The “selfie” is popular now, but in the late century there was the self-portrait. This forerunner of selfie done by Andy Warhol in 1986 sold for whopping $30,1 million at auction. The images formed as series of six of the eccentric American artist’s self-portraits were the top sellers in an auction of post-war and contemporary art at Sotheby’s in New York. Another big item at Sotheby’s was the sculpture Popeye by Jeff Koons. It went for $28.2 million, above its estimated value of $25 million. The buyer, casino magnate Steve Wynn, said the sculpture would go on display in one of his Las Vegas properties.
Other highlights included Gerhard Richter’s Blau, which fetched $28,7 million, Jean-Michel Basquiat’s Undiscovered, which took $23,7 million, and an untitled work by Mark Rothko that sold for $12,2 million.