NEW YORK — Jasper Johns’ seminal work “Flag,” from the collection of late best-selling author Michael Crichton, sold at a New York City auction Tuesday for $28.6 million, an auction record for the artist.
Christie’s said the work was purchased by an American art dealer during high-spirited bidding Tuesday night. The previous Johns auction record was $17.4 million for “Figure 4,” in 2007.
“Flag” was the crowning jewel of Crichton’s collection. The popular writer of such blockbuster thrillers as “Jurassic Park,” “The Andromeda Strain” and the TV series “ER” died in 2008. He was a passionate art collector, leaving a 20th-century art trove of some of pop art’s best-known artists, including Roy Lichtenstein, Claes Oldenburg, Jeff Koons and Pablo Picasso, among others. The sale featured 31 pieces, which sold for $93.3 million. Another 117 works from the collection will be sold today as part of Christie’s post- war and contemporary art sale. The Associated Press
