American Art at Sotheby’s in New York on Wednesday achieved $45,869,625 (est. $33.2/49.7 million) – among the highest totals for an American Art sale in the last five years.

Ten lots brought prices over $1 million, with more than half of all sold lots achieving prices above their high estimates, including eight of the auction’s top ten works.

Ten works by Norman Rockwell totaled $20 million, meeting their combined pre-sale high estimate. Led by "After the Prom," which sold for $9,1,250,000 – the 4th highest price at auction for the artist (est. $8/12 million). The work was last acquired at Sotheby’s New York in 1995 for $880,000.

Rockwell's "Willie Gillis in Convoy" brought $2,285,000, in a sale benefiting Gardner High School in Gardner, Massachusetts. The work had been gifted by Rockwell to the school’s principal in 1951. Sotheby’s has achieved 9 of the top 10 prices at auction for Rockwell, including the record price of $46 million set in December 2013 by "Saying Grace."

Milton Avery’s "March and Sally Outdoors," which has never been exhibited in public or published in scholarship on the artist, set a new auction record for Avery when it sold for $5,653,000 – well in excess of its $3 million high estimate. It was acquired by the present owners’ mother directly from the artist in 1950 – the year it was painted. Sotheby’s now holds 4 of the top 5 auction prices for the artist.

One of four artist records set in today’s auction, Georgia O’Keeffe’s "Lake George Barn" fetched $2,965,000 (est. $2.5/3.5 million). The work had remained in the same private collection since 1988, and had not been exhibited publicly since 1989.

The selection of 19th century works on offer were highlighted by Albert Bierstadt’s "Yosemite Valley" from 1865, which surpassed its high estimate of $1.5 million to sell for $2,517,000