An untitled Jean-Michel Basquiat work has set a new world record for the artist at auction.
It made $57.3m, an increase of 17.4% on his former record of $48.8m.
It was the highlight of the May 10 post war and contemporary art evening sale at Christie's New York.
 Basquiat painted the work in Modena, Italy in 1982 |
The painting was produced in Modena, Italy in 1982. Basquiat travelled there in 1981, after being invited to put on a solo exhibition.
Brett Gorvy, chairman and international head of post-war and contemporary art at Christie's, comments: "We are very proud of the record price achieved for Basquiat's monumental portrait of the artist as devil at a time when top collectors are pursuing works of the very highest quality.
"This painting drew intense competition that dispelled questions of a market contraction. We are particularly happy that the work was acquired by a collector in Asia, demonstrating the global scope of the masterpiece market."
The work is one of Basquiat's most iconic - it's used as the cover of his catalogue raisonne (the list of all his known artworks).
Mark Rothko's seminal No. 17 also sold well, picking up a bid of $32.6.
In total the sale grossed an impressive $318.3m.
Christie's vice president Sara Friedlander said: "Tonight's success is the result of a tightly edited sale with top quality works, which were extremely fresh to the marketplace.
"84% of the lots had never been sold at auction, and of the 10 works that had been sold, only 4 had been offered over the past 10 years."
Sotheby's post-war and contemporary art sale will take place later today, featuring works by Cy Twombly and Francis Bacon.
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