The 2011 auction year has seen its ups and downs, as auction houses struggled against the tide of repeated economic distress in the stock market. After a promising first and second quarter, buyer’s taste soured considerably: Christie’s major autumn sale of impressionist and modern art flopped in the Big Apple (the house earned its lowest total in two years, and only 62% sold as buyers spurned star lots by Picasso, Matisse and Degas), while Sotheby’s emerged triumphantly the very next day, selling 81% with record breaking sales for Klimt and Caillebotte. Collectors were shocked again the following week, as contemporary art sales rallied in New York, raising $635 million in just three days.

Our year-end summary explores lots and artists who were in the spotlight, grabbing our attention for better or for worse. Which artist's work generated the most revenue in 2011? Which auction house has the most lots in the season's top sellers list? Which lots provided the biggest shocks? Find out if your favorite artist was a best-seller or the year’s biggest flop... The answers lie ahead.

Top 20 Best Selling Artists

Top 10 Best Selling Lots

Top 10 Most Disappointing Lots

Top 10 Most Surprising Lots

Top 20 Best Selling Artists *

1) Andy Warhol sold a total of 821 lots out of 1,049 offered (78% sell rate) for a total of $376,456,304

2) Pablo Picasso sold a total of 1,606 lots out of 1,961 offered (82% sell rate) for a total of $352,838,937

3) Gerhard Richter sold a total of 122 lots out of 157 offered (78% sell rate) for a total of $193,233,189

4) Francis Bacon sold a total of 54 lots out of 75 offered (72% sell rate) for a total of $145,272,213

5) Zhang Daqian sold a total of 186 lots out of 205 offered (91% sell rate) for a total of $118,310,655

6) Clyfford Still sold a total of 4 lots out of 4 offered (100% sell rate) for a total of $114,066,000

7) René Magritte sold a total of 60 lots out of 80 offered (75% sell rate) for a total of $86,424,892

8) Jean Michel Basquiat sold a total of 56 lots out of 69 offered (81% sell rate) for a total of $85,395,581

9) Zao Wou-Ki sold a total of 152 lots out of 164 offered (93% sell rate) for a total of $85,113,882

10) Roy Lichtenstein sold a total of 268 lots out of 323 offered (83% sell rate) for a total of $83,062,317

11) Marc Chagall sold a total of 584 lots out of 771 offered (76% sell rate) for a total of $81,133,325

12) Claude Monet sold a total of 20 lots out of 25 offered (80% sell rate) for a total of $74,248,770

13) Alexander Calder sold a total of 234 lots out of 286 offered (82% sell rate) for a total of $73,174,134

14) Willem de Kooning sold a total of 78 lots out of 100 offered (78% sell rate) for a total of $60,864,794

15) Lucio Fontana sold a total of 119 lots out of 156 offered (76% sell rate) for a total of $60,006,817

16) Alberto Giacometti sold a total of 85 lots out of 121 offered (70% sell rate) for a total of $56,999,495

17) Wu Guanzhong sold a total of 68 lots out of 72 offered (94% sell rate) for a total of $54,891,851

18) Mark Rothko sold a total of 4 lots out of 7 offered (57% sell rate) for a total of $52,562,000

19) Zeng Fanzhi sold a total of 50 lots out of 55 offered (90% sell rate) for a total of $51,703,667

20) Max Ernst sold a total of 94 lots out of 131 offered (72% sell rate) for a total of $51,216,943

The top 20 selling artists' 2011 total: $2,256,975,766*
*As of Dec. 19, 2011, includes results from all major and mid-level auction houses

Top 10 Best Selling Lots

1) $61,682,500 - Clyfford Still, 1949-A-No. 1, oil on canvas, created 1949. World auction record for the artist. (Sotheby's New York, November 9)

2) $43,202,500 - Roy Lichtenstein, I CAN SEE THE WHOLE ROOM!...AND THERE'S NOBODY IN IT!, oil and graphite on canvas, created 1961. World auction record for the artist. (Christie’s New York, November 8 - video above)

3) $42,945,082 - Francesco Guardi, Venice, oil on canvas. World auction record for Venetian view painting; World auction record for the artist; 2nd highest price for an Old Master painting. (Sotheby’s London, July 5)

4) $40,601,265 - Pablo Picasso, LA LECTURE, oil on panel, created 1932. (Sotheby’s London, February 8)

5) $40,402,500 - Gustav Klimt, LITZLBERG AM ATTERSEE, oil on canvas, circa 1914-1915. (Sotheby’s New York, November 2)

