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  • SOTHEBY’S SCORES WORLDWIDE SALES OF $4.7 BILLION IN 2017

    Untitled (1982) by Jean MIchel Basquiat sold for $110.5 million.

    Auctions at Sotheby’s in 2017 totalled $4.7 billion worldwide, a 13% increase over 2016.   It led all international houses in Asia with an annual auction total of $850 million.  Asian clients contributed $1.6 billion to Sotheby’s sales in 2017 and online buyers spent more than $180 million.

    The top lot of the year at Sotheby’s was Jean Michel Basquiat’s Untitled from 1982.  It set a $110.5 million auction record for the artist and for any work of American art.  The price comfortably exceeded the previous record for the artist, as well as the pre-sale estimate of $60 million and was achieved after a 10-minute contest between multiple bidders.

    It was bought by collector and entrepreneur, Yusaku Maezawa, founder of e-commerce giant, Start Today, and ZOZOTOWN, the virtual mall on Japan’s largest fashion e-commerce site. It is to be housed in a museum based in Mr. Maezawa’s hometown of Chiba, Japan.

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