{"id":2687,"date":"2013-11-19T22:04:39","date_gmt":"2013-11-19T22:04:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/raulmourao.com\/blog\/?p=2687"},"modified":"2013-11-19T22:05:16","modified_gmt":"2013-11-19T22:05:16","slug":"christies-makes-auction-history-with-an-astounding-692-million-sale-by-rachel-corbett","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.archive.raulmourao.com\/blog\/?p=2687","title":{"rendered":"Christie’s Makes Auction History With an Astounding $692 Million Sale – By Rachel Corbett"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Christie's<\/a><\/h1>\n

peguei l\u00e1 no Artspace<\/a>.<\/p>\n

After last year\u2019s record-breaking $495 million sale atChristie\u2019s<\/strong>, many were left stunned by the contemporary art market\u2019s unwieldy, perhaps even unsustainable, new proportions. But now Christie\u2019s has trounced that record with last night\u2019s historic $692 million contemporary art sale, an almost unbelievable tally that stands as the highest-ever total for an auction house.<\/p>\n

Several artworks toppled records throughout the night\u2014most dramatically\u00a0Francis Bacon<\/strong><\/a>\u2019s\u00a0Three Studies of Lucian Freud<\/em>, 1969, which sold for $142.4 million to beat out\u00a0Edvard Munch<\/strong>\u2019s\u00a0The Scream<\/em>\u00a0as the most expensive piece of art ever to be sold at auction. Seven bidders battled it out for the angst-ridden triptych of Bacon\u2019s friend and fellow painter, but\u00a0Acquavella Gallerie<\/strong>s, it is thought, ultimately prevailed with a total roughly $60 million higher than the artist\u2019s previous record, set by Russian billionaire\u00a0Roman Abramovich<\/strong>\u00a0atSotheby’s<\/strong>\u00a0in 2008.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, an unnamed telephone buyer set a new record for a living artist with the purchase of\u00a0Jeff Koons<\/strong><\/a>\u2019s gleaming orange\u00a0Balloon Dog<\/em>, which went for $58.4 million, edging above its $55 million high estimate. Before bringing the work to auction last night, the Greenwich-based billionaire\u00a0Peter Brant<\/strong>\u00a0had been one of just five elite collectors\u00a0to own one of Koons\u2019s signature steel puppies.\u00a0Could a Qatari royal be joining the ranks of\u00a0Francois Pinault<\/strong>,\u00a0Eli Broad<\/strong>,\u00a0Dakis Joannou<\/strong>, and\u00a0Steve A. Cohen<\/strong>? Speculation is already flying.<\/p>\n

New artist records were also set last night for\u00a0Willem de Kooning<\/strong>\u00a0($32 million),Christopher Wool<\/strong><\/a>, ($26.5 million),\u00a0Wade Guyton<\/strong>\u00a0($2.4 million),\u00a0Wayne Thiebaud<\/strong>($6.3 million),\u00a0Lucio Fontana<\/strong>\u00a0($20.9 million),\u00a0Donald Judd<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0($14.2 million), and four others.<\/p>\n

Among the other notable sales, a\u00a0Cindy Sherman<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0“Centerforlds” photograph of a woman in cinematic peril more than doubled its low estimate to fetch $2 million. One of\u00a0Warhol<\/strong><\/a>‘s gigantic black-and-white Coca-Cola-bottle paintings (there are only four in existence), an iconic\u2014and, if you’re from the midwest, literal\u2014Pop<\/a>\u00a0masterpiece from 1992, sold for a stunning $57.3 million, just under its $60 million high estimate; later in the evening, one of\u00a0his splendid hammer-and-sickle paintings<\/a>\u00a0reaped $3.5 million. Further down the Pop lineage, a sexy\u00a0Roy Lichtenstein<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0Ben-day-dotted nude overshot its estimate to take home $31.5 million, and an\u00a0Ed Ruscha<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0painting of the American flag brought in $4.2 million.<\/p>\n

The series of contemporary sales thus far at\u00a0Phillips<\/a>\u00a0and Christie’s have been a dizzyingly potent remedy to the bleak Impressionist and Modern sales last week, which failed to generate some much-needed enthusiasm in the category. Tomorrow night, Sotheby’s will round out the New York sales with its season-closing finale.<\/p>\n

RELATED LINKS:
\n<\/em>Art Market: Phillips Kicks Off Auction Week With A Pop-Powered Sale\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n