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Condition Report: Sotheby’s Caroline Seabolt & Ashkan Baghestani

A joint interview with the heads of Sotheby’s day sales on the depth of last week’s sales, the importance of estates in driving them, and the enduring thrill of selling another Hopper.

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Caroline Seabolt, Ashkan Baghestani
Marion spoke to the two heads of Sotheby’s day sales—Caroline Seabolt (modern) and Ashkan Baghestani (contemporary)—about their respective auctions. Together, the day sales at Sotheby’s brought in almost $172 million. Photos: Courtesy of Sotheby’s
Marion Maneker
May 27, 2026

This auction season, the big news was that the top of the market had returned to health: Lots over $20 million accounted for more than $1.26 billion of the $2.53 billion in total sales. Clearly, the performance at that band of the market colors our overall perception, and the combined total for all of the evening sales was almost $2.2 billion. Nevertheless, the day sales also showed remarkable strength across houses and categories, showing that market momentum is broad-based and not just confined to the big spenders.

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