Christie’s Shocker: Iconic 1922 Piet Mondrian Painting Sells for Millions, But Not Enough to Break the Record!
A rare and historic painting by Dutch modernist Piet Mondrian stunned the art world last night by selling for $47.6 million at Christie’s New York, an impressive sum, but just shy of smashing the artist’s auction record.
Record-Breaker or Missed Opportunity?
The painting, Composition with Large Red Plane, Bluish Gray, Yellow, Black and Blue, was the centrepiece of the “Leonard & Louise Riggio: Collected Works” sale. Pre-sale estimates topped $50 million. Despite its high-profile status and significance, the hammer came down at $41 million, with the final price reaching $47.6 million after premiums.
The painting would have to exceed $44.3 million before fees to break Mondrian’s record. The current record still stands with Composition No. II (1930), which fetched $51 million at Sotheby’s in 2022, approximately $54.8 million adjusted for inflation.
A Masterpiece of Neo-Plasticism
Painted in 1922, the artwork is a classic example of Neo-Plasticism, Mondrian’s radical style of pure abstraction using bold lines, flat planes, and primary colours. Living in post–World War I Paris, Mondrian sought to create a universal visual language—”a purely plastic beauty” made of lines and colour, completely free of natural representation.
“It’s a fantastic picture,” said Hugo Nathan of Beaumont Nathan, an art advisory firm. “But the market at those very high levels is quite tricky.”
From $2.5 Million to $47.6 Million: The Incredible Price Journey
This same painting last appeared at auction in 1992, selling for a modest $2.58 million. At the time, the estimate was between $1.8–$2.5 million. After changing hands, it was acquired in 2000 by Leonard Riggio, founder of Barnes & Noble and former chairman of the Dia Art Foundation. Riggio’s death in 2023 left behind an art trove now considered the largest single collection of the season, estimated between $252 million and $326 million.
Guaranteed Sale, But Little Competition
Christie’s had secured a third-party guarantee on the Mondrian masterpiece, ensuring it would sell. In the end, there was only one bidder, phoning in via Alex Rotter, Christie’s global president. No live action was reported in the room, reinforcing expert concerns about the volatility of ultra-high-end art markets.
Why This Mondrian Still Matters
Though it narrowly missed the record, this sale highlights Mondrian’s enduring relevance in the art world. His minimalist grid paintings continue to captivate collectors, museums, and critics alike. Mondrian’s pioneering vision of abstract art still shapes the aesthetic of modern design, architecture, and culture more than a century later.
Image – Piet Mondrian. Composition with Large Red Plane, Bluish Gray, Yellow, Black and Blue. Courtesy – Wikipedia
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