The famed Macklowe collection, subject of a bitter divorce battle between a New York property developer and his ex-wife, became the most expensive art collection ever sold at auction Monday.

Sotheby’s sold its second offering of works from the collection for $246.1 million, bringing the total value of the group of paintings to $922.2 million, a spokesman told AFP.

That exceeds the $835.1 million that the Rockefeller collection sold for in 2018, then the highest total ever made by a single private collection at auction.

Among the highlights of Monday evening’s sale were Mark Rothko’s Untitled, which fetched $48 million and Gerhard Richter’s Seestück, which went for $30.2 million.

A woman poses in front of Gerhard Richter's ‘Seestuck (Seascape)’ during the New York press preview on May 6.

Andy Warhol’s Self Portrait sold for $18.7 million while Willem de Kooning’s Untitled went for $17.8 million.

Sotheby’s won the rights to sell the Macklowe works back in September. It sold 35 of the pieces in November for $676.1 million before selling the remaining 30 on Monday.

Sotheby’s had described the paintings as the “most significant collection of modern and contemporary art to ever appear on the market”.

A person walks in front of Willem De Kooning's ‘Untitled’ during the New York press preview.

During divorce proceedings, Harry Macklowe and his ex-wife Linda had been unable to agree on how much the vast collection was worth.

A New York judge ruled in 2018 that they should sell all 65 works and split the profits.