Jeff Koons’ Pink Panther Sculpture Sells for Meager $16.8 Million

Jeff Koons’ iconic Pink Panther sculpture has fetched $16.8 million at the Sotheby’s Spring Sale of Contemporary Art. The 1988 porcelain sculpture of a blonde woman hugging a pink panther toy it was earlier expected to sell for between $20 million and $30 million.

There were three editions made of the work, the one at Tuesday’s auction is the artist’s proof. One was sold at Christie’s in 1999 for $1.8 million, reportedly to the newsprint magnate Peter Brant. The others are in the Museum of Modern Art and the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago.

Balloon Flower (Magenta) was sold for $25.7 million, in 2008, the record price paid for Koons’ work.

Pink Panther Sculpture by Jeff Koons