NEW YORK.- Determined collectors in the sale room at Sotheby's competed with absentee and telephone bidders for the fine and decorative arts that once graced the New York townhouse of the late design genius, Gianni Versace. The total reached $5,935,459 surpassing the $5.1 million high estimate, with 88.9% sold by lot and 95.1% by amount and more than 52% of the lots sold surpassed their pre-sale estimates. The top selling lot of the day was Frank Moore's phantasmagorical painting entitled Cow which set an auction record for the artist when it sold for $284,800 (est. $20/30,000*) to a bidder on the telephone. A selection of Contemporary paintings from Mr. Versace's Collection totaled $12.5 million at Sotheby's New York on May 10-11, and another selection of Contemporary works will be offered in London on June 22-23.

"We are thrilled with the results of today's sale - a tribute to Mr. Versace's dynamic personal style and enduring appeal," commented Elaine Whitmire, Senior Vice President and specialist in charge of the sale. "We saw very active bidding from private collectors, the trade and interior designers from around the world, whose interests spanned from Italian glass to services of porcelain as well as bold furniture to contemporary paintings."

Highlighting the sale were works by artist Frank Moore and collectors responded with great enthusiasm to the offering today. His monumental canvas entitled Cow from 1995, featuring a black and white cow with a frame made of gilt-straw sparked an intense bidding battle, finally selling for $284,800 far surpassing the $20/30,000 estimate and setting a new record for the artist at auction. Also selling well was Stretch, which brought $180,000 (est. $15/20,000).

Italian micromosiac works were a particular favorite of Mr. Versace, and the sale included several exquisite examples which drew competitive bidding: a 19th century Italian micromosaic table top depicting hounds attacking a boar brought $251,200 against a $50/70,000 estimate, and a 19th century Italian micromosaic table top depicting St. Peter's square at the center sold for $60,000 (est. $25/35,000).

Mr. Versace's love for the Neoclassical was evident throughout his collection, and collectors vied for beautiful examples including an Empire style ormolu, patinated bronze and marble console after a design by Charles Percier which sold for $96,000, far surpassing the $15/25,000 pre-sale estimate, and A pair of Italian Empire painted and parcel gilt mahogany settees, estimated to sell for $40/60,000, brought $72,000. Also impressive was an Italian Neoclassical green-painted and parcel-gilt mirror, circa 1820, that brought $48,000 (est. $20/30,000), and an Empire ormolu-mounted mahogany console, circa 1810, that sold for $54,000 (est. $12/18,000).

Among the porcelain included in the Collection were a pair of a pair of S�vres turquoise-ground orange tubs and liners that sold for an impressive $40,800, over a $5/7,000 pre-sale estimate, and an assembled Chinese export "Rockefeller" or "Palace" pattern part service, circa 1785, brought $60,000, far above the $15/20,000 estimate. The sale also featured wonderful examples of contemporary Italian glass, and among the highlights designed by Gianni Versace were a Grenadine "Murrine" glass vase, circa 1990s that brought $7,200 (est. $3/5,000) and a Frisage "Murrine" glass vase from 1994 that sold for $6,600 (est. $2/3,000).