$35m for a bottle of Coca Cola - by Warhol

An Andy Warhol painting titled "Large Coca Cola" put the fizz into Sotheby's New York contemporary art auction Tuesday when it beat expectations and sold for 35.3 million dollars.

The black and white Warhol, originally estimated to go for 20 to 25 million dollars, sweetened the evening's total haul of 222.4 million dollars, which was also over pre-auction predictions.

Ninety percent of lots found buyers, even if there were no spectacular new records set for artists.

A 1955 Mark Rothko that had been estimated to sell for 20 to 30 million dollars eventually went for 22.4 million dollars to an unidentified buyer from Asia, the auction house said.

Overall, Sotheby's said it had been a good auction.

"We're higher than the high estimate. We are very satisfied, it's an amazing result for us. Six works sold for more than 10 million dollars," Tobias Meyer, head of the contemporary art department, said.

He described Warhol as "an icon of global desire."

On Wednesday it's the turn of rival Christie's with its offering of contemporary art.

Last week both auction houses saw strong sales of impressionist and modern art, with an Amedeo Modigliani painting going for a record 69 million dollars and a Matisse selling for a record nearly 49 million dollars.

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