Gerhard Richter and Cy Twombly Top Auction Block at Sotheby’s

Paintings by Gerhard Richter and Cy Twombly led the Sotheby’s Contemporary evening sale in London on February 12. Sales for the 59 lots totaled close to £88 million ($147.3 million). Hammered down at almost £12.2 million ($19.6 million), Twombly’s Untitled (Rome), 1964, set an auction record for the artist. Although Richter’s 1994 canvas Wand (Wall) was the biggest seller on the night, its final price of £17.4 million ($29.2 million) failed to meet a pre-sale estimate that topped out at £20 million ($33.5 million).