US

A sunset-colored painting by Mark Rothko became the world's most expensive contemporary art work when it fetched $86.9 million in a stunningly lucrative auction at Christie's in New York. "Orange, red, yellow" was as hot on the Christie's block as the colors on the bold, large-scale abstract canvas. A thicket of hands shot up to catch the attention of auctioneer Christopher Burge, bids leaping in increments of a million, sometimes two million dollars.

Photo by AP May 11, 2012