Cheyenne Westphal

Cheyenne Westphal
Born1967 (age 58–59)
Iserlohn, Germany
Alma mater
Children1

Cheyenne Westphal (born September 1967) is a German-born, London-based art dealer and art advisor. She was Global Chairwoman at auctioneers Phillips from March 2017 to June 2025 .[1][2][3][4][5][6] She was worldwide head of contemporary art at Sotheby's until April 2016, having joined the firm in 1990.[7][8]

Westphal joined Phillips in 2017 as Global Chairwoman, overseeing major sales and the company’s strategic expansion in the contemporary art market, leading to record years in 2021 and 2022.[9][10][11] In 2019, she was named by Forbes as "the most powerful woman in contemporary art."[12] During her tenure at Phillips, notable works sold included Peter Doig’s Rosedale ($28.8 million), which at the time set a record for the artist;[13] Pablo Picasso’s La Dormeuse ($57.8 million);[14] Mark Bradford’s Helter Skelter I ($10.4 million), which set the highest auction price at the time for a living African-American artist;[15] and Jean-Michel Basquiat’s Untitled ($85 million).[16] In May 2025, Phillips announced that Westphal would step down from her role after eight years with the auction house.[5][6]

Before joining Phillips, Westphal served as Worldwide Head of Contemporary Art at Sotheby’s.[17] She led sales that resulted in world records for Gerhard Richter (Abstraktes Bild, $46.3 million), Sigmar Polke (Jungle, $27.1 million), Piero Manzoni (Achrome, $20.2 million), and Alberto Burri (Saccho e Rosso, $13.2 million), among many others. Westphal presided over every Sotheby’s contemporary sale in Europe since 1999,[18] including the most successful contemporary art auction in Europe in July 2015, which achieved a record-breaking $204.7 million.[19]

Westphal brought a number of single-owner collections to market, including the Damien Hirst sale, Beautiful Inside My Head Forever, which raised $200.7 million in 2008.[20][21] This was followed by the $140 million Helga and Walther Lauffs Collection of Post-War European and American Art[20] and The Lenz Schoenberg Collection in 2010, yielding £23 million and setting nineteen auction records, many for art from the ZERO movement. She negotiated the sale of Count Duerckheim's Post-War German Art in 2011, which raised a record $92.2 million and set records for German artists.[22]

In 1990, Westphal joined Sotheby’s[8] after graduating from University of St Andrews in Scotland and studying contemporary art under Professor Anne Wagner at UC Berkeley in California.[23][24]

References

  1. ^ Shaw, Anny (16 May 2016). "Cheyenne Westphal to take up new role as chairman of Phillips". Theartnewspaper.com. Archived from the original on 2016-05-22. Retrieved 2016-05-19.
  2. ^ "Cheyenne Westphal heads series of appointments at Phillips". Antiquestradegazette.com. 2016-05-13. Retrieved 2016-05-19.
  3. ^ "Sothebys Lifer Cheyenne Westphal Joins New Auction House". The Australian. Retrieved 2016-05-19.
  4. ^ Katya Kazakina (2016-03-31). "Sotheby's Global Contemporary Art Head Westphal Departs". Bloomberg. Retrieved 2016-05-19.
  5. ^ a b Jacobs, Harrison (2025-05-19). "Phillips Sees Major Leadership Shakeup After a Shaky Auction Season". ARTnews.com. Retrieved 2025-11-11.
  6. ^ a b Shaw, Anny (2025-05-19). "Top Phillips rainmakers Cheyenne Westphal and Jean-Paul Engelen to leave auction house". The Art Newspaper - International art news and events. Retrieved 2025-11-11.
  7. ^ "Exodus continues at Sotheby's with worldwide head of contemporary art Cheyenne Westphal set to leave". Theartnewspaper.com. 2016-03-31. Retrieved 2016-05-19.
  8. ^ a b Media, ATG. "Cheyenne Westphal heads series of appointments at Phillips". www.antiquestradegazette.com. Retrieved 2017-03-23.
  9. ^ "For Cheyenne Westphal, an Education Fostered by Collecting (Published 2018)". 2018-04-17. Retrieved 2025-11-11.
  10. ^ "Sotheby's Christie's and Phillips Global Sales Surge - the 2021 Figures". artlyst.com. Retrieved 2025-11-11.
  11. ^ Villa, Angelica (2022-12-22). "Phillips Reaches $1.3 B. in 2022, But Asia Sales Declined". ARTnews.com. Retrieved 2025-11-11.
  12. ^ Gural, Natasha. "Most Powerful Woman In Contemporary Art Shares Her Secrets Of Conquering Two Decades Of Master Sales". Forbes. Retrieved 2025-11-11.
  13. ^ Russeth, Nate Freeman, Andrew (2017-05-19). "Led by Record-Setting $28.8 M. Doig, Phillips Nets $110.3 M. at Contemporary Evening Auction". ARTnews.com. Retrieved 2025-11-11.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  14. ^ Gural, Natasha. "Recharged Phillips Soars To New Record On $916.5 Million Sales, Led By Picasso Sleeping Nude Of Muse". Forbes. Retrieved 2025-11-11.
  15. ^ Valentine, Victoria L. (2018-03-13). "Mark Bradford 'Helter Skelter' Painting Sells for Nearly $12 Million, Highest-Ever Auction Price for Work by Living African American Artist". Culture Type. Retrieved 2025-11-11.
  16. ^ Porterfield, Carlie. "Billionaire Yusaku Maezawa Sells Basquiat Painting For $85 Million As Market For Artist's Work Heats Up". Forbes. Retrieved 2025-11-11.
  17. ^ Crow, Kelly (2016-05-12). "Ex-Sotheby's Rainmaker Heads to Rival Auction House". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved 2017-03-23.
  18. ^ "Sotheby's Contemporary Art Head Cheyenne Westphal Out After 25 Years | ARTnews". www.artnews.com. 31 March 2016. Retrieved 2017-03-23.
  19. ^ "Sotheby's Achieves Highest Total For London Contemporary Art Auction - Artlyst". Artlyst. Retrieved 2017-03-23.
  20. ^ a b widewalls. "Cheyenne Westphal leaving Sotheby's - Worldwide Head of Contemporary Art is to leave by the end of April". WideWalls. Retrieved 2017-03-23.
  21. ^ "Hirst's Art Auction Attracts Plenty of Bidders, Despite Financial Turmoil (Published 2008)". 2008-09-15. Retrieved 2025-11-11.
  22. ^ Shaw, Anny (16 May 2016). "Cheyenne Westphal to take up new role as chairman of Phillips". The Art Newspaper.
  23. ^ Net-A-Porter. "The Interview | The Interview: Cheyenne Westphal | Magazine | NET-A-PORTER.COM". NET-A-PORTER. Archived from the original on 2015-07-15. Retrieved 2017-03-23.
  24. ^ Loos, Ted (2018-04-17). "For Cheyenne Westphal, an Education Fostered by Collecting". The New York Times.
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