An Andy Warhol canvas portraying a can of Campbell’s Soup was auctioned off here for nearly $11,8-million, Christie’s auction house reported late on Tuesday.
The sale of Small Torn Campbell’s Soup Can (Pepper Pot), a 1962 canvas, set a record for work from the artist’s Campbell’s Soup series.
Art dealer Larry Gagosian delivered the winning bid for the item, which had an estimated price of between 10 and $15-million.
Gagosian was bidding for Eli Broad, a Los Angeles collector and financier, The New York Times reported on Wednesday.
The painting came from the collection of Irving Blum, an art gallery director who gave Warhol his first show. The painting ”registers the passage of time and conveys a preoccupation with degradation, exuding destruction and frailty”, Christie’s said in a statement.
During the evening, records were set by the work of 12 artists, including Britons David Hockney and Damien Hirst.
Christie’s reported evening proceeds of more than $143-million, the second-highest total for a sale of post-war and contemporary art items in a single evening.
Hockney’s 1967 A Neat Lawn fetched $3,6-million and was snapped up by an Asian art collector.
Away from the Flock, Divided (1995) by Damien Hirst, was auctioned off at $3,4-million.
Seventy percent of the bidders were American, 19% European and 11% Asian, according to Christie’s. — AFP
