Sotheby’s just released these stats from London underscoring the influx of new customers from around the world:

◊ First-time bidders came from 30 different countries

◊ Over 25% of bidders were either new to Sotheby’s’ or transacting in a new category for the first time

◊ A record 1,791 participants, coming from 72 countries 25% of the buyers were new to Sotheby’s Contemporary Art sales

◊ The highest ever average lot value for a Sotheby’s London Contemporary Art evening sale: £1.83m

◊ Bidding from Asia on Andy Warhol, Mark Rothko, Gerhard Richter, Adriana Varejão, Francis Bacon, Adrian Ghenie

◊ Record level of participation for an Old Master Evening Sale in London: 280 participants from 32 countries, with buyers from Asia, Russia, the Middle East, India and Latin America

◊ Russian Bidding: 20% of the lots in the Old Master Evening Sale attracted bids from Russian buyers