Christie's Contemporary Art Sale Totaled $691,583,000

1969 Francis Bacon triptych

It is the biggest ever in auction history. The sale included the most expensive artwork ever sold. A 1969 Francis Bacon triptych sold for a record $142.4 million. The painting, depicting Lucian Freud, Bacon’s friend and rival, perched on a wooden chair, had been expected to sell for $85 million.

All told, ten world record prices were achieved for artists who, besides Bacon, included Christopher Wool, Ad Reinhardt, Donald Judd and Willem de Kooning.