April 30 (Bloomberg) -- An aluminum “Lockheed Lounge” chair by Marc Newson, once used in a Madonna video, sold today in London for 1.1 million pounds ($1.6 million), an auction record for a piece of contemporary design art.

The futuristic metal lounger was the star of a 168-lot auction at Phillips de Pury & Co. It had been expected to fetch between 500,000 pounds and 700,000 pounds and was bought by a telephone bidder. The chair was fought for by two other bidders on the phone and two more in the room. The price included fees.

Other versions of the Australian-born, London-based designer’s limited-edition 1988 divan had previously held the contemporary-design record. In June 2006, an example sold at Sotheby’s, New York, for $968,000. Another fetched 748,500 pounds at Christie’s International, London, in October 2007.

This particular version, one of four artist’s proofs, was used by Madonna for a promotional film for her 1993 single “Rain.” In 1999, before auction prices for cutting-edge design mirrored the dramatic increases seen for contemporary art, the chair failed to sell at Christie’s in London. It was then estimated at 35,000 pounds to 50,000 pounds.

“It’s the seminal piece of contemporary design,” Kenny Schachter, a London-based dealer in contemporary art and design, said in an interview before the sale. “Everything in the market is measured against this.”

Estimate levels for design art have yet to mirror the 30 percent to 50 percent declines seen at contemporary-art auctions in the aftermath of the collapse of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc.

(Scott Reyburn writes about the art market for Bloomberg News. Opinions expressed are his own.)

To contact the writer on the story: Scott Reyburn in London at sreyburn@hotmail.com.

Last Updated: April 30, 2009 10:49 EDT