The Olympic Games are still three months away. But the big international auction houses are already shrieking about new world records this week, with all the frenzied excitement of top-class athletes. An evening contemporary art sale at Sotheby’s in New York generated a new top price – $45m – for a Roy Lichtenstein oil painting. Twenty-four hours earlier, arch-rival Christie’s secured an even juicier $87m for Mark Rothko’s Orange, Red, Yellow. Proceeds of $388m from the latter’s evening auction were trumpeted as the best-ever result for a sale of postwar and contemporary art. Following the $120m paid for Edvard Munch’s 1895 version of The Scream, demand for modern artworks appears to be in rude health.
距离伦敦奥运会仍有3个月时间。但国际各大拍卖行上周却已像激动的顶级运动员们一样，疯狂高喊着最新创下的世界纪录。在纽约苏富比(Sotheby’s)拍卖行举行的当代艺术品拍卖晚会上，卖出了罗伊•利希滕斯坦(Roy Lichtenstein)油画作品的最新高价——4500万美元。在那之前24小时，劲敌佳士得拍卖行(Christie’s)也为罗斯科(Mark Rothko)的作品《橙、红、黄》(Orange Red Yellow)拍得8700万美元这一更让人艳羡的高价。后一场拍卖会当晚拍得3.88亿美元，创下战后及当代艺术品拍卖会的最好成绩。其中蒙克(Edvard Munch)1895年版的《呐喊》(The Scream)拍得1.2亿美元，市场对当代艺术品的需求看来十分强健。