One Week Of Sales Totals $816 Million At Sotheby's Worldwide

-- A 15% Increase over the Same Sales Last Spring --

2,758 Lots Sold Across 14 Auctions In New York, Geneva, Paris and London

Week of Sales Is 87% Sold

-- Two-Thirds of All Lots Sell above Their High Estimates --

NEW YORK, May 22, 2017 /PRNewswire/ --

The evening of May 18, 2017 at Sotheby's New York when Jean-Michel Basquiat's 'Untitled' from 1982 soared to $110.5 million setting a new benchmark for any American artist ever sold at auction.

JEAN-MICHEL BASQUIAT BREAKS $100 MILLION BARRIER
Untitled from 1982 Achieves $110.5 Million
– Auction Record for Any Work by an American Artist –

Thousands Watch Basquiat Sell Live Online and on Instagram,
Becoming a Global Trending Topic across Social Media

NEW WORLD AUCTION RECORD FOR EARRINGS
– The Apollo and Artemis Diamonds
Sell for a Combined $57.4 Million –

Top Lots Sold Online:
Joan Mitchell's 'Another' Fetches $2.7 Million,
A 12.8-Carat Diamond Ring Brings $1.2 Million

Part III of the Don Stott Cellar Is 99% Sold,
Raising Results for This Distinguished Wine Collection to $19 Million

Sotheby's First Auction of Modern & Contemporary African Art
Achieves $3.6 Million

HIGHLIGHT ANNOUNCED FOR MARQUEE
JUNE AUCTIONS IN LONDON

– Wassily Kandinsky's Murnau – Landschaft mit grünem Haus,
An Expressionist Masterpiece by the Pioneer of Abstract Art
Estimated to Sell for $20–30 Million –

From May15-20, Sotheby's BID conducted 14 auctions worldwide that totaled $816.4 million, matching the series's high estimate, and with a very strong 87.5% of all lots sold. From 20^th- and 21^st-century art to magnificent jewels and rare wines, auction history was made throughout the week and across the globe.

Tad Smith, Sotheby's President & CEO, commented: "Around the world with lots selling from less than $1,000 to over $110 million, last week was a very good one for Sotheby's clients, investors, staff, and even our competitors, and we toast all of them on great successes. And now we accelerate our momentum toward exciting sales this week in New York and London followed by great ones to come in Europe and Asia."

COMING UP THIS WEEK AT SOTHEBY'S

Norman Rockwell's The Saturday Evening Post cover Two Plumbers
American Art, 23 May

The autograph manuscript of Gustav Mahler's great song "Ich bin der Welt abhanden gekommen"
Musical Manuscripts, 23 May

Superb silver, decorative furniture and pictures from the Belgravia home of Lord Ballyedmond
The Ballyedmond Collection, 23 & 24 May

Portraits of American Society by Sir Alfred James Munnings
European Art, 24 May

Diego Rivera's monumental portrait of the Mexican Golden Age film star Matilde Palou
Latin America: Modern Art Evening Sale, 25 May

The 'Holy Trinity' of Hypercars – the McLaren P1, the Ferrari LaFerrari, and the Porsche 918 Spyder – goes to auction at RM Sotheby's on shores of Lake Como, Italy
Villa Erba Sale, 27 May

ONLINE-ONLY AUCTIONS NOW OPEN FOR BIDDING

Latin America: Modern Art Online
**

Latin America: Contemporary Art Online
**

American Art Online

About Sotheby's

Sotheby's has been uniting collectors with world-class works of art since 1744. Sotheby's became the first international auction house when it expanded from London to New York (1955), the first to conduct sales in Hong Kong (1973), India (1992) and France (2001), and the first international fine art auction house in China (2012). Today, Sotheby's presents auctions in 10 different salesrooms, including New York, London, Hong Kong and Paris, and Sotheby's BidNow program allows visitors to view all auctions live online and place bids from anywhere in the world. Sotheby's offers collectors the resources of Sotheby's Financial Services, the world's only full-service art financing company, as well as the collection advisory services of its subsidiary, Art Agency, Partners. Sotheby's presents private sale opportunities in more than 70 categories, including S|2, the gallery arm of Sotheby's Global Fine Art Division, and two retail businesses, Sotheby's Diamonds and Sotheby's Wine. Sotheby's has a global network of 80 offices in 40 countries and is the oldest company listed on the New York Stock Exchange (BID).

*Estimates do not include buyer's premium. Prices achieved include the hammer price plus buyer's premium and are net of any fees paid to the purchaser where the purchaser provided an irrevocable bid.

Images are available upon request
Browse sale catalogues, view original content, stream live auctions and more at www.sothebys.com, and through Sotheby's apps for iPhone, iPad, Android, Apple TV and Amazon Fire

New York | +44 (0) 207 293 6000 | Mitzi Mina | Mitzi.Mina@Sothebys.com

To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/one-week-of-sales-totals-816-million-at-sothebys-worldwide-300461482.html

SOURCE Sotheby's

Market News and Data brought to you by Benzinga APIs