New Sotheby’s Auction Record: Basquiat Painting Sells for $110.5 Million

Advertisement

Sothebys (NYSE:BID) saw a painting sell for $110.5 million on Thursday, May 18, 2017.

New Sotheby's Auction Record: Basquiat Painting Sells for $110.5 Million

The painting was an untitled piece by late American artist Jean-Michel Basquiat. It was of a skull and it was created in 1982. The painting was bought by Japanese billionaire Yusaku Maezawa, who is the founder of a fashion website.

Sotheby’s auction of the painting started at $57 million. The company had valued the painting at more than $60 million. The battle for the piece of art lasted for 10 minutes as three different groups continued to bid for it.

The untitled piece by Jean-Michel Basquiat hasn’t been on sale in more than three decades. It was last bought by the late collectors Jerry and Emily Spiegel. Lise, one of the collector’s two daughters, is the one that put it up for auction. It was originally bought by her mother and father for $19,000 in 1984, reports Bloomberg.

The Jean-Michel Basquiat painting that sold on Thursday broke records for an American piece of art. The previous record was held by Andy Warhol’s Last Supper, which sold for $105.4 million. This painting was made in 1986.

Sotheby’s posted the full results of the auction on its website. The company was offering 50 different pieces on Thursday. Of the pieces up for sale, only two weren’t purchased. The auction brought in a total of $319.199 million.

The next highest sale following the Jean-Michel Basquiat was Roy Lichtenstein’s Nude Sunbathing. This work sold for $24 million at auction. Sotheby’s had valued the 1995 painting between $20 million and $30 million.

BID stock was up 1% as of noon Friday.


Article printed from InvestorPlace Media, https://investorplace.com/2017/05/sothebys-jean-michel-basquiat/.

©2024 InvestorPlace Media, LLC