Georgia O'Keeffe's Jimson Weed/ White Flower No 1 has set a new record for the work of a female artist at auction after selling for $44.4m at Sotheby's.
The lot beat its estimate of $15m by 196% in the November 20 American Art auction in New York.
 Jimson Weed/ White Flower No 1 is now the most valuable work of art by a female artist |
The previous record for O'Keeffe's work was $6.2m - a sum that this latest sale exceeded by 616.1%.
The previous auction record for the work of a female artist was set at $11.9m for an untitled work by Joan Mitchell, a figure that Jimson Weed surpassed by 273.1%
A spokesperson for the O'Keeffe Museum, which consigned the painting, commented prior to the sale: "Letting go of these pieces is a sacrifice, and we do not take this decision lightly.
"We are fortunate to have equally strong examples of similar subjects, including the masterful Bella Donna, which bears a close resemblance to Jimson Weed.
"Through this sale we have the opportunity to substantially fund an acquisitions endowment that will allow us to be competitive when pursuing iconic O'Keeffe masterworks.
"This sale will provide funding to strengthen and refine our collection, allowing us to represent the full breadth of Georgia O'Keeffe's artistic accomplishments."
Another work by O'Keeffe, On the Old Santa Road, also sold well. It realised $5m against a $3m estimate, an increase of 66.6%.
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