De Kooning painting sold for record $66.3 million

The November 15 evening sale of Post-War and Contemporary Art realized US$276,972,500 / £221,933,093 / €256,776,589 with sell-through rates of 89% by lot and 94% by value. The sale established 4 new world auction records for artists including Willem de Kooning, Jonathan Horowitz, John Currin and Giuseppe Gallo, and one medium record for a work on paper by Christopher Wool.

The sale attracted registered bidders from 41 countries, with strong bidding from Asia, Europe and the United States.

Sara Friedlander, SVP, Head of Department, Post-War & Contemporary Art, New York, remarked: “There was tremendous confidence in the market this evening, with very strong bidding from a widely international audience, including registrants from 41 countries. The stand out moment was the two way bidding war that took place for de Kooning’s momentous canvas, Untitled XXV from 1977. This painting redefined the market when it last sold at Christie’s New York for $27.1million exactly 10 years ago to the date. Tonight, Untitled XXV made history again when it sold for $66.3million, a new world auction price for the Abstract Expressionist master. The success of this work is a benchmark for the current marketplace, which is exceedingly receptive to works of the highest quality across a range of prices. Another star lot of the evening was Jean Dubuffet’s  Les Grandes Artères, which received interest from all over the world, and went on to make the second highest price for the artist at $23.7million. This is a strong start to 20thCentury Week at Christie’s in New York, and we look forward to continuing with our sales online and in the auction room tomorrow.”

This file photo taken on November 4, 2016 shows a Christie's official in front of "Untitled XXV" by Willem de Kooning in New York during a press preview. Willem de Kooning's "Untitled XXV" was sold late November 15, 2016 at Christie's in New York for $66.3 million, a record for a work by the abstract artist and for post-war contemporary art. The imposing work, which measures 7 by 6.5 feet (2 x 2.2 meters), was painted by the Dutch-American artist in 1977 and is emblematic of the energetic, multicolor brush strokes he used in his work of the mid 1970s. DON EMMERT / AFP.