China News Service, July 1, according to comprehensive foreign media reports, in response to the spread of the epidemic around the world, on the 29th local time, Sotheby's (Sotheby's) held its first online live auction for global bidders. The triptych of the British painter Francis Bacon sold more than 84 million US dollars. There are reports that it is an encouraging and extremely unusual night for the art market to be hit by the epidemic.

British painter Bacon "Triple inspired by the Aeschylus trilogy". Image source: social media screenshots.

  According to reports, Sotheby's spring auction usually brings billions of dollars into the account, but because the new crown epidemic hit New York, Sotheby's announced in May that it will broadcast a series of modern and contemporary art online from London auctions.

  Oliver Barker, Sotheby's European chairman, described the auction as a "historical night" and introduced it as the first large-scale auction held without an audience. That night, Sotheby's took a total of 363.2 million US dollars, of which 93% of the artwork was eventually sold.

  At the auction, Bacon's triptych, inspired by the Greek tragic father Aeschylus' play "Oristia", was sold for $86.4 million. The painting was originally collected by a Norwegian art collector and is estimated to be worth between US$60 million and US$80 million.

  According to reports, this painting is one of 28 large triptych paintings Bacon created between 1962 and 1991. Bacon’s other triptych, Freud Portraits, was sold at Christie’s in New York in 2013 for $142 million, making it one of the 10 most expensive paintings in auction history.