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October 13, 2008 3:37:19 PM CDT

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London Art Sales Soar

Posted Jun 25, 07 11:45 AM CDT in Business,  Arts & Living 

(Newser) – Francis Bacon took top honors and Damien Hirst became the highest-priced living artist—beating out Jasper Johns—at Sotheby's contemporary auctions in London last week. A 1971 Bacon self-portrait went for $43.2 million, and the Hirst pill cabinet called "Lullaby Spring" for $19.4 million. "Hirst is the Google of the art world,''  a New York dealer told Bloomberg.

Prices show the boom in confidence in "new masters," and the emergence  of London, buoyed by the strength of the pound,  as  a a competitor to New York for sales. Wealthy new  buyers from the former Soviet Union have also pushed prices to record levels, the New York Times reports.

Source Bloomberg

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%u20AC14.2 million) Sotheby's, the auction house, said in a statement, adding that the sale had propelled Hirst past previous best-seller Jasper Johns, whose "Figure 4" netted about $17 million (%u20AC13...   (Associated Press)
(FILES) Sothebys auction house employees prepare to exhibit a...   (Getty Images)
(FILES) A Sothebys auction house employee prepares to exhibit...   (Getty Images)
Francis BACON, British painter. (PAR19132)   (Magnum Photos)
A handout image obtained 22 June 2007 shows a work by artist...   (Getty Images)
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London  • art  • auction  • art market  • Sotheby's  • Damien Hirst  • Francis Bacon


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