The art market calendar for the second week of May 2026 looks to be among the richest and most diverse of the entire spring season. Let’s look at it together.
The week opens on Thursday, May 14, with a crucial day: in Rome, Colasanti beats auction No. 152 in Jewelry and Watches while Wannenes offers Luxury Bags & Accessories. Farsetti Arte is present with the auction Paintings, Drawings, Sculptures and Graphics (open May 13). In Milan, Pandolfini presents Auction No. 1426 of Books, Manuscripts and Autographs and Prints and Cambi Auction House ends its Numismatics collection instead. On Friday, May 15, activity continues with Pandolfini Numismatics, while Maison Bibelot ’s timed auction dedicated toTable Elegance opens.
May 16 features Wannenes ’ online sessions on Old and 19th-century Paintings, while on the same date, Santa Giulia Auction House opens Auction 68 focused on Fine Paintings of the 19th and 20th centuries. The new week kicks off again on Monday, May 18, with Finarte ’s Photography: ITALIAN ICONS while Pandolfini ends the Arcade | Jewelry auction. On Tuesday, May 19, the density of appointments peaks: Aste Bolaffi in Turin presents the Design sale, Cambi offers the Fine Jewellery session in Milan, while in Rome Colasanti beats auction no. 153 Luxury Fashion Web Live and Bertolami opens the session on Antique and Modern Jewelry / Watches / 20th Century Silverware. On the same day Finarte presents in Milan the live auctions Photography: Discovering Space and Ethnographic Photography: Around the World in 80+80 Shots while auction house Gonnelli presents the auction Ancient, Modern and Contemporary Art (Part I).
The Italian show closes on Wednesday, May 20, with the second part of Gonnelli ’s auctionAncient, Modern and Contemporary Art (Part II) and Pandolfini ’s Antique Paintings in Florence. In Milan, Cambi offers the Fine Art Selection auction and Finarte presents the Photography: Under 1K auction instead. On the same day, Pananti’s Vintage timed auction concludes. On May 20, Wannenes is present in Milan with the European Majolica and Porcelain auction while Bertolami Fine Art is active with GIOIELLI from an important Roman jewelry store in liquidation.
The international market sees an unprecedented concentration of events, with New York the epicenter of modern and Paris the center of applied arts and solidarity.
On Thursday, May 14, Sotheby’s in New York beats the prestigious Robert Mnuchin: Collector at Heart Evening Auction and The Now & Contemporary Evening Auction, while Bonhams in London presents Fine Chinese Art. Also concluding are the online sessions of Sotheby ’s Fine Jewelry in Geneva and Curated Ceramics, the FiredUp4 auction in London, as well as Christie’s Fine and Rare Wines Online: Los Angeles Edition. Friday, May 15 is the turn of Sotheby ’s Contemporary Day Auction in New York and the Fabergé, Gold Boxes & Vertu (Geneva) and Asian Art / 5000 Years (London) sessions.
On Monday, May 18, the spotlight shifts to Vienna and New York: the Palais Dorotheum is staging the online auction of Watches, Technology and Photographic Curiosity, while Christie’s in New York opens the week with Masterpieces: The Private Collection of S.I. Newhouse and the 20th Century Evening Sale. In Paris, Bonhams Cornette de Saint Cyr closes the auction of African and Oceanic Art.
May 19 marks the culmination of Global Modern Art: Phillips presents the Modern & Contemporary Art Evening Sale in New York, in direct competition with Sotheby ’s Modern Evening Auction and Christie ’s session on Impressionist and Modern Works on Paper Sale. In Europe, Dorotheum beats the big Modern Art auction, Artcurial closes the Zao Wou-Ki sale online. Tajan, on the other hand, is active with the Paris auction Hans Seiler - Space in light.
On Wednesday , May 20, the week closes with major contemporary sales: Christie’s presents Marian’s Richters & 21st Century Evening Sale, while Bonhams beats the 20th & 21st Century Art Evening Sale. In Vienna, Dorotheum offersContemporary Art I, while Paris features Artcurial with Limited Editions and Bonhams Cornette de Saint Cyr with the specialized The Greek Sale.
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| Auctions of the week: modern art, design and photography |
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