Christie's Cashes In

Christie's 2007 sales total is in: The auction house sold $6.3 billion worth art, furniture, jewelry, and books last year — that includes private sales and buyer's premiums — a 36% increase over 2006.

Which department was the biggest cash cow for Christie's? Post-war & contemporary art. No surprise there, given the seemingly unsatiable appetite for Bacons, Rothkos, and Koons. The team sold $1.56 million worth of paintings, sculptures, and installations last year, and Warhol's Green Car Crash, which flew off the block in May for $71.7 million, fetched more than any other lot in 2007.

Not all departments fared so well as this golden child, though. Old Master pictures raked in a meager (by comparison) $304 million, down 3% from 2006.

Andy Warhol, Green Car Crash, Photo Credit: Christie's Images Ltd. 2008