Untitled Gerhard Richter work up 140.7% at Sotheby's

An untitled work by Gerhard Richter has sold as top lot in Sotheby's Contemporary Art sale, held on September 21 in New York.

Gerhard Richter untitled
Richter was 2011's highest-selling living artist



The 1986 piece soared past the $250,000-350,000 estimate, achieving an outstanding $842,500 and a 140.7% increase in value.

Richter's work also topped Sotheby's Contemporary Art sale in February, when Eis set a world record for a landscape by the artist at £4.3m and a piece from his popular Abstraktes Bild series starred at £4.8m. He was also 2011's highest-selling living artist, with his works achieving stronger results than Monet, Giacometti and Rothko combined.

Also achieving excellent results in the sale was Frank Stella's Window Sketch, which saw a 28.5% increase on its $578,500 high estimate. Originally donated to the Bertrand Russell Peace Foundation upon its creation in 1969, the piece sold for $578,500.

Also starring was Albert Oehlen's Untitled (1), which originates from his important Computer Paintings series that he created between 1990 and 2008. Inspired by the purchase of his first laptop computer, the abstract black and white piece was created using a mouse, Photoshop and inkjet plotters.

Perhaps the most important piece from the body of work that propelled Oehlen to fame, Untitled (1) sold for $554,500 - a 23.2% increase on its $450,000 high estimate.

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