Works by Andy Warhol and Willem de Kooning each sold for more than $10 million (5.36 million pounds) at Christie’s on Tuesday, signalling a healthy, if not runaway, market for post-war and contemporary art.

Damien Hirst broke his own record with a sheep-in-formaldehyde sculpture in the monumental auction which placed 91 lots on the block, including a group of 26 works by Donald Judd. Only eight failed to sell.

The auction house took in $143,187,200 including commissions, its second-highest total for a contemporary art auction and right in the middle of its $130 million to $160 million pre-sale estimate.

New records were set for 12 of the 47 artists whose works were on offer, including David Hockney, Brice Marden and Hirst.

Twenty-five Judd sculptures sold for a total of $24.5 million, or more than 10 percent above Christie’s high estimate for the group. Prices ranged from $72,000 to $2.7 million.

Throughout the evening bidding was brisk, which auctioneer Christopher Burge said characterised both the sale itself and the overall market for contemporary art.

“It was a very strong result,” Burge said.

Posted: 05|10|06 at 9:34 am. Filed under: US News.