Top lot of the sale was Willem de Kooning’s untitled XXV, 1977, which sold for $66,327,500 (a world auction record for the artist).

NEW YORK CITY — The November 15 evening sale of postwar and contemporary art at Christie’s realized $276,972,500 with sell-through rates of 89 percent by lot and 94 percent by value. The sale established four 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.

Top lot of the sale was de Kooning’s untitled XXV, 1977, which sold for $66,327,500, a world auction record for the artist. The sale attracted registered bidders from 41 countries, with strong bidding from Asia, Europe and the United States.

Sara Friedlander, senior vice president, head of the firm’s postwar and contemporary art department in New York, said, “There was tremendous confidence in the market, with very strong bidding from a widely international audience. The standout 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. 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.”

Watch for a complete report on this sale in an upcoming issue.