Christie’s and Sotheby’s were nearly neck and neck this month with their dueling contemporary-postwar and Impressionist-modern art sales in London. Christie’s pulled ahead when it came to newer work, bringing in $128 million to Sotheby’s $116 million at the contemporary auctions, and it stole the show overall thanks to its $213 million Impressionist and modern sale, while Sotheby's did a smaller, but still hefty $191 million.
As is often the case, a few banner paintings were responsible for boosting these totals into the stratosphere. Who were the top earners? Some names aren’t hard to guess: Picasso ranked in at number one while Richter and Monet both have double billings. See the full list in this slideshow.
To see the 10 top lots from London's winter auctions, click on the slideshow.