San Francisco museum's Rothko sells for $50m as Sotheby’s closes bumper week of New York auctions
Dana Schutz’s record broken twice in one night at Phillips then Sotheby's, while the bidder behind the $91m Koons Rabbit buys Lee Krasner painting for $10m
17th May 2019 10:23 BSTMORE
Francis Bacon's Study for a head was the highest grossing lot of the night at $50.4m © Sotheby's
After a week of strong spring sales across New York’s auction houses, the mood at Sotheby’s contemporary evening sale in New York last night was jubilant if not down right rambunctious.
Perhaps it was because many were coming straight from a strong day of 20th-century and contemporary sales at Phillips, including the highest day sale total in its history—$34.7m with fees—and an evening sale where all but one of the 43 lots on offer sold, yielding a 98% sell-through rate and an $85.3m ($100m with fees). Or maybe the crowd was still riding the $91m Rabbit high from the previous night at Christie’s, where Jeff Koons once again nabbed the title of most expensive living artist.