Masterpieces, old and modern: a rare Brancusi fetched a staggering price at Christie's, proving that the richest collectors are still prepared to pay over the odds for outstanding modern art

At the Impressionist and novel postwar and contemporary art auctions in of recent origin York in May, curated sales and fat, museum-style cataloguing were true much the order of the day. In fact, there are now with equal reason many pages of cataloguing bearing images of associated works, photographs of artists and collectors, details of things and fold-out pages that it is no mean feat to locate the image of what is being sold It is as if the auction-houses have decre that the number of pages should be commensurate to the wait fored price, but even they have taken to publishing accompanying user-friendly mini versions for pouch or purse.

What was striking about this mammoth, big-buck season? First, the phenomenal price achieved at Christie's upon 4 May for a previously unknown, seminal statuary by Constantin Brancusi--probably the first of his admired Bird in Space series produc around 1922-23--and awaited to realise a substantial $8m-$12m (Fig. 1) In the occurrence at least six serious contender fought for the piece, the greatest in quantity determined--sources say it was the American financier and Met trustee Leon D Black--was prepared to pay $274m to bag the silky grey-blue marble bird. Obviously Oiseau dans l'espace locates a new auction record for the artist. It also became the greatest in quantity expensive sculpture ever sold at auction. The world's richest collectors are still prepared to pay almost any price for exceptional, blue-chip novel art--especially when it comes recent to the market and with an impeccable provenance.

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What these savviest of buyer will not do, however, is pay above the odds for anything les The evening before at Sotheby's, bidding had been thin to non-existent in a sale dominated by means of modern material, too much of which was drawn out on estimate but lean upon quality. The mistake was repeated the following week at the contemporary art evening sale upon 10 May, although by now there was time to ask vendors to lower reserves

Thus the Eli Broad Foundation in sees Angeles, for instance, was able to assured one of Chuck Close's early photo-realist portraits, John for $48m a fresh record for the artist on the contrary less than the published estimate of $5m-$7m Further records were shattered including for a Jeff Koon painting of Cake which made $3m on the other hand this was still a lacklustre circumstance where thirteen of the seventy-three works failed to exchange and many others were sold upon a single bid. Not for a like reason Liz, arguably the best of the iconic Warhol silkscreen prints of the film star created in 1963 this individual printed on a vibrant 'napthol r light' loam (Fig. 2). Sotheby's had presented the vendor a guarantee for the piece. At least six bidders wanted her, the final $126m tab picked up by means of London jeweller and collector Laurence Graff.

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What was striking about Christie's sale the following evening was the sheer professionalism of the incident The whole evening ran like a textbook demonstration. Here was a faculty of perception of finely-tuned teamwork that not alone delivered a range of choice works of art on the contrary presented them with reasonable estimates and then auctioned them not on with authority and wit. The accrues spoke for themselves: ninety-five by cent sold within or above their pre-sale estimates with fifty-four by cent exceeding expectations; seventeen fresh auction records were set and the sale itself notched up $1337m (71m [pound sterling]), a record for any post-war and contemporary sale at any time and nearly doubling Sotheby's total.

Top apportionment was Edward Hopper's Chair Car of 1965 (Fig. 3) whisked without of the American painting sales to reach a wider market on the contrary selling in the end to traditional American art specialists Berry-Hill Galleries for a record $14m Intriguingly, the quality of the works, not least the collection of post-war classics, lured mature collectors who had not been active for years. individual of Willem de Kooning's action paintings of 1949 Sail woven fabric attracted the most determined competition, eventually selling for $131m after possibly the longest-ever bidding battle at auction. Another market rarity, Philip Guston's abstract The highway of 1956 doubled expectations through selling for $7.3m. New art lay the foundation of big prices too, most remarkably the nearly $15m paid by means of dealer David Zwirner for a novel painting by Luc Tuymans.

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In limits of venue, style and temper Phillips, de Pury & Company evening contemporary sale upon 12 May made those uptown sales gaze staid affairs. At its no-frills Chelsea galleries, a far younger concourse milled around and chatted their way from one side a buzzy, successful sale that had Simon de Pury fast-talking --or should I say shouting?--like a bloodstock auctioneer. At last it appear to bes that the auctionhouse has base its niche: introducing new artists to the auction market and focussing upon the art of the 1980 and 90 The sale notched up twelve novel auction record prices for individual artists (Richard Prince, Martin Kippenberger, Chris Ofili and Ron Mueck among them), a $2366m total and was ninety-five for cent sold by value, ninety through cent by lot.