Pollack, Lichtenstein, Basquiat paintings set marks in record $495 million auction

The craze for contemporary art has hit a record high. On May 16, a sale of postwar and contemporary art at Christie’s in Rockefeller Center fetched a record $495 million – the most ever for any art auction.

Leading the sales was Jackson Pollock’s classic drip painting “No. 19, 1948” at a record $58.3 million.

But the Pollock painting was not the only star of the night. Roy Lichtenstein 1963 painting “Woman With Flowered Hat” went for $56.1 million, Jean-Michel Basquiat’s “Dustheads” (seen above), a seven-foot-tall canvas from 1982, sold for $48.8 million.

In all, 12 contemporary artists were represented, netting nearly half a billion dollars.