Late American artist Jean-Michel Basquiat's Dustheads has toppled the previous record price achieved by the artist at auction.
Dustheads brought $48.8m to Christie's record breaking contemporary art auction yesterday evening (May 15) - a 39.6% increase on the work's $35m high estimate.
 Basquiat's world record is up 84.9% inside a year |
The previous world record price at auction stood at $26.4m - paid for an untitled work by the artist in November 2012. The change in world record therefore stands at 84.9%.
The seven foot tall canvas, which features a pair of skull-like faces, sold from the collection of London-based Tiqui Atencio, who purchased the work for an undisclosed sum in 1996, from art dealer Tony Shafrazi.
Dustheads was bought by an anonymous telephone bidder.
Christie's Jussi Pylkkanen commented: "We are in a new era of the art market."
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