QUICK TAKES - May 14, 2009

Artist David Hockney’s 1966 painting “Beverly Hills Housewife” sold for a record $7.9 million at a New York City auction after fierce bidding Wednesday, a sign collectors are eager to buy rare and high-quality works despite the recession, the Christie’s auction house said. That shattered the artist’s previous record of $5.4 million for “The Splash,” sold in 2006 at Sotheby’s. A Claes Oldenburg sculpture “Typewriter Eraser,” from 1976, also set a record, selling for $2.2 million at the auction.

The 12-foot-long, 6-foot-high Hockney painting had been estimated to fetch from $7 million to $10 million. It was considered the most important of the 20 contemporary paintings from the estate of L.A. arts patron Betty Freeman. Christie’s did not release the buyer’s name. Final prices included commissions.