Record art sales at Christie’s, US$ 1,1bn in three hours; US expressionist Pollard painting sold for US$ 181 million

Friday, May 22nd 2026 - 23:04 UTC

The roughly three-by-one meter oil and enamel work on canvas, entitled “Number 7A, 1948,” was painted at Pollock's Long Island, New York, studio

A painting by US Abstract Expressionist painter Jackson Pollock sold for a record US$181.2 million (€156.2 million) with fees, at Christie’s auction house in New York this week, alongside other staggering sales on what was a blockbuster event for the institution.

The roughly three-by-one meter (88.9 x 334 centimeters) oil and enamel work on canvas, entitled “Number 7A, 1948,” was painted at Pollock's Long Island, New York, studio when the artist was 36 years old and is considered was a key early example of his floorbased drip technique.

Christie's described the postwar work, which consists of black drips with a few red accents, as follows, “It is with this work that Pollock finally frees himself from the shackles of conventional easel painting and produces one of the first truly abstract paintings in the history of art.”