NEW YORK, NY.- Great depth of bidding, numerous artist records, and palpable energy marked the opening night of Christie's Marquee Week, where the auction house achieved exceptional results for two premier sales: The Collection of Robert F. and Patricia G. Ross Weis and the 20th Century Evening Sale. In a packed, energetic saleroom at Rockefeller Center, and with active online bidders, the two sales achieved a total of $689,795,000 million, were 96% sold by lot, 97% sold by value.

The Collection of Robert F. and Patricia G. Ross Weis, the inaugural sale of the week, totaled $218,066,600, and was 89% sold by lot and 92% by value; half the sale sold above low estimate.

The second sale, the 20th Century Evening Sale, achieved $471,278,400, selling 98% by lot and 100% by value.

Out of the approximately 80 works sold, 21 lots sold for over $10 million on the night, and six lots featured bidding wars of over four minutes.

The top lot of the evening was Mark Rothko's No. 31 (Yellow Stripe), the final lot of The Collection of Robert F. and Patricia G. Ross Weis. The work sold for $62,160,000 to a bidder on the phone after a fierce four-minute and 40-second bidding battle—also securing the highest online bid ever for a live auction at Christie's. Another highlight of the collection was La Lecture, a portrait of Marie-Therese by Pablo Picasso, that sold for $45,485,000.

The top lot from the 20th Century Evening sale was Claude Monet's masterpiece Nymphéas from the collection of Japan's Kawamura Memorial DIC Museum of Art, which achieved $45,485,000 after more than two minutes of bidding. Additional strong prices in the sale came for the first double portrait by David Hockney Christopher Isherwood and Don Bachardy that achieved $44,335,000 and Joan Mitchell's Sunflower V from the collection of Elaine Wynn that realized $16,735,000.

Several records were also set on the night, including:

• Leonor Fini, Dans la tour (Autoportrait avec Constantin Jeleński), $2,515,000
• Beauford Delaney, The Sage Black; $1,524,000
• Alexander Calder, Acrobats; record for a Calder Wire Sculpture, $8,005,000
• František Kupka, Sans titre; record for a Single Work on Paper, $533,400
• Henri Matisse, Oceanie, le ciel; record for a screen print, $4.995,000
• John Singer Sargent, Gondoliers' Siesta; record for work on paper, $7,395,000

Other highlights of the night:

• Marc Chagall's Le songe du Roi David sold for $26,510,000, more than double its high estimate, after a 5 minute bidding war. The price is the second highest for the artist at auction.

• Several works by Henri Matisse sold for over high estimate, including Figure er bouquet (Tête o ocre) from the Collection of Robert F. and Patricia G. Ross Weis, which sold for $32,260,000

• Isamu Noguchi's Myo sold for $7,639,000, more than double the high estimate, after a 4-minute, 19-second bidding war. The price is the second highest for the artist at auction.

Emily Kaplan, Co-Head of the 20th Century Evening Sale, remarks, “The outstanding outcome of tonight's sale was built on momentum of our success in Europe just last month, and stands as a clear demonstration of the ongoing strength and vibrance of the market for the highest quality works of art. We were particularly delighted with the results for The Collection of Robert F. and Patricia G. Ross Weis, led by the brilliant Mark Rothko canvas No. 31 (Yellow Stripe). We're very much looking forward to offering the rest of the collection—alongside a fantastic selection of additional works – in our forthcoming sales this week.”

Imogen Kerr, Co-Head of the 20th Century Evening Sale, remarks, “Throughout our multinational tour of 20/21 highlights, we were thrilled to see excitement, energy, and engagements from clients in our galleries around the world. The 20th Century Evening Sale was comprised of numerous masterpieces from some of the most historic and important global collections. Nymphéas, an exquisite Claude Monet from the collection of the esteemed Japanese institution Kawamura Memorial DIC Museum of Art, stood out as a high point, selling for $45.5 million, the top lot of the 20th Century Evening Sale.”