Christie's nets $412.3 M. at record contemporary art sale

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November 15, 2012

Christie's nets $412.3 M. at record contemporary art sale
Posted by Staff

The fall’s auction season in New York is turning out to be a record-breaking one. Tuesday night Sotheby’s made its highest-ever total with a postwar and contemporary auction that came to $375.1 million. And earlier this evening, a Christie’s sale in the same category brought in $412.3 million, the highest total ever for an auction of contemporary art. Led by house auctioneer Jussi Pylkkänen, the lively sale, which topped its high estimate of $411.8 million, saw new records for Richard Serra, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Franz Kline, Richard Diebenkorn, Donald Judd, Mark Grotjahn and Jeff Koons. Mr. Koons is now the second most expensive living artist at auction, after Gerhard Richter.

At a press conference after the sale Koji Inoue, head of evening sales for the postwar and contemporary department, called the auction, “four aces across the board.”

11/15/12 8:32 AM

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