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PHILLIPS de PURY & COMPANY ANNOUNCES STRONG RESULTS FOR MAY CONTEMPORARY ART AUCTIONS TOTALLING $97,500,975

CONTEMPORARY ART EVENING SALE TOTALS $86,897,500 & CONTEMPORARY ART DAY SALE TOTALS $10,603,475

WORLD RECORDS FOR JEAN-MICHEL BASQUIAT, SETH PRICE, DANA SCHUTZ, CHRISTIAN MARCLAY, ADAM MCEWEN, JEPPE HEIN, AND HERNAN BAS


FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

New York – 11 May 2012 - Phillips de Pury & Company’s May Contemporary Art auctions totalled $97,500,975 marking its third largest sale to date. The Contemporary Art Evening Sale totalled $86,897,500 selling 92% by value and 80% by lot and the Contemporary Art Day Sale followed the previous evening’s success with solid sales totalling $10,603,475 selling 80% by value and 75% by lot.

The auction room was buzzing this morning when lively bidding sessions ensued for a number of works including Adam McEwen, Sorry We’re Dead, 2002; Josh Smith, Untitled, 2003; Yayoi Kusama, Infinity Nets, 2002; and Alexander Calder, Untitled, 1960 and Red and Yellow Among Blacks, 1974. Some works commanded prices four times the estimated high.

“We produced very solid results and I am very proud of what we were able to accomplish this season. Phillips de Pury continues to make a mark in the contemporary art market and I look forward to building on this momentum in the fall” Sarah Mudge, Head of Day Sale, New York.

Top Ten Lots Evening Sale:

Lot 6 Jean-Michel Basquiat, Untitled, $16,322,500
Lot 19 Willem de Kooning, Untitled VI, $12,402,500
Lot 8 Andy Warhol, Mao, $10,386,500
Lot 4 Andy Warhol, Gun, $7,026,500
Lot 25 Cy Twombly, Untitled (Bolsena), $6,242,500
Lot17 Roy Lichtenstein, Brushstroke Nude, $5,458,500
Lot 3 Christopher Wool, Untitled (S 69), $4,002,500
Lot10 Roy Lichtenstein, Still Life with Cash Box, $3,442,500
Lot 5 Maurizio Cattelan, Daddy Daddy, $2,546,500
Lot 14 Andy Warhol, Statue of Liberty, $2,434,500

Artist World Records Evening Sale:

Lot 6 Jean-Michel Basquiat, Untitled, $16,322,500
Lot 42 Seth Price, Untitled, $92,500
Lot 44 Dana Schutz, Death Comes to All , $482,500

Top Ten Lots Day Sale:

Lot 191 Anselm Kiefer, Sefer Hechaloth, $338,500
Lot 163 Roy Lichtenstein, Water Lilies with Japanese Building, $338,500
Lot 164 Yayoi Kusama, Nets Infinity, $326,500
Lot 139 Christian Marclay, Voices of Venus, $314,500
Lot 160 Robert Indiana, Hope (Red-Blue), $290,500
Lot 174 Yayoi Kusama, Nets Infinity QTA, $284, 500
Lot 183 Elaine Sturtevant, Study for Warhol Flowers, $278,500
Lot 169 Tony Cragg, Level Head, $266,500
Lot 215 Damien Hirst, Beautiful Exploded Aquarium Painting, $242,500
Lot 137 Hernan Bas, The Bats and the Barn Bridge, $218,500

Artist World Records Day Sale:

Lot 110 Oscar Tuazon, Untitled, $56,250
Lot 112 Adam McEwen, Sorry We’re Dead, $164,500
Lot 119 Slater Bradley, Ladies and Gentlemen We are Floating in Space (02), $32,500
Lot 129 Jeppe Hein, 2 Dimensional Labyrinth, $110, 500
Lot 137 Hernan Bas, The Bats and the Barn Bridge, $218,500
Lot 139 Christian Marclay, Voices of Venus, $314,500
Lot 182 Nicholas Krushenick, 60 Seconds, $86,000
Lot 223 Lucy McKenzie, Badge, $17,500
Lot 224 Elliot Hundley, Untitled, $40,000
Lot 258 David Benjamin Sherry, Orgasmalaxy, $5,000
Lot 261 Xaviera Simmons, Untitled (Cape), $8,750
Lot 272 Sarah Braman, July Night, $4,375

Images available on request

Visit Phillips de Pury & Company’s website: www.phillipsdepury.com

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Contacts:

Giulia Costantini
Worldwide Head of Communications
gcostantini@phillipsdepury.com
+ 44 20 7318 4010

Tiana Webb Evans
Director of Communications, New York
twebbevans@phillipsdepury.com
+1 212 940 1237

CONTACT

Tiana Webb-Evans
Director of Communications, New York
twebbevans@phillips.com
+1 212 940 1300

Alex Godwin-Brown
Communications and Marketing Manager, London
agodwin-brown@phillips.com
+ 44 20 7318 4010

Fiona McGovern
Communications and Marketing, London
fmcgovern@phillips.com
+ 44 20 7318 4010

Cecile Demtchenko
Communications, Paris
cdemtchenko@phillips.com
+ 33 1 42 78 67 77

Alexander Blanar
Press, Moscow
ablanar@phillips.com
+ 7 903 285 82 32