DALLAS, TX.- Salvador Dalí's Venus Butterfly, 1947, from the Property of a Distinguished New York collector, drew nearly three dozen bids before it finished at $300,000, five times its low pre-auction estimate, to share top-lot honors in Heritage Auctions' Modern & Contemporary Art Auction. The sale surpassed expectations to realize $3,804,494 May 13.

The auction included CHOKK, 1976, by Victor Vasarely, which sold for $300,000 and The Everydays - The 2020 Collection (three works), 2020, by the artist Beeple, a non-fungible token (MP4) artwork, ended at $250,000, with a portion of the proceeds benefiting The Open Earth Foundation.

"Heritage has always been a leader in technology," said Holly Sherratt, Director of Modern & Contemporary Art, Heritage Auctions San Francisco. "With more than 1 million registered online bidders and a devoted millennial art-collecting audience, we knew we could feature an NFT, start the bidding at $1 and receive a strong price for Beeple's work.

"Admittedly there was a learning-curve for me, but my younger colleagues were ready to step right in, embrace the craze, and give many of us a crash-course in NFT collecting. This is the beauty of having an intelligent, multi-generational staff. We are always being innovative."

The auction included CHOKK, 1976, by Victor Vasarely, which sold for $300,000 and The Everydays - The 2020 Collection (three works), 2020, by the artist Beeple, a non-fungible token (MP4) artwork, ended at $250,000, with a portion of the proceeds benefiting The Open Earth Foundation.




Magdalena Abakanowicz's Figure On Iron Seat, 1988, from an edition of five, ended at $150,000 following 15 bids. A 1989 diptych by Christo and Jeanne-Claude titled The Umbrellas, Joint Project for Japan & USA sold for $131,250.

Composition, circa 1967, an oil on canvas by Le Pho, whose work has recently brought aggressive bidding in auctions around the world, sold for $100,000. Manuel Rivera's Espejo de Agua, 1965, fascinating wire mesh over painted wood panel artwork, ended at $93,750.

Highlights which soared beyond pre-auction estimates include, but are not limited to:

· From a private California collection, Jamaica Avenue, 1980, by John Register, sold for $80,000

· Code Blue, 1995, from George Rodrigue's Blue Dog series, sold for $75,000, against a $20,000 estimate

· Vu Cao Dam, Deux jeunes filles, 1966, brought $68,750, against a $15,000 estimate

· Alex Katz's fascinating Study for Portrait of Kynaston McShine ended at $65,625, more than twice its pre-auction estimate