Artworks by Barnett Newman and Gerhard Richter set auction records "Onement VI" by the late American artist Barnett Newman has sold for $43.8 million at a Sotheby's auction in New York. Emmanuel Dunand / AFP/Getty Images A painting by Barnett Newman set an artist record at auction on Tuesday, selling for $43.8 million in New York. Sotheby's had expected "Onement VI," an abstract work in dark blue, to go for between $30 million and $40 million.