Rothko Sets Art Record

An oil painting by Mark Rothko has set a new world record of $22.4m (£12.9m) for any post-war work sold at auction. The work, entitled Homage to Matisse, was sold at Christie's post-war and contemporary art sale in New York. New records were also set for Roy Lichtenstein, Francis Bacon and several other artists. The sale included 18 new records among the 40 artists included in the sale. Homage to Matisse, consisting of contrasting monolithic blocks in red, yellow and blue, beat its high estimate of $20m (£11.5m). The sale took a total of $157.4m (£90.5m), exceeding the pre-sale high-end estimate of $145m (£83.4m). Christie's had anticipated a high total sale and said afterward the strong prices reflected a "very broad and deep market." For the full story - click the title Irish Art