Demonstrating that observation, another Rubens that has been on the market frequently in the last few years brought the second-highest price of the evening.

It is the second-highest price ever paid for a van Gogh at auction and the third-highest for any artwork sold at auction.

"No. 18, 1949" fetched $3.9 million, and "No. 8, 1950" was sold for $11.55 million, the second-highest price ever for a contemporary artist.

A Philadelphia 18th-century pier table was sold for $4.62 million - the second-highest price for a piece of furniture - to Mr. Sack.

It is the second-highest price ever paid for a single coin, after the $7.59 million paid for a 1933 $20 gold piece in 2002.

The second-highest price ever for a painting was recorded at a Sotheby's auction in New York.

He paid $913,250 (the estimate was $800,000 to $1.2 million), the second-highest price in the sale.

It sold for $78.1 million, the second-highest price ever paid for a painting and a record for the artist.

Earlier a Jackson Pollock, "No. 8, 1950," earned the second-highest price at auction for a work by a contemporary artist: $11.5 million.

It brought $78.1 million, then a record auction price for Impressionist art and the second-highest price for any artwork sold at auction.