Francis Bacon painting sells for world record price of $142.4 million

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Chris Michaud - Reuters

Francis Bacon's three-paneled painting "Three Studies of Lucian Freud" became the most expensive work of art ever sold at auction on Tuesday when it soared to $142.4 million at Christie's.

The 1969 triptych, never before offered at auction and which carried a pre-sale estimate of about $85 million, easily eclipsed the $119.9 million price of Edvard Munch's "The Scream," achieved in May of last year at Sotheby's.

The painting sold after a protracted bidding war in the packed New York salesroom and via telephone. Christie's did not disclose the identity of the successful buyer.

Copyright 2013 Thomson Reuters.

CHRISTIE'S HANDOUT / EPA

Francis Bacon's 1969 triptych, "Three Studies of Lucian Freud," set a record for a work of art sold at auction.