A David Hockney painting has been sold for $90 million (£70 million), smashing the auction record for a living artist.

Hockney’s 1972 work Portrait of an Artist (Pool with Two Figures) went under the hammer at Christie’s in New York on Thursday.

It emphatically surpassed the previous record for a work by a living artist, which was held by American Jeff Koons and one of his Balloon Dog sculptures which sold for $58.4 million (£45.6 million) in 2013.

Portrait of an Artist was sold to an unknown buyer and the identity of the seller is also unconfirmed.

British artist Hockney, 81, was inspired to paint the picture by two photographs he found on his studio floor, one of a swimmer in Hollywood in 1966 and another of a boy staring at an item on the ground.

The painting shows two men, one doing the breaststroke under water while the other watches from the side of the pool.

The standing figure is said to represent Hockney’s former partner Peter Schlesinger, whom the British artist met in 1966 while teaching art classes in California.

Hockney had already begun the painting when they split up in 1971. After a break, he resumed the piece the following year.

Alex Rotter, co-chairman of post-war and contemporary art at Christie’s in New York, told the Associated Press in September that it is "the holy grail" of Hockney’s work.

He said: "It has all the elements that you would want in a Hockney painting.

"The California landscape, the beautiful trees and flowers and the sky, and then what we know him most for, which is the pool."

The sale come six months after his  “Pacific Coast Highway and Santa Monica sold for $28.5 million.  

The painting drew a huge amount of interest during the presale viewing in Christie’s Rockefeller Centre. “I’m only here for this,” Post Villafane, 32, a young collector from Queens, told the New York Times on Wednesday.

“The colours are so realistic,” he said. “They blend so well. Look how the paint shimmers. It’s beautiful.”

The work went far towards boosting the success of Christie’s post-war and contemporary art auction, which took in a total of $357.6 million, with 41 of the 48 lots on offer finding buyers.

Other highlights included Francis Bacon’s "Study of Henrietta Moraes Laughing," which sold for $21.7 million against a pre-sale estimate of $14 million to $18 million, and Alexander Calder’s "21 Feuilles Blanches," which more than doubled its high estimate, selling for just under $18 million. 

A surfer was severely mauled by a shark off Australia’s east coast, officials said Sunday, the latest in a series of attacks in recent months.

The 36-year-old was surfing near Scotts Head Beach some 300 miles north of Sydney in the morning when he was bitten, New South Wales state police said.

"The man suffered a severe leg injury below his knee on his right leg," a NSW Ambulance spokesman told AFP. "He had five deep lacerations and he suffered a lot of blood loss."

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He was in the water with several other surfers when he disappeared, Surf Life Saving NSW said.

"One of them has seen him disappear under the water, with a flume of water spraying up and then the victim has lifted his arm up to indicate he was having a problem," Surf Life Saving spokeswoman Donna Wishart told national broadcaster ABC.

About | Shark attacks

The man was flown to a hospital in serious condition.

Officials said it was not yet known what shark species was involved.

The attack was the eighth off Australian beaches in three months, amid public debate about how to reduce the risk of encounters between sharks and the growing number of people using the ocean for leisure.

New South Wales, Australia’s most populous state, has trialled non-lethal measures such as aerial drones to track shark movements and "smart" drum lines that alert authorities to their presence.

Australia has one of the world’s highest incidences of shark attacks, but fatalities remain rare.

There have been 16 "unprovoked" shark attacks off the vast continent’s coast this year, including one death after a swimmer was mauled by a shark in the Whitsunday Islands in early November, according to data from Sydney’s Taronga Zoo.

Three pins help Augustana wrestling defeat U-Mary

SIOUX FALLS S.D.- Augustana Wrestling extended its match winning streak to seven with a 34-8 victory over University of Mary Sunday at the Elmen Center. The win gives the Vikings a 14-2 record, 3-0 in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference, the loss dropped the Marauders to 5-10, 1-4 in the NSIC.

University of Mary would win the first two matches of the dual to take an 8-0 lead early on in the dual.

Brandon Charbonneau (141 Pounds) would get Augustana on the board with a 7-5 decision over Reed Cronin. Charbonneau improved his record to 8-3 on the season.

Colin Ayers (149 Pounds) would get an 11-3 major decision over Jakob Weisbrod to cut the Marauders lead to 8-7. Ayers improved to 6-1 on duals this season.

Shawn Hatlestad (157 Pounds) would give the Vikings a 10-8 lead with a 7-4 decision over Dane Fischer. Hatlestad was only up 5-4 late in the third period when Hatlestad scored a takedown late in the match to secure the victory.

Mitch Rechtzigel (165 Pounds) scored a 9-6 decision over Paul Michaelson. Rechtzigel was down 4-3 going into the second period, he would get a takedown in the second period and another in the third to gain the win.

Augustana would get falls in the next three matches by Tim Weber (174 Pounds), Aero Amo (184 Pounds) and Lane Lettau (197 Pounds).

Michael Lowman (285 Pounds) would go on and win by a 2-1 decision over Travis Smith to secure the 34-8 victory.

The Vikings will be back in action next week as they travel to take on Minnesota State on Thursday and MSU-Moorhead on Friday.

Augustana 34, Mary 8
125 – Josh Jensen (MARY) dec. Javier Vieyra, 8-6 — MARY 3 AU 0
133 – Tate Barnhardt (MARY) tech fall. (5:18) Adrian Lozano (AU), 18-1 — MARY 8 AU 0
141 – Brandon Charbonneau (AU) dec. Reed Cronin (MARY), 7-5 — MARY 8 AU 3
149 – Colin Ayers (AU) maj. dec. Jakob Weisbrod (MARY), 11-3 — MARY 8 AU 7
157 – Shawn Hatlestad (AU) dec. Dane Fischer (MARY), 7-4 — AU 10 MARY 8
165 – Mitch Rechtzigel (AU) dec. Paul Michelson (MARY), 9-6 — AU 13 MARY 8
174 – Tim Weber (AU) fall (4:02) Riley Nagel (MARY) — AU 19 MARY 8
184 – Aero Amo (AU) fall (2:20) Jacob Green (MARY) — AU 25 MARY 8
197 – Lane Lettau (AU) fall (5:54) Tom DeVito (MARY) — AU 31 MARY 8
285 – Michael Lowman (AU) dec. Travis Smith (MARY), 2-1 — AU 34 MARY 8

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Mark Hall, Griffin Parriott, Mitch McKee, and Keegan Moore selected

The 42nd annual Pittsburgh Wrestling Classic (formerly known as the Dapper Dan) will be held six weeks from tomorrow. Event organizers announced the wrestlers competing for Team USA late on Friday afternoon. Continue reading at intermatwrestle.com

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