Tracey Emin's To Meet My Past, a four poster bed, has set a new auction record for the artist in Christie's Thinking Big auction, a special sale offering major contemporary sculptures and installations from the Saatchi Gallery.
 Emin's To Meet My Past, the new record holder, is a typically personal example of her work |
The auction was held on October 17 in London, with the Emin work highlighting at £481,875 ($770,518). Proceeds from the sale will support the Saatchi Gallery's policy of free entry to all exhibitions, and its free education progamme for schools.
The work featured 50 such works that have been shown at the Saatchi Gallery, including big names such as Emin and Chapman Brothers, as well as newer artists such as Sterling Ruby.
Ruby's collage BC (4442) sold for £225,400 ($360,500) on October 16 at Sotheby's, having been donated to the sale to raise funds for the Mimi Foundation. In the same sale, one of Emin's signature neon signs realised a 206.2% increase on estimate.
The Chapman Brothers typically controversial work was represented by their Tragic Anatomies, an installation that is described by Christie's as "transforming the Garden of Eden into a prehistoric environment populated by frolicking child mutants". It sold for £151,875 ($242,848).
 Warren is fast becoming one of the top names in contemporary art, having enjoyed success since her first major solo exhibition in 2009 |
The second highest bids of the sale were seen by British sculptor Rebecca Warren's SHE, a collection of six unique sculptures that explores the female form. Having been shown at the Royal Academy of Arts in London, as well as Tate Britain and other major galleries, the entire series sold for £385,875 ($617,014).
The sale comes amid Charles Saatchi's high profile divorce from TV chef Nigella Lawson, yet Philippa Adams, senior director of the Saatchi Gallery, told the Guardian newspaper that the sale has "absolutely nothing to do with the divorce," adding: "We have been working on this for a long time."
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