Preliminary Total: £87,915,500 / $144,550,665   

82.5% Sold by lot

Estimate: £68.5/93.1 million ($112.5/153.1 million)

Global participation was evident throughout the sale process, with works consigned from 14 countries sought-after by participants from 40 countries – among the highest levels of participation seen in the category at Sotheby’s London

The sale was led by Gerhard Richter’s Wand (Wall) from 1994, which the artist kept in his personal collection for 15 years that sold for £17,442,500 ($28,678,958) Also by the artist was Abstraktes Bild from 1997, which exceeded the high estimate to sell for £4,002,500 / $6,580,910 (est. £3/4 million)

A prolonged battle ensued for Cy Twombly’s Untitled (Rome), 1964, with three bidders competing over £10 million. The final price of £12,178,500 / $20,023,890 is a new record for a painting by the artist at auction (est. £5/7 million); That is the second highest price ever paid for any work by the artist after his Poems to the Sea, which set a new benchmark in our New York salesroom in November ($21.7 million); Never before offered at auction; the painting was acquired by the present owner in the late 1970s

Andy Warhol’s Mao from 1973 was sought after by 3 bidders before selling for £7,586,500 / $12,473,723 (est. £5.5/7.5 million) Last appeared at auction in June 2000 at Sotheby’s London where it brought £421,500

Strong prices achieved this evening for Italian works led by Alberto Burri’s Rosso Plastica from 1963, which was sold for £3,666,500 / $6,028,459 (est. £2/3million) after competition from three bidders

In addition to the Richter, other German works brought strong prices this evening:

Sigmar Polke’s Rokoko from 1994 exceeded expectations selling for £2,546,500 / $4,186,955

Martin Kippenberger’s Egg Woman brought £1,762,500 / $2,897,902

Thomas Struth’s Self-Portrait surpassed the high estimate to bring £482,500 / $793,326