A mystery telephone bidder won a paddle battle for Mark Rothko's 1954 “No. 1 (Royal Red and Blue)” for the final sum of $75.1 million (with fees) at an exceptionally strong Sotheby's sale on Tuesday night.

Contemporary art brought on spirited bidding that added up to $375.1 million, the highest sale total in Sotheby’s history, exceeding the previous record of $362 million set in May 2008. Just 11 works went unsold out of 69 offered lots.

Fresh-to-market offerings and classic works by top names were the drivers. Prices went high despite worries about last week's disappointing Impressionist and modern art sales and global economic woes.

Jackson Pollock's drip painting “Number 4, 1951” brought an artist auction record at $40.4 million with fees. The estimate was $25 million to $35 million.

Another high-flyer was Francis Bacon’s “Untitled (Pope)” from 1954 which brought $29.7 million, well above its low estimate of $18 million.

A record for a work on paper by Andy Warhol was set by his jarring "Suicide" which garnered $16.3 million from dealer Philippe Ségalot. The estimate was $6 million to $8 million.