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| Record price for Koons sculpture | |
| (about 5 hours later) | |
| A Jeff Koons sculpture resembling a balloon model has sold for a record £12.9m at Christie's in London. | |
| Balloon Flower (Magenta), a 9ft (2.75m) piece in high chromium stainless steel, looks like a modelling balloon twisted into the shape of a flower. | Balloon Flower (Magenta), a 9ft (2.75m) piece in high chromium stainless steel, looks like a modelling balloon twisted into the shape of a flower. |
| It fetched the highest price at auction for any of the US artist's work. | It fetched the highest price at auction for any of the US artist's work. |
| The sculpture was sold as part of a post-war and contemporary art sale, that included work by Francis Bacon, Gilbert and George and Lucian Freud. | The sculpture was sold as part of a post-war and contemporary art sale, that included work by Francis Bacon, Gilbert and George and Lucian Freud. |
| A piece of work by UK-based duo Gilbert and George, called To her Majesty, also reached a record price of £1.9m. | A piece of work by UK-based duo Gilbert and George, called To her Majesty, also reached a record price of £1.9m. |
| Bacon's previously unseen Three Studies for a Self Portrait - owned by the same person since it was painted in the mid-1970s - sold for £17.3m. | Bacon's previously unseen Three Studies for a Self Portrait - owned by the same person since it was painted in the mid-1970s - sold for £17.3m. |
| Naked Portrait, by Freud, which was described by Christie's as one of his most important pieces to be offered at auction, fetched £11.8m. | Naked Portrait, by Freud, which was described by Christie's as one of his most important pieces to be offered at auction, fetched £11.8m. |
| This is the second highest price for any of Freud's paintings and comes a month after his life-sized portrayal of a sleeping, naked woman set a new world record price for a work by a living artist. | This is the second highest price for any of Freud's paintings and comes a month after his life-sized portrayal of a sleeping, naked woman set a new world record price for a work by a living artist. |
| The 1995 portrait, titled Benefits Supervisor Sleeping, sold for $33.6m (£17.2m) at Christie's in New York. | The 1995 portrait, titled Benefits Supervisor Sleeping, sold for $33.6m (£17.2m) at Christie's in New York. |
| Last week, a Claude Monet painting - Le Bassin Aux Nympheas - fetched a record £40.9m at an auction also held at Christie's in London. | Last week, a Claude Monet painting - Le Bassin Aux Nympheas - fetched a record £40.9m at an auction also held at Christie's in London. |
| All the auction prices included the buyer's premium - an additional fee kept by the auction house. | All the auction prices included the buyer's premium - an additional fee kept by the auction house. |