Auction brings in world record US$495m

A Jean-Michel Basquiat painting has set a new auction record for the graffiti artist at a sale of postwar and contemporary art in New York.

Christie's says "Dustheads" sold for $48.8 million.

His "Untitled," a painting of a black fisherman, held the previous record when it sold for $26.4 million last November.

Also breaking world auction prices for artists were works by Roy Lichtenstein and Jackson Pollock.

Lichtenstein's "Woman With Flowered Hat" fetched $56 million. A classic example of pop art, the 1963 painting is based on Pablo Picasso's portrait of his lover Dora Maar.

An important drip painting by Pollock, "Number 19," realized a record $58.3 million.

Christie's says the auction brought in US$495 million, the highest total at any art auction.

- AP