NEW YORK – The Exceptional Sale ended with applause as multiple bidders on the phone and in the room drove the final price for The Beatles, 1966, a painting made and signed by all four Beatles to $1,744,000, one of the highest sums ever paid for a piece of Beatles memorabilia. Christie’s global auction of the best of the best in decorative and applied arts, singular works of historic importance, and iconic objects of pop culture totaled $6,739,900, selling 115% hammer above low estimate, with bidding from around the globe. 

The Co-Head of the Exceptional Sale, Casey Rogers said: “It’s been a thrill to witness another magnificent performance by The Beatles. I am proud of the way we told the story of this one-of-a-kind object that is both a work of art and an intimate piece of memorabilia signed in order by John, Paul, George, and Ringo. The Exceptional Sale is about singular objects with epic histories, and Christie’s was honored to share this piece of Beatles history.”

The other top lots of the sale show the epic range of this singular auction format. A Meissen Porcelain Five-Vase Garniture, circa 1738 brought $504,000; the gold medal that the American long jumper Bob Beamon won for his record-shattering leap in the 1968 Olympics in Mexico City made $441,000; a fine and large Ormolu-Mounted Kingwood Four-Sided Vitrine expressing the elegance and opulence of Paris at the turn of the last century fetched $378,000; a Small Chinese Zitan Throne Chair of the late Qing Dynasty, brought $252,000; and an iconic 1965 Gretsch Chet Atkins Country Gentleman model hollow-body electric guitar once owned by Elvis Presley fetched $302,400. 

The Co-Head of the Exceptional Sale, Carleigh Queenth said: “The market for European and Asian decorative arts remains strong. Today’s sale saw fantastic prices for works with great provenance, such as the Wright & Elwick bookcase commissioned for the Duke of Chandos, the Chinese Zitan throne chair, and François Linke’s masterwork vitrine from the 1904 World’s Fair.”