In pictures: Art's record-breakers

Andy Warhol's Green Car Crash (Green Burning Car I) has sold for $71.7m (£36.3m) in a New York auction, setting a record for one of his paintings.

The highest price paid for a Warhol before now was $17.4m (£8.8m) for this 1972 portrait of Chairman Mao.

The most expensive piece of post-war art sold at auction is Mark Rothko's White Center (Yellow, Pink and Lavender on Rose). The abstract painting raised $72.8m (£36.8m).

Francis Bacon's portrait Study from Innocent X was sold at the same auction as the Rothko piece for $52.6m (£26.5m).

This untitled work from US contemporary artist Jean-Michel Basquiat also fetched $14.6m (£7.4m), almost three times the artist's previous record.

Among the current crop of British artists, Damien Hirst is among the most collectable. His Four Elements (pictured) sold for £151,200 in 2004.

Guerilla artist Banksy is also beginning to make waves in the auction world. This painting, commissioned by Blur for their Think Tank album, sold for £288,000 in April.

But Jackson Pollock is the most lucrative post-war artist. Last year, the New York Times said his No 5, 1948, had exchanged hands for approximately $140m (£73m) in a private sale.

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