Sotheby's Abstraction sale in London on December 10 was led by Patrick Heron's Atmospheric Strata (1958), which sold for £626,500 ($1m).
The piece features the artist's iconic alternating stripes of bright colour, and realised an increase of 25.3% on its initial valuation.
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Heron (1920-1999) was major figure in the British art world, and one of the most significant painters of the mid-20th century.
He was also a member of the St Ives group of artists that included Dame Barbara Hepworth among its luminaries.
A number of his later paintings, those from the late 1950s and early 1960s, featured in the sale. They mark a move away from the cubist influence of his early work towards a style heavily influenced by American abstraction.
Grey and Yellow (With Circle) (1959) dates to the same era, and achieved £518,500 ($851,117).
Unusually for such an influential and respected artist, it is only in recent years that his work has experienced a significant rise in value.
In 1999, the average price for a Heron was set at around £10,000 ($16,385) - a far cry from the six and seven figure sums his paintings now command.
The record for his work is £1m ($1.6m) - set at Sotheby's London in 2011 for The Blue Table with Window.
PFC Auctions is currently selling a Royal Mail card signed by Damien Hirst, David Hockney and Peter Blake.
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Images: Sotheby's