The Art Newspaper did some bid spotting yesterday and came away with this intel from Christie’s strong sale:

While Christies’ pared-down sale offered only 25 post-war and contemporary works, this proved a success, making £11.21m, well in excess of presale expectations of £6.78m-£9.49m, with only one work remaining unsold. “The auction house did a very good job in keeping estimates down. That’s key in today’s market,” commented New York dealer Christophe Van de Weghe.”

The star turn and top price was Paris Bar, 1991, estimated at £800,000-£1.2m, which triggered a fierce bidding war between German collector Ingrid Goetz, New York dealers Jeffrey Deitch and Tony Shafrazi and three telephones. It made £2.28m, going to a phone bidder.

Meanwhile, at Sotheby’s, a local boy made good:

The highlight was Chris Ofili’s show-stopping Afro Apparition, 2002-03, which went to Iranian collector Fatima Maleki for £577,250 (est £280,000-£350,000).

Damien Hirst’s Two Skulls, 2006, the back cover of Sotheby’s catalogue, sold to New York trader Alberto Mugrabi for £433,250 (est £220,000-£280,000). According to trade sources, the work had been consigned for sale by Tobias Meyer, Sotheby’s worldwide head of contemporary art.

Auction Report: Post-war and Contemporary Art (The Art Newspaper)