«I LIKE MONEY ON THE WALL»

Christie's, the world's biggest auctioneers, has a star lot that is a price-on-request (around $23 million) diptych by 20th century American painter Jean-Michel Basquiat, and a painting fromRussian Expressionist Wassily Kandinsky, which could set a lifetime record for the artist if it sells north of $23 million. Its top estimate is $24.86 million.

Nearest rival Sotheby's has French Impressionist Claude Monet's "Le Palais Contarini" with a top estimate of $31 million and paintings by 18th century Frenchman Claude-Joseph Vernet ($7.7 million) and British contemporary artist David Hockney ($4.6 million).

Continued weakness in a battered euro zone and slowing Chinese economic growth have made investors wary in the last two years, but high-end art sales have continued to break records.

New York has long been considered the global capital of the auction world - most recent records have been set there.

This year's spring auctions were no different, ending on a record-shattering high as Christie's May 15 post-war & contemporary art sale achieved the highest total - $495 million - in the history of art auctions.

None of the star London lots currently come near the $58.4 million paid at the Christie's sale in New York for U.S. artist Jackson Pollock's "Number 19, 1948".

-Reuters

June 8 2013