Cy Twombly Tops $178.4 Million Christie's Sale
- February 12, 2015 18:48
One of Cy Twombly's scribbly "blackboard" works fetched $30 million to lead Christie's auction in London. The Wednesday sale brought a total $178.4 million, trailing competitior Sotheby's sale total of $188.2 million earlier in the week.
The auction record price for Twombly, who died in 2011, was for another "chalkboard" painting that garnered $69.6 million last November.
Christie's said the 1970 Twombly painting was offered with a guaranteed selling price, and Bloomberg reported the seller was Leonard Riggio, former chairman and founder of Barnes & Noble.
![Peter Paul Rubens (Flemish, 1577–1640), After Titian (Tiziano Vecelli) (Italian [Venetian], c. 1488–1576), Rape of Europa, 1628–29. Oil on canvas, 71 7/8 x 79 3/8 in.](/images/c/e2/2e/Jan20_Rape_of_Europa100x100_c.jpg "Peter Paul Rubens (Flemish, 1577–1640), After Titian (Tiziano Vecelli) (Italian [Venetian], c. 1488–1576), Rape of Europa, 1628–29. Oil on canvas, 71 7/8 x 79 3/8 in.")
