An exceptional Cy Twombly blackboard painting made $70.5 million at Sotheby’s contemporary art sale in New York last night. Untitled, New York City instantly became the most expensive work sold at Sotheby’s worldwide in 2015. A rare large-scale Mao by Andy Warhol made $47.5 million and works by Jackson Pollock, Lucio Fontana and Francis Bacon performed well. Combined with last week’s auctions of the Collection of A. Alfred Taubman, Sotheby’s contemporary art sales this season have so far totalled $434 million.
Pollock’s No. 17, 1949 made $22.9 million; Fontana Concetto Spaziale, Attese, 1965 made $16.1 million; a portrait by Francis Bacon made $15.6 million; an untitled Basquiat work from 198 made $8.3 million and Le Tissu Social, 1977 by Jean Dubuffet made $7.1 million.
(See post on antiquesandartireland.com for September 16, 2015)
Cy Twomby’s Untitled, New York City, 1968
Jackson Pollock – No. 17, 1949