Christie’s Sales Climb 10% as Rothko Leads Contemporary Demand

Growing demand for contemporary art helped sales climb 10 percent at Christie’s International in 2012, even as its market contracted in Asia and the Middle East.

The London-based auction house sold 3.9 billion pounds ($6.23 billion) of art and collectibles in 2012, setting a pound-sterling record for the company for the third successive year. Public sales of works by postwar and living artists grew 33 percent to continue as the company’s most lucrative category, raising 986.5 million pounds in 2012, Christie’s said in an e-mailed release today. All auction sales quoted include fees.