The next record came seconds later when Baselitz's colorful,
semi-abstract painting of four
figures from 1981 sold for $ 7.4 million, breaking his 2011 auction record of $ 5.2 million at Sotheby's
in London.
Howard Hodgkin's artwork falls
in the realm of the
semi-abstract: It seems nonrepresentational at first glance, but it often suggests embedded
figures that contain depth and mystery, like the palm tree referenced
in the title of this
painting.