Art Market Defies Crash Fears With Record Sale

So much for a correction: at last night's sale of modern and contemporary art at Christie's in New York, 16 artists achieved record prices and 61 out of 66 lots sold. Dealers were in shock as collectors continued to snatch up works at astronomical prices. Even a lesser work such as Andy Warhol's Liz, put up for sale by Hugh Grant and expected to bust, went for $23.5 million.

"I'm stunned," said dealer Barbara Gladstone as the sale ended: from Lucien Freud to Ed Ruscha to paintings by young Chinese artists, prices soared as collectors put paid to expectations of a market crash. No fewer than 51 lots sold for more than $1 million. Sotheby's holds its modern and contemporary sale tonight. (More art market stories.)