«I LIKE MONEY ON THE WALL»

The British painter, Francis Bacon’s 1969 triptych entitled Three Studies of Lucian Freud, was the star attraction of the New York sale. Presented with a world record price estimate, it did not take long to reach its target, with the world’s biggest buyers clearly inspired by the importance of the work: no less than 60 telephones were mobilized during the bidding, with bids initially moving up by $5m and then $1m until the hammer fell at $127 million five minutes later. The three studies of Lucian Freud – finally reunited – were acquired by the New York gallery Acquavella on behalf of a client whose identity and nationality were not disclosed by Christie’s. This discreet buyer paid a total, including fees, of $142.405 million. 

To become the world’s most expensive artwork ever sold at auction, Bacon’s triptych added $50 million to his previous personal auction record (set in May 2008 for a 1976 triptych which fetched $77 million at Sotheby’s) and added $20 million to the previous world auction record of $107 million ($119.9 m including fees) for a version of Edvard Munch’s famous The Scream in May 2012 at Sotheby’s New York. 

-Artprice