Emily Fisher Landau Collection Sells for $406 Million at Sotheby's; Picasso's Femme à la montre Achieves $139.4 Million, Second Highest at Auction for Artist

Agnes Martin painting sets record by fetching $18.7 million at auction; All 31 works from Emily Fisher Landau's collection sell, including pieces by Jasper Johns, Ed Ruscha, and Cy Twombly.

Sotheby's auction of the Emily Fisher Landau Collection achieved a total $406.4 million in sales, with the entire collection of 31 works meeting success.
Pablo Picasso’s painting 'Femme à la montre' secured the highest bid at the auction capturing $139.4 million, the second highest total garnered for a Picasso at any auction to date.
An Agnes Martin painting, 'Grey Stone II,' shattered records when it brought in $18.7 million with fees after a seven-minute bidding. The sale of this painting alone doubled the high estimate of $8 million.
Among other noted artists represented in the sale were Ed Ruscha, Jasper Johns, Cy Twombly, and Mark Tansey, all of whom attracted considerable attention and bidding.
Despite high-profile sales, some artworks did not reach their pre-sale estimates. Mark Rothko's 'Untitled' 1958 painting from his Seagram Mural series sold for $22 million with fees, falling short of the pre-sale estimation of $30 million to $40 million.