$12.9 million de Kooning painting leads Sotheby’s October London auctions.

Sotheby’s Contemporary Evening Auction in London realized £46 million ($61 million) on October 15th, led by Willem de Kooning ‘s Untitled (1977), which sold for £9.8 million ($12.9 million) against an estimate of £8 million–£12 million ($10.69 million–$16.03 million)—the highest price ever achieved for a work by the artist at auction in Europe. The sale brought Sotheby’s combined Modern and Contemporary art total in London this year to £598 million ($793 million), the strongest year-to-date figure since 2015 and more than double the equivalent total at this point last year. The evening‘s sale