Sotheby's boasts record sale

By Christopher Michaud

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Led by a record-breaking Jeff Koons sculpture and a $46 million (22.4 million pounds) Francis Bacon canvas, Sotheby's roared back from a dismal Impressionist sale to score the highest total in its history at a contemporary and post-war art auction on Wednesday.

Bacon's "Second Version of Study for Bullfight No. 1" far exceeded its $35 million-plus pre-sale estimate, while Koons' stainless steel "Hanging Heart (Magenta/Gold) soared to $23,561,000, including commission, obliterating the artist's $11.8 million record set one day earlier by his "Diamond (Blue)" sculpture.

Both works by Koons were bought by the Gagosian Gallery, one of Manhattan's premier contemporary art dealers.

The Bacon, bought by an unidentified American art dealer, was also the top-priced work of two weeks of fall sales at both Sotheby's and Christie's, including Impressionist works, while Koons' 3,500-pound (1,600-kg) sculpture from his "Celebration" series became the highest-priced work by a living artist sold at auction.

Anthony Grant, Sotheby's senior international specialist for contemporary art, called the price for the Koons work "the most important record of the last two weeks."

A Bacon self-portrait from 1969 fetched $33 million, or more than twice its estimate of $15 million-plus.

The muscle-flexing sale, the last of the critical autumn auctions for the rival powerhouses, gave the lie to doomsayers who had proclaimed the contemporary art market had become overvalued. Sotheby's Impressionist sale had a poor showing last week.

While prices have risen astronomically in the past year or two, Sotheby's $316 million total exceeded even its most optimistic forecast of $299 million for the 71 lots on offer. Only six works went unsold.