(Initially published in http://www.romania-report.ro/ - May 8, 2005)
NEW YORK - Constantin Brancusi's "Bird in Space" shattered the record for a sculpture at auction on Wednesday when it soared to an astonishing $27,450,000 at Christie's sale of Impressionist and modern art.
The previous record was held by another Romanian-born artists' scupture, "Danaide," which sold for $18,159,500 three years ago.
Christie's had estimated that the recently rediscovered "Bird in Space" from 1921-22 would sell for $8 million to $12 million. But a bidding war between two clients over the telephone saw the price race upward, with nearly $3 million added in commission for the marble sculpture that depicts a bird soaring into the sky.
The piece had been stored for 80 years in a vault and had remained in the same family. It was authenticated only days before the sales were finalized. Christie's officials were ebullient after the auction, which took in a total of $142,892,800, just shy of the high pre-sale estimate of $148 million with only seven of the 59 lots going unsold.
"It was just a wonderful sale all the way through," said Christopher Burge, Christie's honorary chairman and the evening's auctioneer. He said the bidding was "incredibly lively ... thick and fast at all levels." and that it was the auction house's second-highest total in 15 years.
Reuters
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