Sculpture breaks day-old modern-art price record
Published November 12th, 2005
A red-hot contemporary-art market
notched another new price record on Wednesday, when a sculpture
by David Smith sold at auction for $23.8 million and broke a
mark for postwar art set just 24 hours earlier.
The American artist’s large stainless-steel sculpture “Cubi
XXVIII” was billed as the highlight of Sotheby’s post-war and
contemporary-art auction, but it surpassed expectations when
bidders drove the price to $23.8 million, including commission.
That was nearly twice the high-end estimate. The sale broke the record for a single piece of post-World War Two or contemporary art, set on Tuesday when Mark Rothko’s painting “Homage to Matisse” sold at Christie’s for $22.4 million.
Related Articles Big spenders at Christies art auctionBronze sculpture of Artemis makes $28.6 million world auction$73M US Rothko work breaks auction recordPicasso painting makes record $17.4 million at auctionAuction Records at Christie’s Impressionist and Modern Art Auction
