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.