LONDON, ENGLAND - AMERICAN artist Jeff Koons's sculpture 'Balloon Flower (Magenta)' sold for a record-breaking 12.9 million pounds (S$34.9 million) in an auction on Monday, Christie's said.

The more than 2.75-metre tall high chromium stainless steel sculpture, mimicking a flower made out of a long balloon similar to those made by party clowns or street artists, was the most expensive work by Koons sold at auction.

Photo: Reuters

It had been estimated to sell for 12 million pounds.

'Three Studies for a Self Portrait", a rare triptych by Francis Bacon which he painted in Paris in 1975 and which had never been seen in public, sold for 17.29 million pounds, well above its pre-sale estimate of 10 million pounds.

Paintings by Bacon have, in the past, sold for considerably more.

'Triptych", painted in 1976, set a record for a painting by the artist when it fetched US$86.2 million (S$117.1 million) in an auction in New York in May.

The three works were the highlights of a post-war and contemporary art sale held by Christie's on Monday evening, where a record was also set by Antonio Lopez's 'Madrid desde Torres Blancas", which sold for 1.38 million pounds, making it the most expensive work by a living Spanish artist sold at auction.

In all, the auction fetched 86.2 million pounds, the auction house's best result for a post-war and contemporary art sale in Europe.

'We were particularly pleased to sell three works for over 10 million pounds as exceptional pieces by Freud, Bacon and Koons attracted the interest of collectors from all over the world,' said Pilar Ordovas, the head of post-war and contemporary art at Christie's.

Last week, Christie's and rival auction house Sotheby's, which between them account for 90 per cent of the global art auction market, combined for nearly 300 million pounds worth of impressionist and modern art sales over three days of auctions in London.