Christie’s Rockefeller Plaza viewing rooms open May 9, and the spring 2026 season in New York is shaping up as one of the more institutionally significant in recent memory. The viewing runs May 9 through May 13 — daily, 10 AM to 5 PM — ahead of a week of major evening sales that includes single-owner collections from two of the most consequential figures in twentieth-century American cultural life.
For collectors, advisors, and anyone with holdings in the categories coming to market, the viewing week is a useful marker: it is when the auction house’s private client team is on the floor, when condition can be assessed in person, and when the institutional reading of where prices are likely to land becomes clearer through conversation rather than estimate ranges alone.
The Marian Goodman Collection and Her Richters
The season opens online May 8 with Breaking Ground: The Private Collection of Marian Goodman Part I — a direct-from-source offering from one of the most respected gallerists of the last half century. Goodman built her gallery into an international institution by championing artists — Gerhard Richter among them — whose markets have become among the most closely watched in contemporary art.
On May 20, a dedicated evening sale titled Marian’s Richters & 21st Century Evening Sale reflects the depth of her personal holdings in Richter’s work. Richter occupies a specific position in the secondary market: his auction results are tracked closely by institutional buyers, family offices, and collectors who treat blue-chip contemporary as a category rather than a personal passion. A single-owner Richter sale of this provenance — directly from the gallerist who represented him in the United States for decades — is not a standard catalog event.
The S.I. Newhouse Collection
Also on May 18: Masterpieces: The Private Collection of S.I. Newhouse. The Newhouse estate has been among the most anticipated single-owner properties in the market, drawing attention from buyers across the impressionist, modern, and contemporary categories that define the top of the New York auction ecosystem.
The Full Viewing Week Sales Calendar
The May 9–13 viewing period covers the following evening and day sales:
- May 18: 20th Century Evening Sale | Masterpieces: The Private Collection of S.I. Newhouse
- May 19: Impressionist and Modern Works on Paper Sale | Impressionist and Modern Art Day Sale
- May 20: Defined Space: The Collection of Henry S. McNeil, Jr. | Marian’s Richters & 21st Century Evening Sale
Christie’s Rockefeller Center is at 20 Rockefeller Plaza, New York. Public viewing during the May 9–13 window is open without reservation.
Liquidity During Auction Season
Major New York auction weeks have a consistent effect on the broader art and luxury market: collectors become buyers. Capital that was patient in January becomes active in May. For New York-based collectors with holdings in art, jewelry, watches, or other auction-tracked categories, spring is also the moment when loan-against-collection inquiries tend to increase — not because the market is declining, but because opportunity is visible and capital cycles on timing.
New York Loan Company provides confidential, asset-backed financing against luxury collectibles — art, watches, jewelry, and other categories that will be prominently featured in the Christie’s spring calendar. Decisions are typically made within 24 hours. The collection stays in the collector’s custody while the loan is active, and there is no requirement to sell.
For collectors attending the viewing week, or tracking what’s coming to market in May, the New York Loan team is available to discuss collateral valuations ahead of or during auction season.
