Christie’s auction house enjoys achievement after achievement, setting new records and attracting lots of extravagant bidders with their every event. During the first half of the last year alone it set a new market record by raising $3.5 billion in total. The house’s latest achievement happened on February 13, 2013 during a Post-War & Contemporary Art sale in London, when it raised £81,668,850 (over $127,700,000).
The auction was a huge success, bringing 10 artists to new records. No less than 19 lots were sold for over £1 million, and an impressive 27 others went for more than $1 million. The most expensive sale of all, however, went beyond £9 million! It was a single piece, called Museum Security (Broadway meltdown) by Jean-Michel Basquiat. Fetching much more than the initial estimate, the painting was sold for £9,337,250 (over $14,600,000).
Other notable sales include: Away from the Flock (Divided) by Damien Hirst (£1,945,250), Table, Chair, Hatstand by Allen Jones (£2,169,250), Great Pyramid at Giza with Broken Head from Thebes by David Hockney (£3,513,250), The Architect’s Home in the Ravine by Peter Doig (£7,657,250), and Abstraktes Bild (2004) by Gerhard Richter (£8,441,250).
