Art market: the Macklowe collection sets a new sales record in New York

922.2 million dollars (880 million euros): this is the figure announced by the auction house Sotheby's as part of the sale of the Macklowe collection. Following the divorce of the wealthy couple formed by Harry Macklowe, real estate developer and Linda Burg, honorary administrator of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, their collection was put on the market in two batches.

A first sale held in November topped the fall season by bringing in $676.1 million in a single evening, with works like Alberto Giacometti's Le Nez, an impressive bronze sculpture fetching 78.4 million dollars, N°7 by Mark Rothko sold 82.4 million dollars, or Number 17, 1951 by Jackson Pollock sold 61.1 million dollars.

On May 16, during the second sale, the 30 other pieces were sold out in 90 minutes. The painting Untitled by Mark Rothko was sold for 48 million dollars, Seestück by Gerhard Richter was sold for 30.2 million and Andy Warhol's Self Portrait reached $18.7 million. It is "the most expensive collection ever sold at auction" said Sotheby's.