The “M” in May must stand for money as last night’s sale at Christie’s was just pure insanity. With just 76 lots offered (72 sold), Christie’s averaged over $10 million per lot sold and totaled nearly $750 million! The top two lots alone, works by Barnett Newman and Francis Bacon, accounted for 22% of the sale total. Additionally, 4 lots broke $50 million and 63 broke the $1 million mark while setting records for 10 artists. After a blockbuster 2013, where total global sales of postwar and contemporary art reached $6.7 billion, it is crazy to think we are still on the way up… way up.
Billionaires Help Christie’s to Record $745 Million Sale – Bloomberg.