Francis Bacon’s Study for a Head (Pope Pius XII) made £10,050,500.
Untilted (New York City) by Cy Twombly (1928-2011) made £19,682,500.
Untitled, New York City by Cy Twombly was the top lot at Christie’s Post War and Contemporary art auction in London tonight. It made £19,682,500 in a sale that brought in £117,542,500. This follows the record-breaking sale of one of Cy Twombly’s blackboards which sold for $69.6 million at Christie’s New York last November.
Gerhard Richter’s photorealist painting Vierwaldstatter See (Lake Lucerne) sold for £15,762,500 and Francis Bacon’s Study for Head (Pope Pius XII) sold for £10,050,500. Richter’s Karmin (Carmine) sold for £9,682,500, Twombly’s Death of Pompey (Rome) sold for £4,338,500 and Three Delegates by Jean Michel Basquiat sold for £4,394,500.
Artist records were set for Paolo Scheggi (£1,178,500), Howard Hodgkin (£1,202,500) and Theaster Gates (£242,500). Wall of Light, Reef by Sean Scully sold for £554,400.
Francis Outred, International Director and Head of Post-War & Contemporary Art, Christie’s Europe said: “The interest in contemporary art has grown enormously, but at a rate that is sustainable. No bubble produces bidders from 40 countries and six continents for such a diverse range of works. I am particularly proud that in the week of Richter’s 83rd birthday, one of his greatest paintings – of Lake Lucerne – a place so close to his heart, was so sought after”.