Record $2.7 Billion Auctions Ignite Buying at N.Y. Art Fairs

As spring auction sales wrapped up in New York at a record $2.7 billion last week, a slew of art fairs shared in the frenzied buying.

Works at Frieze Art Fair went for as much as $4 million while smaller fairs sold art pinned to the walls of booths for less than $3,000. Among the shoppers were seasoned collectors including Peter Kraus, chief executive officer of AllianceBernstein Corp., and real-estate developer Jerry Speyer.