"New money" blew up the art market

auction Christie's «postwar and contemporary art», which began May 13 and ended yesterday in New York, became the most successful in the history of the auction house. Total revenue was $ 638, 6 million, and were established 37 new price records for works by individual artists. The lion's share of sales fell on May 15th. In this day of the auction house sold for $ 495 million. More than all left Jackson Pollock ("The Number 19," $ 58 million), Roy Lichtenstein ("Woman in hat with flowers," $ 56 million), and Jean-Michel Basquiat ("Intoxicated" $ 49 million ). "This kind of passions in the auction room and achieving a number of new records are a reflection of a new era in the history of the art market," - commented the head of the joy of the International Department of postwar and contemporary art Christie's Brett Gorvi. At the same time in New York City passed a competing trading house Sotheby's. And although the overall result - $ 293, 6 million - is more modest, some works went under the hammer for unimaginable amounts. The champion was the work of American expressionist Barnett Newman «Onement VI», sold for $ 43, 8 million. In the past, the work of this series was sold for $ 22, 4 million. Another outstanding achievement was the painting by Gerhard Richter "Cathedral Square, Milan," sold for $ 37, 1 million. This work has established an absolute record prices for works by living authors. Commenting on the results of the New York trading, the critics point out that the explosion in prices is primarily due to the fact that the art market came to the "new money" made in Russia, Asia and the Middle East.