Andy Warhol Cy Twombly Rene Magritte Investors Indulge Appetite for Luxury Dealer Holly Solomon’s Papers Headed to Smithsonian Phillips de Pury Makes Its (Small) Mark The Second Sex (at Auction, Anyway) Warhols Send Sotheby’s Soaring

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But the humdinger sale for Van de Weghe had to be Basquiat's Donut Revenge (1982), which went to another European for $3.2 million. The boisterous and wildly animated image of a blimp-like figure, festooned with enigmatic word plays such as "the fat man with a chicken leg" drew plenty of spectators.

One of them, New York private dealer Ellen Cantrowitz, hadn't seen the picture since she bought it at auction in 1988 for $27,000 and then unloaded it a short time later for $35,000. "I thought at the time, 'what a relief,'" she recalled. "It looks much better to me now."

Commenting on the overall ascent of prices, Cantrowitz said, "it's a complete update on the market every time you go to a fair."