Applause broke out early at last night’s contemporary art auction at Phillips de Pury & Co. after three bidders battled it out over the sixth lot, an untitled Jean-Michel Basquiat self-portrait done in 1981 during the height of his fame. In the end, the painting sold to a telephone bidder for $16.3 million (with premium), well above the $12 million presale high estimate and a new world record for the artist.
