November 5th 2009 - The auction was led by Alberto Giacometti's mesmerizing L’Homme qui Chavire, an instantly recognizable icon of the modern era cast in 1951 which sold for a remarkable $19,346,500 (est. $8/12 million). Caught in the instant he loses his balance, the legendary Falling Man, as he is known in translation, exists in a state of perpetual instability and in a moment of transcendence as he hurls towards the future.

Two spectacular Fauvist works were among the new auction records established this evening. Five different bidders competed for Kees van Dongen’s powerful masterwork Jeune Arabe, driving the final price to a record-breaking $13,802,500, well above a high estimate of $10 million. André Derain’s glittering depiction of Barques au port de Collioure, circa 1905, also inspired heated bidding from six different collectors, finally selling to a bidder in the room for $14,802,500, surpassing the high estimate of $8 million, comfortably doubling the artist’s previous record.

Wassily Kandinsky's stunning Krass und Mild (Dramatic and Mild), one of the greatest Bauhaus-period works to have appeared at auction in decades, achieved $10,610,500 (est. $6/8 million) and led a group of pictures from the collections of renowned philanthropist and patron of the arts, Dr. Arthur M. Sackler

Also among the top ten lots tonight was one of Pablo Picasso’s greatest monumental interpretations of the musketeer, Buste d’homme, 1969, which sold for $10,386,500 (est. $8/12 million). The picture was included in the 1970 exhibition of the artist’s recent work at the Palais des Papes in Avignon and has not been shown publicly since.

“Tonight’s results were clear vote of confidence for the art market,” said Simon Shaw, Head of Sotheby’s Impressionist and Modern Art Department in New York. “We wanted to put together a sale with works that were not just of great quality but were also presented with attractive estimates. I think the great depth of bidding we saw this evening is a testament to that strategy. Tonight was the first time since May 2006 in New York that we exceeded our top estimate, proving what we have seen consistently this year, that there is an enormous appetite for works of art of great quality.”