Dozens of pieces of artwork once owned by the late British musician David Bowie went under the hammer at Sotheby's in London on Thursday. The sales vastly exceeded the auction house's expectations .

The 47 lots on sale fetched almost 25 million pounds, or 31.3 million US dollars, more than doubling the pre-sale high estimate. Highlight sales of the night included Jean-Michel Basquiat's 'Air Power'. Also on sale were a number of works by British artists Damien Hirst, Frank Auerbach and Graham Sutherland.

The auction was the first of three to be held over the coming days of Bowie's personal collection of around 400 works.