Sotheby's modern and contemporary art evening sales in Hong Kong brought in a combined $164.2 million, within the presale estimate of HK$ 927 million-1.4 billion. The sale performed well, with high sell-through rates and records set for 14 artists - as Artnews reports. 

As a result of stringent pandemic measures in Hong Kong and Shanghai, Sotheby's was forced to postpone the event from its usual slot in early April. The sale was staged at a gallery space in Hong Kong's Pacific Place complex.

The total sales from the three auctions were down significantly from the equivalent set of sales last April. The event was anchored by high-value works by Pablo Picasso and Louise Bourgeois, with a focus on introducing major lots by historical blue-chip Western artists to established collectors in the Asia-Pacific region.

According to Sotheby's, western artists are becoming increasingly popular in the Hong Kong art market. The top lot in their latest sale was a painting by Pablo Picasso, which sold for $21.6 million. A Chinese painting sold for $13.2 million.

The art auction held by Sotheby's in Hong Kong featured many works that surpassed their low estimates, including Louise Bourgeois' steel sculpture of a black spider, Oddly Cozy by Yoshitomo Nara, and Figures in a Garden by Le Pho. Anna Weyant's painting Josephine also sold for much more than expected.