Artist Tracey Emin whoops as her "My Bed" fetches over $4 million

reuters.com ^ | 7/2/2014 | Sarah Young

[Dr. Sivana]

(Reuters) - Tracey Emin's "My Bed," complete with cigarette butts, crumpled sheets and underwear, sold for 2.5 million pounds ($4.25 million) on Tuesday, a record for the artist, who was present at the auction and applauded and whooped delightedly.

[ . . . ]

The auction house said it was very rare for an artist to attend an auction, and it demonstrated the connection Emin felt to the highly personal work.

The price reached for Emin's work, described by the auction house as an iconic piece of 1990s British art, quadrupled her previous sale price record, but Christie's said the market was not overheating.

"There is a very discerning element to this market. It's not a frothy market. People are really making distinct choices. Its a very subjective response to works," Brett Gorvy, Christie's international head of post-war and contemporary art, said after the sale.

A painting by Peter Doig, the huge oil "Gasthof," sold for 9.9 million pounds, beating the estimated price of 3 million to 5 million pounds, and beating a record set the previous day for one of the Scottish artist's works.

Around 190 bidders from 28 countries took part in the auction, Christie's said, with interest from Europe, North America, the Middle East and Asia.

[ . . . ]

All the buyers from the auction chose to remain anonymous, meaning Emin will have to wait to find out whether her Turner short-listed work will end up in a museum, a wish she expressed the week before.

"My Bed," auctioned for the first time, was sold by the Saatchi Gallery Collection.

[Gaffer]

Yes, but can you prove it was ART when you made it? That’s the whole difference I think. :o)

[Aut Pax Aut Bellum]

Wow, my step daughter’s room must be worth a lot...