Sotheby’s sells record $7.3bn of art so far in 2021

So far this year, Sotheby’s has sold 57 pieces for more than $15m each, with a Botticelli painting of a young man holding a roundel selling for $92.2m being the top selling item.

The most money changed hands in modern and contemporary art, which totalled a record $4.3bn across auction and private sales.

The company also set a record for the most valuable single-owner auction, with $676m paid for the Macklowe Collection amassed over more than half a century by the real estate magnate Harry Macklowe and his ex-wife Linda Macklowe.

It said the NFT sale fuelled a “dramatic expansion” of its audience, with 78% of the NFT bidders being new to Sotheby’s and more than half under 40.

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