The sale lasted more than two hours, during which all 35 pieces were sold, four of them for more than US$50 million.

Between 200 and 300 people were allowed to attend the sale at Sotheby’s headquarters, after several virtual seasons owing to the pandemic.

Two lots were tipped to be the most expensive items of the evening, but in the end it was a painting by the American expressionist Marc Rothko (1903-1970), entitled “N ° 7”, which won with a sales price of US$82.4 million including fees and commissions.

The Rothko artwork nudged out “Le Nez” (“The Nose”), a bronze sculpture by Alberto Giacometti (1901-1966), itself estimated to bring in US$70-90 million but falling shy of the Rothko figure.

Both works were purchased remotely by Asian collectors, Sotheby’s said.

In New York, the sale of two paintings by the pop-art master Andy Warhol was also highly anticipated: his famous “Nine Marylins” (1962), a series of faces of the movie star Marylin Monroe in black and white, was sold for US$47.3 million, while a “Sixteen Jackies”, depicting Jackie Kennedy, found a buyer for US$33.8 million.

The sale was the result of a divorce in 2018 of real estate developer Harry Macklowe and his wife Linda Burg, a wealthy couple who had amassed an impressive art collection.

Only 35 of the 65 pieces in the collection were sold last night, with the rest to be sold in the spring auction season next year. But with US$676 million in one night, the total could well surpass the record set by the Rockefeller collection sold in 2018 at Christie’s for US$835 million.