In under three hours, Christie’s auction house in New York broke the record for the highest single sales total for an art auction. Tuesday night’s Post-War and Contemporary Art Sale was a major success, thanks to Asian collectors who bought work from high profile artists in droves.
Christie’s said that Tuesday’s total reached $744.9 million, with 94 percent of the lots sold. Ten pieces set artist records and several pieces from private collects far exceeded pre-sale estimates.
One of the headlining pieces was an Andy Warhol 1964 silkscreen called Race Riot. According to The Wall Street Journal, the piece was only expected to go for $50 million, but sold for $62.9 million. That went to American Larry Gagosian.
Barnett Newman’s Black Fire I became the most expensive work from the abstract artist, selling for $84.2 million. It was also the top-selling piece of the night.
The New York Times noted that Asian collectors kept wealthy American art collectors from winning several pieces. “I think they’re Hoover vacuum cleaners — they’re buying everything,” Bill Bell of Los Angeles told the Times.
Xin Li, deputy chairman of Christie’s Asia, acting on behalf of Asian collectors, kept Bell from taking home a Warhol piece with Marilyn Monroe’s image. In fact, Li bout five of the Top 10 pieces.
Joan Mitchell was the most expensive female artist at the auction. Her 1960 untitled bouquet went for $11.9 million.