Christie's contemporary art auction nets an unexpected $69 million

Christie's celebrated an unexpectedly strong €69 million sale of contemporary art on Wednesday, although this was still less than a quarter of the haul at the same time last year.

"There was definitely magic in the air," said Brett Gorvy, international co-head for contemporary art at Christie's in New York. "There was very, very deep bidding, which was a shock to us."

The auction, which saw the successful sale of 91 per cent of lots, including 30 at more than a million dollars, came as a relief following a year that saw the bottom fall out of the international art market.

Twelve months ago, the art market was on a high, fuelled by finance industry tycoons and booming economic growth in Russia, Asia and the Middle East. Christie's spring sale of contemporary art last year netted €256 million.

However, Wednesday's performance was considered respectable and was also significantly better than the rival auction on Tuesday at Sotheby's in New York, where the total was €35 million.

The sale "felt vaguely like a year ago," Amy Cappellazzo, the other co-head for contemporary art, told journalists after the auction, only half-joking.

The auction saw €5.8 million paid for a David Hockney painting titled Beverly Hills Housewife - a record for the British artist, although within pre-auction estimates.

Other highlights included €4.8 million for Richard Diebenkorn's Ocean Park, €4 million for Roy Lichtenstein's Frolic and €2.21 million for an Andy Warhol, The Last Supper.

Only five of 54 lots failed to sell. Notable casualties were oil paintings by Mark Rothko and Franz Kline, both of which saw bids falling well short of their €2.21 million low pre-auction estimates.