Christie's made history on November 10, selling a Pop Art masterpiece from Roy Lichtenstein at its major Evening Sale of Post-War & Contemporary Art.
Lichtenstein's highly-anticipated masterpiece Ohhh...Alright... 1964 realised $42,642,500, establishing a new world auction record for the artist.
The work sold to an anonymous bidder on the phone. The previous record for a work by Lichtenstein was $16,256,000, achieved for In the Car, 1963, at Christie's New York in November 2005.
 Lichtenstein's record-breaking Oh...Alright... |
In addition, the sale featured one of the largest assemblages of Andy Warhol works ever offered at auction, concluding a sales week that will be remembered as "the season of Warhols". All 15 pieces sold with many beating their estimated prices, proving again the continuing popularity of everything Warhol-related.
The auction included important works by artists such as Jeff Koons and Mark Rothko. It also saw record-breaking prices for works by Alexander Calder, Richard Lindner, Mark Tansey and Morris Louis.
"We welcomed an enthusiastic response from the global collecting community this evening, giving Christie's the week's highest total for Post-War and Contemporary Art evening sales..." said Marc Porter, Chairman of Christie's Americas.
"Eight lots sold for more than $5 million, and the sale total nearly quadrupled the amount for the same time last year."
The sale attracted collectors from the United States, Europe and Asia, brought together by the exceptional group of museum-quality works.
"We continue to see ever increasing demand from both new and established collectors with deep stores of wealth, who remain actively engaged in the auction market," said Mr Porter.
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