De Kooning abstract fetches record $66.3m at auction in New York
New York — Willem de Kooning’s Untitled XXV was sold late at Christie’s in New York for $66.3m, a record for a work by the abstract artist and for post-war contemporary art. The imposing work, which measures 2m by 2.2m, was painted by the Dutch-American artist in 1977 and is emblematic of the energetic, multicolor brush strokes he used in his work of the mid-1970s. Christie’s auction house initially valued Untitled XXV at $40m. When the same painting was auctioned 10 years ago it went for $27.1m, a record at the time. The bid at Tuesday night’s auction was placed in a phone call, and the buyer’s identity was not revealed. New York’s fall auction season kicked off this week with an array of masterpieces, drawing bidders from around the world at Christie’s and Sotheby’s auction houses.
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