Driving rain and a random stabbing of a patron at Art Basel Miami Beach failed to keep crowds away from shopping and browsing at Miami's art fairs. More than 20 fairs took place from Dec. 1 to 6, along with art openings and parties around town, with $3 billion in art offered at Art Basel alone. 

Some 77,000 visitors flocked to Art Basel over five days, including major private collectors as well as directors, curators, trustees and patrons of nearly 200 museum and institution groups. Collectors from over 110 countries attended the show, with first-time collectors coming from Cambodia, Ethiopia, Nicaragua, Romania, Togo and Zimbabwe, the fair reported. The show was spearheaded this year by Noah Horowitz, Art Basel’s newly appointed Director Americas, who came from New York's Armory Show.

‘Art Basel in Miami Beach was this year calm, serious and focused,' said Sadie Coles, of Sadie Coles HQ, London.

Top sales included a Francis Bacon at Van de Weghe Fine Art that was priced at $13.5 million. Actor Sylvester Stallone picked up Robert Indiana's iconic LOVE from Galerie Gmurzynksa. It had an asking price of $1.6 million, Bloomberg reports.

Art Miami saw brisk sales in the $50,000 to $750,000 range, director Nick Korniloff told Bloomberg. A big volume of sales included works by Sam Francis, Jean-Francois Rauzier and Theodoros Stamos totaling more than $450,000 from Waterhouse & Dodd.