The economy might be moving as slow as a turtle, but the art collecting market is on the back of a rocket. A Christie’s modern art sale on Wednesday set a new record in a matter of hours.
Back in May, the auction house set the previous record at $744.8 million. Wednesday’s sale smashed that number, reaching $853 million in total.
According to The Wall Street Journal, Christie’s had estimated that the auction would reach just $600 million, but Asian entrepreneurs and American hedge-fund managers caused prices to skyrocket. The collectors also set new records for Ed Ruscha, Peter Doig, George Baselitz, Cindy Sherman and Cy Twombly. One piece by Twombly went for $70 million.
Yoki Kusama of Japan is now the most expensive living female artist thanks to Wednesday’s auction. Her White No. 28 sold for $7.1 million to a telephone bidder.
But, as Fortune notes, the sale’s biggest item belonged to pop icon Andy Warhol. his Triple Elvis (Ferus Type), a piece that features three images of Elvis Presley drawing a pistol, sold for $82 million. Four Marlons, which features four images of Marlon Brando from The Wild One, sold for $69.6 million.
“Tonight’s result is a testimony to the depth of interest in art across the globe, and to the talent of the Christie’s team,” Christie’s CEO Steven Murphy said.
Other major pieces included Jeff Koons’ Balloon Monkey (Orange), which went for $26 million; and Francis Bacon’s Seated Figure, which sold for $45 million. The Bacon statue was among the many pieces that only received one bidder.