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Jeff Koons' Rabbit sculpture breaks record for living artist | Jeff Koons' Rabbit sculpture breaks record for living artist |
(about 8 hours later) | |
A sculpture by US pop artist Jeff Koons has sold for $91.1m (£71m), breaking the record price for a work by a living artist. | A sculpture by US pop artist Jeff Koons has sold for $91.1m (£71m), breaking the record price for a work by a living artist. |
Christie's in New York sold Rabbit, a 41in (104cm) steel cast of an inflatable created in 1986, for more than $20m over its estimated price. | |
It beats the previous record set by British artist David Hockney in November. | It beats the previous record set by British artist David Hockney in November. |
Art dealer Robert Mnuchin reportedly made the winning bid. | |
Mr Mnuchin, father of US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, purchased the sculpture on behalf of a client, reports say. | |
On its website Christie's described Rabbit as "cute, sinister, cartoonish, imposing, vacuous, sexy, chilling, dazzling and iconic". | On its website Christie's described Rabbit as "cute, sinister, cartoonish, imposing, vacuous, sexy, chilling, dazzling and iconic". |
It is one of Jeff Koons' most well-known pieces. The US artist's sculptures have provoked controversy for decades after he emerged as a leading figure in New York's art scene in the 1980s. | It is one of Jeff Koons' most well-known pieces. The US artist's sculptures have provoked controversy for decades after he emerged as a leading figure in New York's art scene in the 1980s. |
Koons previously held the record price for a living artist's work for his piece Balloon Dog (Orange). | Koons previously held the record price for a living artist's work for his piece Balloon Dog (Orange). |
But he was overtaken last year by Hockney's Portrait of an Artist (Pool with Two Figures), which sold for just over $90m (£70m) at the same auction house. | But he was overtaken last year by Hockney's Portrait of an Artist (Pool with Two Figures), which sold for just over $90m (£70m) at the same auction house. |
The sale comes in the same week a Claude Monet Haystacks painting sold in New York for $110.7m - a record for the French artist. | The sale comes in the same week a Claude Monet Haystacks painting sold in New York for $110.7m - a record for the French artist. |