Christie's Sells $135 Million of Art in Auction

May 14, 2014  by in Designer Weekly   

Christie’s sold $134.6 million of contemporary art in New York in an hour as international buyers from 26 countries chased after works including Andy Warhol’s electric chair silkscreen and Martin Kippenberger’s slouching man in his underwear.

Titled “If I Live I’ll See You Tuesday,” the auction yesterday surpassed its high target of $124.1 million as 11 artist records were set, including those for Richard Prince, On Kawara, Wade Guyton, Dan Colen and Kippenberger. Of the 35 lots offered, all but one found buyers. Similar to last week’s Impressionist and modern art auctions, Asian collectors competed fiercely, winning at least two of the top 10 lots, Christie’s said.

The sale was an experiment: Typically, Christie’s, rival Sotheby’s (BID:US) and boutique auction house Phillips each hold one evening sale of postwar and contemporary art in May. “If I Live” was an addition to the usual lineup, preceding Christie’s marquee sale today that is expected to tally about $500 million.

Read Entire Story  Source: Businessweek