An Andy Warhol painting sold for more than $71 million, more than quadrupling the previous top auction price for the pop artist’s work, an auction house said.

The Wednesday auction of postwar and contemporary art took in a total of nearly $385 million, making it the second most lucrative art auction ever held, according to Christie’s. The auction was to continue Thursday.

Warhol’s painting “Green Car Crash (Green Burning Car I),” went for $71.7 million to an anonymous buyer. The previous auction record for a Warhol work was $17.4 million, set when “Mao” sold at Christie’s in November, the auction house said.

“Green Car Crash,” painted in 1963, is part of a series of Warhol works that drew on photographs of fatal accidents. Silkscreened over a green background, the painting uses a news photograph of a grisly crash in Seattle. It had been in a private collection for decades, the auction house said.

Posted: 05|17|07 at 2:08 pm. Filed under: US News.