An Andy Warhol black-and-white painting of a Coca-Cola bottle brought $57.2 million, near the top estimated range of what it would sell for in a Tuesday art auction that saw other pieces shatter records for prices paid.
Leaders at Atlanta-based Coca-Cola said the sale was the most ever paid for a Coca-Cola-related work. The previous title holder was another Warhol Coca-Cola piece, which sold for $34.5 million in 2010.
Ted Ryan, Coca-Cola’s archivist, attended Christie’s postwar and contemporary art sale in New York but said he did not plan to make a bid on the painting. Coca-Cola has about 30 pieces by Warhol, including paintings, sketches and Polaroids.
Among the other record-setters were a 1969 painting by Francis Bacon, which set a record for the most expensive artwork ever sold at auction, and a sculpture by Jeff Koons broke an auction record for a living artist.
“Three Studies of Lucian Freud” was purchased for $142.4 million. The triptych depicts Bacon’s artist friend.
The work sold after “6 minutes of fierce bidding in the room and on the phone” to Acquavella Galleries in Manhattan, Christie’s said in a statement. The price included the buyer’s premium. The price tag surpassed the nearly $120 million paid for Edvard Munch’s “The Scream,” which set a record when it was sold at Sotheby’s in 2012.
The previous record for Bacon’s artwork sold at auction was the British artist’s 1976 “Triptych.” That sold for $86 million in 2008.
Also up for sale at Christie’s evening auction was Koons’ whimsical “Balloon Dog (Orange),” a 10-foot-tall stainless steel sculpture resembling a child’s twisted party balloon. It sold for $58.4 million, an auction record for the artist and an auction record for a living artist, Christie’s said. The auction house did not reveal the buyer. It is one of five balloon dogs Koons has created in different colors. All are in private hands. It was sold by newsprint magnate Peter Brant to benefit his Brant Foundation Art Study in Greenwich, Conn.
A 1977 painting by Willem De Kooning, “Untitled VIII,” sold for more than $32 million, an auction record for the artist. In 2006, De Kooning’s “Untitled XXV” sold for $27.1 million.
Also on sale was a bright orange-yellow and white oil painting by Mark Rothko. Reminiscent of a radiating sunset, the 1957 large-scale “Untitled (No. 11)” garnered more than $46 million. In May 2012, Christie’s sold Rothko’s “Orange, Red, Yellow” for $86.8 million, a record for any contemporary artwork at auction.
The auction also featured a masterpiece by German painter Gerhard Richter from the collection of Eric Clapton. Painted in gold and orange hues, the 1994 “Abstract Painting” sold for $20.8 million. Richter’s photo-based “Cathedral Square, Milan” brought $37 million at Sotheby’s in May, setting a then record for any living artist at auction.
Roy Lichtenstein’s “Seductive Girl” was purchased for $31.5 million. The artist’s auction record is $56 million for “Woman With Flowered Hat,” sold at Christie’s in May.
Christie’s said Tuesday’s sale brought in more than $691.5 million, which it said is the highest total for any single auction in history.
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