The 24 Best Photos of 2024

The 24 Best Photos of 2024

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  Photo by Menelik Puryear

  Jeffery Gibson Dons ‘I Feel Real When You Hold Me’

  The artist’s limited-edition cashmere blanket was sold to support the US Pavilion at the 2024 Venice Biennale, where Gibson’s exhibition was titled “the space in which to place me.”

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  Photo by Matthew Borowick

  An Illuminating Condition Check

  A specialist examines a painting offered during Masters Week at Sotheby’s New York in February 2024.

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  Photo by Sotheby’s

  The Architecture of Jewelry

  This fancy intense yellow diamond ring achieved $384,000 at Magnificent Jewels in June.

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  Photo by Stephen Yang

  A Touch of Genius

  Art handlers carefully install Claude Monet’s Nymphéas in The Collection of Sydell Miller Evening Auction at Sotheby’s New York, May 2024.

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  Photo by Frank Francis

  The Collection of Sydell Miller

  Andreas von Zadora-Gerlof’s silver, rose-quartz and gold sculpture of an acrobat on a trotting horse, pictured in Sydell Miller’s Palm Beach home.

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  Photo by Matthew Borowick

  Sylvester Stallone’s Extraordinary Watch Collection

  A collection of watches owned by Stallone was led by a Patek Philippe Grandmaster Chime – which, with 20 complications, bears the distinction of being the most complicated wristwatch Patek has ever made.

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  Photo by Matt Borkowski/BFA

  The Inaugural Holy Grails Auction

  In partnership with Fanatics, Sotheby’s launched its first auction dedicated to trading cards – a home run with $7 million in sales.

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  Photo by Sotheby’s

  (Re)Calling Salvador Dalí’s ‘Lobster Telephone’

  A 20th-century Italian silver lobster from October’s Classic Design auction sits anchored atop a vintage rotary telephone, recalling Dalí’s famous artwork on the 100th anniversary of Surrealism.

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  Photo by Stephen Yang

  Keith Haring’s ‘Subway Drawings,’ Reunited

  Collector Larry Warsh poses before his extensive collection of Haring’s ‘Subway Drawings,’ which collectively sold for $9.2 million during The New York Sales.

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  Photo by Sotheby’s

  America’s Founding Documents

  Printings of all three of America’s founding documents – the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution and the Bill of Rights – went under the Sotheby’s auction hammer, surpassing $5 million in June.

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  Photo by Will Davidson

  Kyle MacLachlan’s ‘Master Glass’ on Wine

  Actor and winemaker Kyle MacLachlan swirls a glass of cabernet sauvignon on the set of his Master Glass video in March.

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  Photo by Chris Lavado

  Thom Browne’s ‘Visions of America’

  Fashion designer Thom Browne poses for a presidential portrait as the guest curator of Visions of America in January.

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  Photo by Jay Gullion

  Hanif Abdurraqib’s Impressive Sneaker Collection

  The poet and essayist Hanif Abdurraqib wrote about his legendary footwear collection in October.

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  Photo by Sotheby’s

  A Bird in the Hand

  Art handlers carry a Victorian silver-mounted glass cockatoo claret jug during April’s Classic Design auction.

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  Photo by Stephen Yang

  Reconstructing Tiffany’s ‘Danner Memorial’ Window

  An artful composition of handlers installing the massive, 16-foot “Danner Memorial” Tiffany window, framed underneath the ornate stained-glass fruited flora archway in November.

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  Photo by Will Davidson

  A Rare Diamond ‘Tie’ Necklace

  The 1929 necklace by Van Cleef & Arpels, featuring graduated links set with cut diamonds and rotating elongated tassels, sold for $3.6 million – three times its high estimate – after a six-minute bidding battle in June.

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  Photo by Chris Lavado

  An American Culinary Experience

  Dinners feted Visions of America in January with a one-of-a-kind culinary experience at the New York Stock Exchange.

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  Photo by Jon Tasker

  Impressive Purses

  Luxury handbags were a booming business on Sotheby’s marketplace this year.

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  Photo by Matt Sherman

  The Colossal Apex the Stegosaurus

  The most complete Stegosaurus specimin to come to auction achieved a record-setting $44.6 million in July.

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  Photo by Sean Thomas

  Tom Brady’s Greatest Auction of All Time

  Brady poses for the November issue of Sotheby’s Magazine. The white-glove evening auction of watches and treasures from the legendary quarterback’s career achieved $9 million with 100% of lots sold.

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  Photo by Matthew Borowick

  ‘Four Dragons’ Mirror

  This rare bronze “four dragons” mirror, offered during Chinese Art in March, comes from the eastern Zhou dynasty during the warring states period.

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  Photo by Frank Francis

  A Scene from Sydell Miller’s West Palm Beach Library

  Henri Matisse’s Jeune fille en robe rose sold for $9.7 million, double its high estimate, during A Legacy of Beauty: The Collection of Sydell Miller Evening Auction in November.

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  Photo by Julian Cassady

  Sotheby’s Double-Height Galleries

  An expansive view of the iconic double-height galleries, the ideal location for viewing art of all styles and sizes.

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  Photo by Sotheby’s

  Maurizio Cattelan’s ‘Comedian’

  The infamous artwork bore fruit with a historic $6.2 million hammer price in November.

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