in supporting the business.
Private transactions—and privately held auctions—have become the primary channel for trading high-value jobs among high-end clients. Despite the auction houses guarding the secrecy of these sales, some details have leaked to the public. Last year, Christie sold out No. 31 (Yellow Stripe) by Mark Rothko for $62.1 million in New York, a transaction that contributed to the $1.5 billion private sale of the house, which reportedly includes 17 works valued at more than $15 million.
According to Adrien Meyer, Christie's global head of private sales, this growth is closely related to growing global uncertainty and broader market volatility. “In that case, private sales provide the ideal sales environment because they offer assurance to customers,” he recently told ArtNews. “When you sell privately, you know what you're going to get. In contrast, at an auction, the final price is uncertain. Security and confidentiality are key aspects of the private sale model.”
Ahead of its Modern and Contemporary evening sale in London, Sotheby's is reportedly holding an invitation-only exhibition, “The Apartment,” presenting $40 million worth of art in a domestic setting. Works by highly sought-after artists, including David Hockney, George Condo, Gerhard Richter and Basquiat, were on view, with most selling within days.
At the same time, a growing number of invitation-only, one-spot auctions are taking place behind closed doors, their results often unreported—raising questions about transparency. However, details of record-breaking transactions have emerged, including the sale of Frida Kahlo. Me and My Parrot (1941) for over $150 million; Rothko's No. 6 (Violet, Green and Red) (1951) for approximately $195 million; and Vincent van Gogh The Zouave (1888) for about $200 million.
Price intelligence and security remain the main motivations for the appeal of private sales among top collectors, and likewise underpinned the success of Fair Warning, the digital platform founded by Loïc Gouzer, which hosted its exclusive single-lot-only sales through the app, and recently expanded to invite-only private events including an auction and a party. Among the most recent sales was Warhol's portrait of Brigitte Bardot, which fetched $16.7 million. In April, Fair Warning also introduced a new format entitled “No Warning,” where work appears at a fixed price; buyers can click “buy now” or submit a single offer. There is no bidding war and no rising prices, although it is still an effective way to test the demand for the works of art that the platform chooses to sell.
LGD Hammer, however, positions itself differently in both the Fair Warning and opaque private auctions. As Gorvy emphasizes, the platform remains deeply tied to the core business of the gallery, it simply adds a new format and vehicle to drive and accelerate secondary market sales. “We approached the development of our platform through the lens of our gallery and the curatorial focus we brought to our program of exhibitions and our booth presentations,” he said, noting that this museum-quality de Kooning was found and selected with purpose, and was strategically presented at the right time in a first-rate scale designed to attract the international market.
“The 80s de Kooning market has been very strong at auction, and this season there will be significant works in the Mnuchin sale in Suthwini,” explained Gorvy. “We present our work in conjunction with this sale so that customers can choose the painting they like,” he added, noting that de Kooning has been collecting in Asia for the past two decades and that Asian buyers are already expressing interest. Currently, Milk will be given its own two-week exhibition at the gallery. “We want to invite those who want to buy to come and enjoy this beautiful painting,” he stressed.
Before the sale, the work will be presented in a private, appointment exhibition in the gallery's Upper East Side space, next to the museum-quality exhibition dedicated to Domenico Gnoli on the first and second floors, and “Armig Santos: Baladas” on the fifth. The auction will take place on Saturday, May 16, at 6:30 pm, with Dominique Lévy as auctioneer and telephone bidding only—an intimate, tightly controlled format that emphasizes the platform's unifying ambition: to bring the competitive excitement of the auction room to the traditionally private domain of the gallery.
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