What Nicole Kidman dancing around a Brâncuși sculpture says about the future of the art world

Good morning, all.

We hope you enjoyed the long weekend and if you’re UK based, we hope you managed to keep the sunburn at bay.

Thanks to everyone who downloaded our UK degree show calendar last week. We can’t wait to see what this year’s graduating artists have been working on and we’ll be reporting back, so watch this space!

Today’s post comes to you from a train zooming back to London after a weekend wedding held at the Talbot Hotel. The venue is home to an oak staircase reputedly descended by Mary, Queen of Scots, before her execution. To steal a joke from the best man’s speech—like Mary, we also have sore heads this morning.

Being in the lush English countryside, sun blazing, with people whose interests fall far outside the realms of the art world was refreshing after the high profile events of the last few weeks. Dominated by New York's spring marquee auctions, which collectively brought in roughly $1.8 billion across Christie's, Sotheby's, and Phillips, the sales clearly signalled that liquidity is back at the very top of the market.

Sotheby's kicked things off with Mark Rothko's Brown and Blacks in Reds selling for $85.7M. Phillips had a strong week at $115.2M, more than double its 2025 equivalent. But Christie's stole the show on Monday night, moving over $630 million in just 40 minutes and setting new auction records for both Jackson Pollock and Brâncuși, before wrapping the evening with another $490M to land at a $1.1B total. A Pollock drip painting was the night's top lot at $181.2M but the real circus was around Brâncuși's golden bust Danaïde, which Christie's promoted via a video of Nicole Kidman and ultimately sold for $107.6M, an artist record.

The video of Kidman sparked widespread discussion and confusion in the art world, and if you haven’t already seen it, click here to watch. What at first appears to be interpretive dancing by Kidman in reaction to the Brâncuși’s beauty is in fact inspired by…

Today’s letter includes: Our thoughts on what Nicole Kidman dancing around a Brâncuși says about the future of the art world. Plus, art world news including a murder-for-hire trial, ‘Arc de Trump’ designs approved for D.C., an upcoming Ai Weiwei performance and the South Asian institution taking over Christie’s this summer.