Last year, the October sales held in Paris to coincide with Art Basel’s Paris Plus art fair were an unexpected success. Sotheby’s was able to post strong numbers for works by René Magritte, Lucio Fontana, Pierre Soulages, and Frantisek Kupka in their Modern sale, while the single-owner Pauline Karpidas sale of the contents of her Hydra home produced a rousing €35.5 million. Christie’s also did quite well: It sold Francois-Xavier Lalanne’s Rhinocretaire I for €18.3 million, a record price for the artist. The auction house also sold works from the collection of Anne and Wolfgang Titze for €27.7 million, and the La Colombe d’Or hotel’s Joan Miró for €20.7 million. 

This year, the auction houses have already begun announcing lots for the Paris sales, even though they remain a full quarter away. Of course, some of the emphasis on Paris is a reflection of the quirks of the calendar. It’s July and the Contemporary market is still contracting, which means the midseason sales in New York will not have publicity-worthy lots. And despite the fact that Christie’s and Sotheby’s will, for the first time, be holding their Hong Kong sales in close proximity to each other in late September, the Asian market is in hibernation. But with the marketing upgrade of Paris+ (no, it’s not a streaming service) to Art Basel Paris and the tailwind of attention many expect after the Olympics, along with the consistent push from the Arnault and Pinault clans to draw attention to the city as the capital of the art-luxury industrial complex, there’s a dawning recognition that Paris will be playing a bigger role in the art trade—and its late October pit stop on the international swirl will become a signature annual event.