Sotheby’s staged the biggest auction in its 268-year history on Tuesday, led by a €58.8 million Mark Rothko and a record-setting €31.4 million work by Jackson Pollock at its postwar and contemporary art sale.

With an impressive total of €294.4 million, the auction showed the buoyancy of an art market that has mostly been on a roll since its quick recovery from the 2008 financial crisis.

Sotheby’s said it was the best result it ever had for a single auction, and it beat the high presale estimate.

A Screaming Pope piece by Francis Bacon sold for nearly €23.5 million, a Willem de Kooning fetched just under €15.7 million and a €13.6 million Gerhard Richter augmented the muscular results for the vibrant Rothko masterpiece No. 1 (Royal, Red and Blue) and Pollock’s seminal drip painting, Number 4, 1951.

Officials said they were thrilled with the outcome.

“If you want to talk about the market being happy, healthy and well, well, here it is,” said Tobias Meyer, auctioneer and worldwide head of contemporary art. “That’s probably about as good as it gets.”

The sale was driven by collectors who flexed their financial muscles after largely sitting on their hands a week ago at impressionist and modern art auctions. The strong prices gave testament to the deep pockets of determined collectors’ pursuit of the rarest and most highly regarded trophy works.