The year's biggest auction sales, flops and surprises are compiled by MutualArt along with the 20 best-selling artists worldwide. Topping the artists' list with $376 million in sales is Andy Warhol.  A massive cache of 821 Warhols sold from 1,049 total offered at auction in 2011.

Rare-to-market works performed well while some big names, such as Picasso and Monet, were hit or miss.

Notably, a Clyfford Still abstraction with an estimate of $25-35 million sold for $61,682,500. The work was one of four Stills sold at Sotheby's by the city of Denver to benefit the endowment of the Clyfford Still Museum. Only 77 paintings by Clyfford Still are known to remain in private hands.

Among the surprises in 2011, Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema's sumptuous scene entitled The Meeting of Antony and Cleopatra: 41 BC swept above its $3-5 million to sell for $29,202,500 - 584% above the high estimate. (Although, more surprisingly, this pre-sale estimate follows the $35.9 million paid for the artist's The Finding of Moses at Sotheby's in Nov. 2010.)