Twombly Sells For $52.9 Million
Amidst fears of a lagging art market, Christie’s hammered down a solid post-war and contemporary sale Wednesday night that brought in $391,280,000 in hammer value ($448,062,000 with fees) and saw new records for Man Ray, David Salle, Robert Gober, Rudolf Stingel and Mark Grotjahn. The evening’s top lot, Cy Twombly’s loosey goosey Leda and the Swan (1962) saw spirited bidding on the phones, which became even more spirited after Larry Gagosian entered at $45m. “Yes Loic, I see him,†the auctioneer Jussi Pylkkänen told Loic Gouzer, who hurried to point out Gagosian from the phone bank. He snagged the work for $47m ($52.9m with fees).
