NEW YORK, 18 November 2016 – Johanna Flaum, Head of Contemporary Art Day Sales in New York, noted: “We are delighted with the results of today’s day sale of Contemporary Art, which exceeded the high estimate. Following last night’s success, we offered additional works from the unrivaled Steven & Ann Ames Collection, resulting in nearly 80% of works achieving above their high estimate. We are also thrilled to have set 15 auction records today with great prices for female artists including Helen Frankenthaler, Yayoi Kusama and Amy Sillman.”

Sotheby’s set a new auction record for Deborah Butterfield, when her cast bronze sculpture Setsuko sold for $468,500, driven by four bidders on the telephones and in the room. Helen Frankenthaler’s mesmerizing Under April Mood soared above its high estimate of $800,000, selling for $2,532,500 – the second-highest price for the artist at auction. Yayoi Kusama also found significant interest in the salesroom today. Seven works by the artist totaled $3,926,000 (overall estimate $2.2/3.3 million), led by Infinity-Nets OPYTSDB (Gold), which sold for $1,452,500. The success of female artists continued when two works by Amy Sillman from The Triumph of Painting: The Steven & Ann Ames Collection founds numerous bidders, including several online; Untitled sold for $175,000 (estimate $60/80,000) while P set a new auction record for the artist, selling for $504,500 (estimate $70/100,000).

Following great results in last night’s Contemporary Art Evening Auction, the Day Sale saw an enthusiasm for archetypal works by celebrated artists. Andy Warhol’s The American Indian (Russell Means), representative of the artist’s interest in popular and controversial personalities, drew significant interest that drove the final price to $2,412,500 (estimate $800/1,200,000). Similarly, Sam Francis’s Composition, a sensational example of the artist’s unique contribution to Abstract Expressionism and his mastery over color and form, achieved $2,172,500, far above its pre-sale estimate of $1/1.5 million.