Success rate record achieved at Sotheby's - 12/02/2010

Sotheby's made history in the field of contemporary art earlier this week thanks to a sales success rate of 96 per cent.

During a two-hour auction in London on Wednesday (February 10th), 74 of 77 lots sold for a combined total of £54.07 million, the New York Times reports.

While this was not a record amount, it is the first time that such a high success rate has been recorded, with Tobias Meyer, Sotheby's worldwide head of contemporary art, leading the proceedings.

One of the highlights of the session, according to the newspaper, was the £1.03 million sale of Head of Leon Kossoff, dated from 1956, by Frank Auerbach. The total was 11 times the amount the auction house was anticipating.

Many of the lots stemmed from a collection belonging to Gerhard and Anna Lenz, which had been built up over half a century. Some 49 paintings, low-relief and panels were auctioned from the German couple's selection.

Sotheby's recently sold a Lucian Freud self portrait for £2.8 million, which was lower than the expected £3 million to £4 million.