A 1982 untitled Basquiat sold for $110.5 million on Thursday in New York, setting a new auction record for the US artist in Sotheby's flagship post-war and contemporary art sale, the auction house said.
A tense bidding war went on for  around 10 minutes between a client in Sotheby's New York showroom and another on the telephone, before the painting ultimately went to the telephone buyer.
It was the star lot in this year's May art auction season in New York and had been valued pre-sale in excess of $60 million.