NPR

New York's Spring Art Auctions Have Seen Some Yawns And Some Records

Christie's and Sotheby's auction houses in New York have been holding their spring auctions and such well-known names as Monet have set records. There have also been surprises.
<em>Past Times</em> by Kerry James Marshall at Sotheby's. It sold for $21.1 million, a record auction price for a living African American artist, this week.

The biggest surprise at Wednesday night's Sotheby's auction was a painting by Chicago-based artist . set a record for a living African American artist at auction. It went for $21.1 million, including auction house fees — almost triple its estimate. The acrylic and collage on canvas depicts a black family picnicking by a lake: dad practices his golf

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