A $30 Estate-Sale Painting Fetches $1.35M as Turner's Rome Heads to a Record $66M Sale

7 October 2026

J.M.W. Turner, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

$30 Estate-Sale Find Sells for $1.35 Million, Setting Gertrude Abercrombie Record

A tiny 8-by-11-inch painting bought for $30 at a Michigan estate sale has sold for $1,352,600 at Freeman's | Hindman, the highest price ever paid for a work by Chicago surrealist Gertrude Abercrombie. "Alderman Merriam's Shells" (1951) was originally given by the artist to a Kalamazoo physician in exchange for surgical services, and had been hiding in a hallway closet before a picker spotted it while shopping for midcentury furniture. The Art Newspaper and Freeman's | Hindman have the full story.

Turner's "Rome, from Mount Aventine" Returns to Auction With a $66M Estimate

J.M.W. Turner's 1836 masterpiece "Rome, from Mount Aventine" is back on the block at Sotheby's London on 9 December, estimated around £50m ($66.2m) — a bid to beat the artist's own auction record, which this same canvas set in 2014 when it sold for £30.3m. The painting has been on public display in Rome ahead of the sale. Coverage via The Art Newspaper and Daily Sabah.

Christie's Stages Its Second Anime and Manga Sale

Following a blockbuster $1.4m debut in March, Christie's returns with a second dedicated anime and manga auction this October, featuring original cels from Pokémon, Akira, My Neighbor Totoro and Dragon Ball Z, alongside works tied to Osamu Tezuka and Rumiko Takahashi. The physical exhibition runs 8-12 October at Christie's New York, with the online sale live 9-22 October. Details via The Art Newspaper.

Lee Bul Debuts at Hauser & Wirth Chelsea With a Zeppelin-Scale Sculpture

South Korean artist Lee Bul, newly represented by Hauser & Wirth in collaboration with Seoul's BB&M, opens her first exhibition with the gallery at its West Chelsea building. At its centre: "Willing To Be Vulnerable—Metallised Balloon," a massive zeppelin-like sculpture built from lightweight PET film that turns a symbol of progress into a meditation on fragility. More from Hauser & Wirth and Ocula.

Art Basel Miami Beach Unveils a Scaled-Down, More Focused 2026 Floorplan

Art Basel Miami Beach has announced 272 exhibitors from more than 40 countries for its 4-6 December 2026 edition — down from 285 in 2025 — alongside a reconfigured showfloor that distributes blue-chip galleries throughout the fair rather than clustering them. More than 30 galleries join for the first time, largely through the project-based Nova, Positions and Survey sectors, with Brazil forming the fair's third-largest national contingent. Details via Art Basel and The Art Newspaper.

Sources

• The Art Newspaper: Gertrude Abercrombie estate-sale auction record
• Freeman's | Hindman press release
• The Art Newspaper: Turner painting valued at £50m goes on view in Rome
• Daily Sabah: Turner's Rome landscape could fetch $57M at Sotheby's
• The Art Newspaper: Christie's second anime and manga sale
• Hauser & Wirth: Welcoming Lee Bul
• Ocula: Lee Bul joins Hauser & Wirth
• Art Basel: exhibitors and reconfigured showfloor for Miami Beach 2026
• The Art Newspaper: Art Basel Miami Beach scaled-down floorplan

Solene Haus

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