Sotheby’s Evening Sale total: £54,074,450/ $84,761,700
That’s £10m above the high estimate.
Chris Ofili’s dung painting goes for £800k, more than 2x the high est.; shortly after, Peter Doig settles into a solid £2.8m that is right within the est. range. Big Fontana first work to pass; there has been a lot of Fontana sold this evening. Auerbach est’d at £60-80k sells for £1m. Freud Self Portrait sells below low est. for £2.8m; Girl’s Head is bought in. There’s going to be one unhappy bookie in London tonight. Second part of Evening sale brings in £30m.