Gallery owner Fergus McCaffrey also sees a certain inevitability in the astounding prices. “It sounds strange to say, but it was somewhat predictable, given the amount of financial guarantees and the quality of the work at that auction,” he says of the Looking Forward results. “There’s been a lot of talk about new collectors coming in from Asia, but it’s important to understand that consignments are mainly from American collections. And American contemporary art is the most expensive [contemporary art] in the world. In the U.S., there’s a great collecting tradition and community.”