A Francis Bacon painting fetched $15 million at Sotheby's contemporary and post-war auction today, smashing the record for the Irish artist.
The result and the $125 million sales total on the day were seen as signs of strong sales to come during the autumn auctions at both Sotheby's and archrival Christie's. More than $1 billion in sales is anticipated.
Sotheby's handout photo of an artwork by Francis Bacon entitled, Version No. 2 of Lying Figure with Hypodermic Syringe.
Only seven of the 83 lots on offer were unsold, while records were set for 15 artists. The $125,132,800 total including commission was well within the pre-sale estimate.
The auction's star was unquestionably Bacon's Version No. 2 of Lying Figure With Hypodermic Syringe, a powerful 1968 work by the provocative artist estimated at $9 million to $12 million which was bought by an anonymous telephone bidder, far eclipsing the old record by some $5 million.
The work was one of 27 being sold from the noteworthy Vanthournout collection, all of which found buyers, most for well above their estimates with many breaking artists' records. The collection's $42 million total beat even the high estimate by some $7 million.
"We're very thrilled with tonight's sale," said Tobias Meyer, Sotheby's worldwide head of contemporary art who also served as auctioneer, adding that the total was just shy of the auction house's best-ever contemporary sale.
Anthony Grant, senior contemporary art specialist, noted that it encompassed a broad range of periods, styles, influences and prices and "really tested" the market.
"Bidding was very global, and there was broad-based buying," he said.
As has been the case for several seasons, Warhols performed well. Three were included among the top 10 lots, led by Flowers, one of the pop artist's seminal images which fetched $6,848,000, beating its high estimate of $6 million.
Martinson Coffeealso drew spirited bidding before selling for $3,824,000 against a high estimate of $3 million.
Among the few casualties were a pair of major works that included Roy Lichtenstein's Head - Yellow and Black. The sale's second-highest price work, it drew no bids beyond $7.6 million. David Smith sculpture Voltri XVII, estimated at $5 million to $7 million, also went unsold.
Other highlights included Willem de Kooning's Untitled XXX, which at $10,656,000 achieved the sale's second-highest price, and Lichtenstein's Black and White Sunrisewhich went for $6,624,000.
New records were set by Piero Manzoni, Anish Kapoor, Isamu Noguchi, Dan Flavin, Carl Andre and several other artists whose names are less prominent in the high-stakes auction arena. Kapoor's untitled sculpture soared to $2,256,000, five times its high estimate and nearly triple the old record of $844,444.
The New York auctions conclude today with Christie's much-anticipated auction of contemporary and post-war art, which is poised to become the largest such sale in history.