6) $39,821,349 - Egon Schiele, HÄUSER MIT BUNTER WÄSCHE (VORSTADT II), oil on canvas, created 1914. World auction record for the artist. (Sotheby's London, June 22 - pictured right)

7) $38,442,500 - Andy Warhol, Self-Portrait, in four parts, acrylic and silkscreen ink on canvas, created 1963-64. (Christie's New York, May 11)

8) $37,097,999 - Francis Bacon, Three Studies for Portrait of Lucian Freud, oil on canvas, created 1964. (Sotheby's London, February 10)

9) $36,098,899 - George Stubbs, Gimcrack on Newmarket Heath, with a trainer, a jockey and a stable lad, oil on canvas, circa 1765. World auction record for the artist. (Christie's King Street, July 5)

10) $33,682,500 - Mark Rothko, Untitled No. 17, oil on canvas, created 1961. (Christie's New York, May 11)

Top 10 Most Disappointing Lots

1) Nympheas, Claude Monet. Unsold. Estimated to sell for £17-24 million (Christie's King Street, June 21)

2) Petite danseuse de quatorze ans, Edgar Degas. Unsold. Estimated to sell for $25-35 million (Christie's New York, November 1 - pictured right)

3) Iris mauves, Claude Monet. Unsold. Estimated to sell for $15-20 million (Christie's New York, May 4)

4) The Tower, Robert Rauschenberg. Unsold. Estimated to sell for $12-18 million (Christie's New York, May 11)

5) Femme endormie, Pablo Picasso. Unsold. Estimated to sell for $12-18 million (Christie's New York, November 1) (another 8 Picasso lots estimated between $1-18 million failed at this sale, including #6 below)

6) Tête de femme au chapeau mauve, Pablo Picasso. Unsold. Estimated to sell for $12-18 million (Christie's New York, November 1)

7) Study of a Man Talking, Francis Bacon. Unsold. Estimated to sell for $12-18 million (Christie's New York, November 8)

8) Nature morte à "L'Espérance", Paul Gauguin. Unsold. Estimated to sell for £7-10 million (Christie's King Street, February 9)

9) Femme de Venise VII, Alberto Giacometti. Unsold. Estimated to sell for $10-15 million (Christie's New York, November 1) (another 3 Giacometti lots estimated between $1.8-10 million from this sale also failed)

10) Untitled (Plum and Dark Brown), Mark Rothko. Unsold. Estimated to sell for $8-12 million (Sotheby's New York, November 9)

Top 10 Most Surprising Lots*

1) Lotus, Zhang Daqian. Against an estimate of HK$6-8 million it sold for HK$56,660,000 ($7,284,897) - 708% above the high estimate (Christie's Hong Kong, May 31)

2) The Meeting of Antony and Cleopatra: 41 BC, Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema. Against an estimate of $3-5 million it sold for $29,202,500 - 584% above the high estimate (Sotheby's New York, May 5)

3) The Taj Mahal, Evening, Vasili Petrovich Vereshchagin. Against an estimate of £250,000-450,000 it sold for £2,281,250 ($3,731,982) - 507% above the high estimate (Sotheby's London, June 6)

4) Portrait of a boy, Albert Anker. Against an estimate of CHF 450,000-600,000 it sold for CHF 3 million ($3,581,359) - 500% above the high estimate (Koller Zurich, June 24)

5) IM BAZAR, August Macke. Against an estimate of £600,000-800,000 it sold for £3,961,250 ($6,428,450) - 495% above the high estimate (Christie's King Street, June 21)

6) Portrait de Paul Eluard, Salvador Dalí. Against an estimate of £3.5-5 million it sold for £13,481,250 ($21,743,488) - 270% above the high estimate (Sotheby's London, February 10 - pictured right)

7) Three Studies for Portrait of Lucian Freud, Francis Bacon. Against an estimate of £7-9 million it sold for £23,001,250 ($37,097,999) - 256% above the high estimate (Sotheby's London, February 10)

8) Gudrun, Gerhard Richter. Against an estimate of $5.5-7.5 million it sold for $18,002,500 - 240% above the high estimate (Christie's King Street, June 21)

9) Femme assise, robe bleue, Pablo Picasso. Against an estimate of £4-8 million it sold for £17,961,250 ($29,148,122) - 225% above the high estimate (Christie's King Street, June 21)

10) 1949-A-No. 1, Clyfford Still. Against an estimate of $25-35 million it sold for $61,682,500 - 176% above the high estimate

Compiled by MutualArt staff; prices converted to USD when applicable; some numbers have been rounded off