What changed hands?
Constantin Brâncuși, Danaïde. From the S.I. Newhouse collection. One of the highest prices for any sculpture at auction.
A record carved in stone
The Brâncuși Danaïde from the Newhouse collection set a new auction record for any sculpture at $107.6 million. The result was achieved at Christie's New York as part of the same record-breaking May 2026 sale week that dispersed the Newhouse holdings across both major houses.
The sculptor and the collector
Brâncuși is widely regarded as the father of modern sculpture, reducing form to its essential elements. The Newhouse provenance added a layer of collecting history that helped drive the result to unprecedented heights. The previous sculpture record had stood for years; this sale reset the benchmark by a wide margin.
Read the number carefully
An auction result captures a particular object, a particular sale and the buyers competing on that occasion. It does not establish the value of every similar object, or what this one would sell for today.
Our selection keeps historical results separate from asking prices and estimates. Where the cited report does not break out fees, we say so rather than inventing a hammer price.
Sale documentation: Christie's press release — 20th/21st Century Evening Sale ↗
What does “source reviewed” mean?
We checked the published report against the amount and object listed here. That does not independently authenticate the object or confirm settlement of the transaction.
