Successful Sotheby's auction unfettered by "Orgy of the Rich" protest

16 February 2011

Gerhard Richter's "Regenbogen" sold for $1,537,830.

(Sotheby's)

A band of activists invaded a contemporary art evening auction at Sotheby's London on February 15. Amidst the action-packed sale that sent 54 of 59 lots to a total $71,051,252 (£44,359,900), far exceeding the $48.7-68.9 million presale estimate, the group of protestors made a disturbance with cell phone rings and threw around fake bank notes to the amusement of bidders.

The youthful bandits unfurled a banner with the words "Orgy of the Rich" before being peacefully escorted from the salesroom, according to artinfo.

The sale continued on to bring three artist records and an average price per lot of a strong $1.3 million.

Top lot honors went to Gerhard Richter's "Abstraktes Bild" (1990) (est. £5-7 million) which went to a telephone bidder for $11.5 million (£7.2 million). His "Regenbogen" sold for $1,537,830.

Read more at artinfo

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