A two day  art auction of British artist Damien Hirst grossed $198 million

Sotheby’s said the sale smashed the former record for an auction by a single artist, the $20 million record set in 1993 for 88 works by Pablo Picasso.

Over 600 prospective buyers packed the showroom for each of the three auction sessions. Others around the world bid by phone.

“Banks fall over, art triumphs,” former Royal Academy chief Norman Rosenthal told the Guardian newspaper.