Art auction tops $100 million

A four-day marathon of postwar and contemporary art auctions got off to a roaring start Tuesday night with a $102.1-million sale at Christie’s New York. The first of its kind to hit the $100-million mark, the auction set records for nine artists and made the point that art created since 1945 is steadily increasing its market share.

“It was a wonderful sale, and the response to it was electric,” said auctioneer Christopher Burge, apologizing for his hoarseness after two hours of calling out bids in the crowded saleroom at Rockefeller Center. Only seven of the 67 pieces offered failed to find buyers.

A 1949 drip painting by Jackson Pollock consigned by the Museum of Modern Art brought the top price, $11.6 million, about twice the pre-sale estimate. Next came a classic 1958 abstraction by Mark Rothko, which fetched $8.9 million.

“Jim Beam J.B. Turner Train,” a 9 1/2-foot long train, cast in stainless steel and filled with bourbon, was the quirkiest big seller. Valued at $2 million to $3 million, it was sold for $5.4 million.

Another hot item was Edward Ruscha’s 1964 painting “Damage.” The Anderson Art Center in Anderson, Ind., consigned the painting, hoping to sell it for $1.8 million to $2.3 million. The price was $3.5 million.