The most expensive private collection, the most expensive work of the 20th century and the most expensive photograph - in New York it rained down on superlatives in auction history.
Once again they underlined the attractiveness as a seal of quality of recognized provenance, of rarity, market freshness and art-historically significant history of origin.
Warhol's "Shot Sage Blue Marilyn" from the estate of the art dealers Doris and Thomas Ammann, which became the most expensive artwork of the last century auctioned at Christie's with a hammer price of 170 million dollars, combined all these criteria.
Man Ray's 1924 portrait of his muse Kiki de Montparnasse "Le Violon d'Ingres" (estimate 5 to 7 million dollars) from the Jacobs collection: the hammer price of 10.5 million tripled the auction record for a photograph at Christie's.
At Sotheby's, the Macklowe collection, the last tranche of which has now been auctioned, became the most expensive private art collection ever auctioned, with a total proceeds of 922.2 million for 65 works.
Phillips celebrated its highest turnover for an evening auction.
Christie's kicked off the season with the Ammann collection, which brought in 317.8 million dollars with 34 lots out of 36 lots.
"Shot Sage Blue Marilyn" was secured by mega dealer Larry Gagosian in the hall.
With premiums, 195 million dollars.
After a big PR campaign, however, Christie's had hoped for more than the estimated 200 million.
Among the seven artist records were records for Francesco Clemente, Mary Heilmann and Ross Bleckner.
Nevertheless, the auction lacked a bit of energy, possibly because it did not appeal to collectors from Asia, who only made up ten percent of the bidders.
Asian telephone bidders got the “21st Century Evening Sale” going at Christie's.
Works by Matthew Wong and Anna Weyant rose to multiples of their estimates.
"Portrait of a Lady" (200,000/300,000) by Ewa Juszkiewicz, painted in 2019 in the French Romantic style, rose to 1.25 million.
However, at $103 million, the auction turnover fell short of the expected $110-$162 million, even though all 31 lots were brokered.
Shortly before the start, Basquiat's triptych "Portrait of the Artist as a Young Derelict", which was supposed to contribute around $30 million, was withdrawn.
The consignor had decided against a guarantee in order to be able to pocket the entire profit.
Gerhard Richter's large "Abstract Picture" (around 35 million) from 1994, once in Eric Clapton's collection,
rose to the topless.
Grossing $34.2 million at auction in 2012, it has now fetched $33 million.
Christie's continued with Modernism and Impressionism.
The twelve lots from the Anne H. Bass collection were a resounding success.
They made $363 million, more than the top total estimate.
The topless two glowing red Rothkos, "Untitled (Shades of Red)" and "No.
1", remained just below their lower estimates at $58 and $43 million.
Monet's "Le Parlement, soleil couchant" (40/60 million) rose to 66 million.
For Edgar Degas' "Petite danseuse de quatorze ans" (20/30 million) the gavel only fell at 36 million.
Christie's 20th Century Evening Sale grossed $468 million across 41 of 42 lots.
At least fifteen works carried guarantees.
The top lot, Jackson Pollock's "Number 31 (1949)", an early drip painting with an expectation of "more than" $45 million, rose to $47 million.
Picasso's bronze "Head of a Woman" (30 million) from the Metropolitan Museum of Art fetched $42 million.
The highlight of the evening came when a painting by African American painter Ernie Barnes was called up.
The Sugar Shack (150,000/200,000), painted in 1976, shows dancers at the Durham Armory in North Carolina.
The painting was made famous by the cover of Marvin Gaye's album I Want You and the sitcom Good Times.
22 telephone bidders had registered, but hedge fund manager Bill Perkins was successful in the room with a bid of 13 million.
The previous Barnes record was $550,000.
In total, Christie's turned over a strong $1.43 billion with more than 650 lots in the day and evening auctions.
The highlight of the evening came when a painting by African American painter Ernie Barnes was called up.
The Sugar Shack (150,000/200,000), painted in 1976, shows dancers at the Durham Armory in North Carolina.
The painting was made famous by the cover of Marvin Gaye's album I Want You and the sitcom Good Times.
22 telephone bidders had registered, but hedge fund manager Bill Perkins was successful in the room with a bid of 13 million.
The previous Barnes record was $550,000.
In total, Christie's turned over a strong $1.43 billion with more than 650 lots in the day and evening auctions.
The highlight of the evening came when a painting by African American painter Ernie Barnes was called up.
The Sugar Shack (150,000/200,000), painted in 1976, shows dancers at the Durham Armory in North Carolina.
The painting was made famous by the cover of Marvin Gaye's album I Want You and the sitcom Good Times.
22 telephone bidders had registered, but hedge fund manager Bill Perkins was successful in the room with a bid of 13 million.
The previous Barnes record was $550,000.
In total, Christie's turned over a strong $1.43 billion with more than 650 lots in the day and evening auctions.
The painting was made famous by the cover of Marvin Gaye's album I Want You and the sitcom Good Times.
22 telephone bidders had registered, but hedge fund manager Bill Perkins was successful in the room with a bid of 13 million.
The previous Barnes record was $550,000.
In total, Christie's turned over a strong $1.43 billion with more than 650 lots in the day and evening auctions.
The painting was made famous by the cover of Marvin Gaye's album I Want You and the sitcom Good Times.
22 telephone bidders had registered, but hedge fund manager Bill Perkins was successful in the room with a bid of 13 million.
The previous Barnes record was $550,000.
In total, Christie's turned over a strong $1.43 billion with more than 650 lots in the day and evening auctions.