Andy Warhol's Green Car Crash (Green Burning Car I) has sold for $71.7m (�36.3m) in a New York auction, setting a record for one of his paintings. The highest price paid for a Warhol before now was $17.4m (�8.8m) for this 1972 portrait of Chairman Mao. The most expensive piece of post-war art sold at auction is Mark Rothko's White Center (Yellow, Pink and Lavender on Rose). The abstract painting raised $72.8m (�36.8m). Francis Bacon's portrait Study from Innocent X was sold at the same auction as the Rothko piece for $52.6m (�26.5m). This untitled work from US contemporary artist Jean-Michel Basquiat also fetched $14.6m (�7.4m), almost three times the artist's previous record. Among the current crop of British artists, Damien Hirst is among the most collectable. His Four Elements (pictured) sold for �151,200 in 2004. Guerilla artist Banksy is also beginning to make waves in the auction world. This painting, commissioned by Blur for their Think Tank album, sold for �288,000 in April. But Jackson Pollock is the most lucrative post-war artist. Last year, the New York Times said his No 5, 1948, had exchanged hands for approximately $140m (�73m) in a private sale.
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