DALLAS, TX.- Eskimo Curlew (3X), produced by artist Frank Stella at the height of his mixed media, intaglio and relief period, sold for $317,000 to lead Heritage Auctions' $2.5+ million Modern & Contemporary Art Signature® Auction in Dallas. The Nov. 2 auction offered a fresh-to-market selection from private collections nationwide.

"This auction saw strong prices across the board for a diverse roster of artists," said Frank Hettig, Director of Modern & Contemporary Art at Heritage. "The contemporary art market is as strong as ever, especially for works that have spent time in private collections."

Maria Helena Vieira Da Silva's Untitled, an oil on canvas painted circa 1952-53, ended at $233,000. Chiron, a cloth and leather collage with objects by artist Nancy Grossman, sold for a strong $93,750 and substantial sculpture by Jaume Plensa titled The Personal Miraculous Fountain and formerly of the Yorkshire Sculpture Park of West Bretton, England, hit $81,250 following interest by seven bidders.

A number of works taking top lot honors came directly from private collections. Jean Dufy's abstract view of Paris' largest public square, Place de la Concorde, circa 1955, sold for a strong $75,000. Azul-Verde-Amarillo, 1967, by Gunther Gerzso, more than doubled its estimate in its auction debut to sell for $68,750. Lynn Chadwick's Walking Couple III, 1987, from the Collection of Murray and Haia Goldenberg, also reached $68,750 and La Fille du regiment Drawing 5by George Condo, discovered in a private collection in Fort Worth, ended at $59,375.

A lot that generated much pre-auction buzz, Rotoreliefs (6 double-sided works) by Marcel Duchamp sold for three times its estimate to end at $50,000. The set of six offset lithographs in color are from the first edition of 1,000 - of which 600 were accidentally destroyed — and were produced as a gift to the gestalt psychologist Dr. Hans Wallach. Accompanying the disks is a letter from Duchamp explaining how the rotating art objects created an optical illusion, an affect that was at the heart of his artistic vision depicting art as a conceptual tool.

A number of works by Andy Warhol saw intense interest as Grevy's Zebra (from Endangered Species) sold for $53,125; Black Rhinoceros brought $46,875; and Flash — November 22, 1963, a set of 11 color screen prints commemorating the assassination of President John F. Kennedy reached $43,750. Warhol's screen print titled Mick Jagger, from 1975, sold for $40,625.

Additional highlights include, but are not limited by:

• Blue Dog, oil on canvas, by George Rodrigue. Realized: $40,625.

• Windex Bottles, oil on canvas, by Janet Fish. Realized: $40,625.

• Renaissance Number 2, natural pigments and acrylic resin on canvas laid on plywood, by Salustiano. Realized: $35,000.

• "Typewriter Eraser" — Position Studies, acrylic, pencil, tape, and wax collage on a canvas-wrapped backing board, by Claes Oldenburg. Realized: $33,750.