A 1993 painting by former Canadian resident Peter Doig fetched $4,674,500 (U.S.), including buyer's premium, at Christie's spring auction of postwar and contemporary art in New York Wednesday evening.
The sale of the oil, called Night Fishing, was one of the highlights of the auction, which saw Christie's gross a total of $93.74-million on sales of 49 lots (out of 54 on offer) and boast of the continuing health of the resale market through the recession.
The Doig went into the auction estimated at $3-million to $4-million and sold, according to news reports, to Victoria Gelfand, a Russian-speaking employee of New York's Gagosian Gallery. Wednesday's result, while far below the Doig record of $11-million set two years ago by Sotheby's, shows the continued interest in works by the 50-year-old Edinburgh-born artist who lived in Canada from 1966 through 1979.
The Doig was the fifth highest earner for Christie's Wednesday.