A masterpiece by Jackson Pollock featuring his signature painted swoops, swirls, pours, and drizzles set a new sales record at a New York auction, fetching an astonishing $181.2 million. Known as “Number 7A, 1948,” this iconic drip painting nearly tripled the artist’s previous auction record, as reported by Christie’s Auction House.
This artwork, a mesmerizing oil-and-enamel creation on raw canvas measuring nearly a meter in height and over three meters in width, became the focal point of the auction. It was swiftly sold for $181,185,000 in less than seven minutes of intense bidding to an undisclosed buyer. The sale followed a 10-day public exhibition at Christie’s Rockefeller Center, attracting around 20,000 visitors.
Painted by Pollock at the age of 36 inside his Long Island barn near East Hampton, “Number 7A, 1948” was highlighted as one of his largest private works. The auction featured 16 modern artworks from the collection of the late S.I. Newhouse, a prominent figure in the media industry who passed away in 2017. One of the standout pieces, “Danaïde” by Constantin Brancusi, also exceeded the $100 million mark, selling for $107.6 million.
The entire auction of 20th-century artworks from the Newhouse collection, including pieces by renowned artists such as Picasso, Mondrian, Miro, Warhol, and Johns, achieved a total of $631 million, inclusive of auction fees. Christie’s co-head of the 20th Century Evening Sale, Paige Kestenman, expressed satisfaction with the enthusiastic response from both the team and clients, noting the lively bidding activity throughout the event.