This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-48292277
The article has changed 4 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 1 | Version 2 |
|---|---|
| Jeff Koons' Rabbit sculpture breaks record for living artist | Jeff Koons' Rabbit sculpture breaks record for living artist |
| (about 1 hour 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. | 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. | 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. | 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 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. |
| What reaction has there been? | |
| The record price - and the artwork itself - has received a mixed reaction on social media. | |
| Despite the sculpture's iconic status, critics have questioned whether it is worth the price it fetched at auction. | |
| CNBC wealth reporter Robert Frank seemed taken aback by the price, tweeting: "Still trying to get my head - and arms - around this." | |
| Author Steve Silberman was rather more withering in his assessment. | |
| Some appeared outraged that the US treasury secretary's father was behind the winning bid. | |
| Steven Mnuchin son was nominated in November 2016 to serve as US Secretary of the Treasury after a decades-long career working for hedge funds and investment bank Goldman Sachs. | |
| In a tweet, art critic Deborah Solomon said she found it "problematic" that Mr Mnuchin - a former Goldman Sachs banker himself - purchased the sculpture. | |
| Political commentator and Democratic strategist Peter Daou expressed similar sentiments. | |
| Journalist Carolina Miranda focused her ire on the art market, writing that it is "really a bunch of billionaires swapping money and Jeff Koons". | |
| Designer Dwayne Cyrus, however, was more positive, tweeting that the sale proves "an artist can be profitable". |