: Phillips, de Pury & Company reported several records in both
its evening and day sales of contemporary art conducted May
13-14.
The top lot was Jean-Michel Basquiat's "Blue Heads," (shown)
1983, which reached $2,024,000 ($1.8/2.5 million), the highest
price paid for the artist during the week.
Record prices were achieved for works by artists Marlene Dumas,
Christopher, Wool, Richard Prince and Bridget Riley.
The evening sale was "among the most successful in the firm's
history," with 94 percent of lots bringing above their presale
high estimates, totaling $8,135,640 ($4.7/6.7 million). The day
auction was 88 percent sold by lot and was "the most successful
sale of its kind in Phillips history."
