May 14 (Bloomberg) -- Francis Bacon's celadon-green three- paneled painting of a headless man devoured by vultures fetched $86.3 million tonight at Sotheby's in New York, becoming the most expensive contemporary artwork ever sold at auction.

Bacon's ``Triptych, 1976'' was inspired by Greek mythology and the artist's own angst, Sotheby's said. Estimated to fetch about $70 million, it was sold about a third of the way into Sotheby's 83-lot contemporary art auction. The sale featured major works by Yves Klein, Takashi Murakami and Donald Judd.

The Bacon surpassed Mark Rothko's lyrical abstract 1950 ``White Center (Yellow, Pink and Lavender on Rose),'' which brought in $72.8 million a year ago at Sotheby's in New York. Sold by banker and philanthropist David Rockefeller, it held the record for the most expensive contemporary artwork at auction.

Bacon died in 1992, and prices for his works at auction have soared of late. His previous record was $52.7 million, for a swirling red Pope-like figure in the 1962 ``Study for Innocent X.'' It sold at Sotheby's in New York in May 2007.

Tonight's Bacon was sold by a European collector who acquired the painting in 1977 at the Paris Galerie Claude Bernard. The buyer was a private European telephone bidder.

Bacon's work has had a big week. Last night at a Christie's International contemporary-art sale, his ``Three Studies for Self-Portrait'' sold for $28 million.

Rauschenberg Work

Also tonight, Robert Rauschenberg's 1963 oil-and-silkscreen canvas ``Overdrive,'' with images of New York stop signs and office buildings, fetched $14.6 million, near the presale high estimate of $15 million. The artist died on Monday at age 82.

Sales at this evening's auction totaled $362 million, including commissions, topping the estimated range of $288.1 million to $356.7 million.

Prices include a buyer's commission of 25 percent of the hammer price up to $20,000, 20 percent of the price from $20,000 to $500,000 and 12 percent above $500,000. Estimates do not reflect commissions.

Phillips de Pury's & Co.'s contemporary art auction will be held tomorrow.

(Lindsay Pollock and Philip Boroff write on the arts for Bloomberg News. The opinions expressed are their own.)

To contact the writers of this story: Lindsay Pollock in New York at lindsaypollock@yahoo.com; Philip Boroff in New York at pboroff@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: May 14, 2008 22:01 EDT