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Warhol, Kline shine at Christie’s record-setting auction

Andy Warhol - Statue of Liberty

Andy Warhol (1928-1987)
Statue of Liberty
Silkscreen inks, spray enamel and graphite on canvas
77 3/4 x 81 in. (197.5 x 205.7 cm.)
Painted in 1962.
Estimate on request
Sold for $43,762,500

Jean-Michel Basquiat - Untitled, 1981

Jean-Michel Basquiat (1960-1988)
Untitled, 1981
Acrylic and oilstick on Canvas – 78 x 68 in, 198 x 173 cm
Estimate in the region of $20 million
Sold for $26,402,500

Warhol, Kline at Christie’s record-setting auction On November 14 2012, Christie’s Post-War and Contemporary Art sale became the most valuable auction ever in the category, at $412,253,100 (£259,719,453/ €321,557,418). The auction was led by Warhol, Kline, Koons, Lichtenstein and Basquiat.]]>

November 15, 2012, source: Christie’s / theartwolf

Andy Warhol‘s 3-D “Statue of Liberty” achieved $43,762,500 (£27,570,375/ €34,134,750). The iconic work is a pioneering example of 3-D painting, the first of its kind. The sale also offered one of the most famous of Warhol’s portraits of Hollywood celebrities, a powerful, brooding portrait of Marlon Brando from 1966 which sold for $23,714,500 (£14,940,135/ €18,497,310).

The evening featured a group of works by the Abstract Expressionist masters led by a seminal example by Franz Kline. Described by Christie’s as “the most important Abstract Expressionist work by the artist to come to market in a generation”, “Untitled”, 1957, was sold to a bidder on the telephone for $40,402,500, (£25,453,575/ €31,513,950).

The monumental sculpture “Tulips” by Jeff Koons achieved $33,682,500 (£21,219,975/ € 26,272,350), a new world auction record for the artist. The price places Koons among the world’s top-selling living artists.

Jean-Michel Basquiat‘s excellent “Untitled”, 1981 -one of the best works by the artist to come to market in the last ten years- was sold for $26,402,500 (€20,662,195), a new world auction record for the artist. “Nude with Red Shirt” by Roy Lichtenstein sold to a bidder on the phone for $28,082,500 (£17,691,975/ €21,904,350).

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Rothko leads Sotheby’s record-setting sale (news, November 2012)

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Warhol, Kline shine at Christie's record-setting auction