Another major work on the auction block — Francis Bacon's "Figure Writing Reflected in Mirror" — sold for $44,882,500. The buyers' names for each of the four pieces were not released.

Lichtenstein's "Sleeping Girl," was one of a series of sexy comic book-inspired images created by the artist in the 1960s, the work was exhibited only once — at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles in 1989-90. It was sold by the estate of Los Angeles collectors and philanthropists Beatrice and Phillip Gersh, who were the founding members of MOCA.

His "I Can See the Whole Room! … and There's Nobody in it!" held the previous auction record for the artist. It sold for $43.2 million at Christie's in November.

"The works by Ai Weiwei and Francis Bacon are hot for different reasons," said Lisa Fischman, director of the Davis Museum at Wellesley College. "One is electrified by the artist's political provocations, and the other by the frisson of sexual mystery."

The sale came on the heels of art auction history. Last week, the auction house sold Edvard Munch's "The Scream" for $119.9 million, making it the most expensive artwork ever sold at auction.

Weiwei's "Sunflower Seeds" is one of an edition of 10 and was accompanied by a certificate signed by the artist. The ceramic seeds, which can be arranged in a myriad of shapes, were the subject of a Tate Modern exhibit in 2010. The previous Weiwei auction record was $657,000 for his "Chandelier," set at Sotheby's in 2007.

The rock and roll heartthrob is shown armed and shooting from the hip, a shadowy Elvis figure faintly visible in the background. It was offered for sale by a private American collector, who acquired it in 1977.

Bacon's "Figure Writing," which depicts the artist and his partner, George Dyer, writing at a table, was included in a 1977 Paris exhibition alongside "Triptych," a 1976 work by the artist that sold for $86.2 million at Sotheby's in 2008. It held the record for any contemporary artwork at auction until Tuesday night when Mark Rothko's "Orange, Red, Yellow" claimed that title when it sold at Christie's for $86.8 million.

Warhol's "Double Elvis (Ferus Type)," a silver silkscreen image of Elvis Presley depicted as a cowboy, fetched $37,042,500. It had been expected to sell for $30 million to $50 million. The auction house said it was the first "Double Elvis" to appear on the market since 1995. Warhol produced a series of 22 images of Elvis. Nine are in museum collections.

"The reason for these record-breaking sales is, quite simply, the quality of material on show," said Michael Frahm, a contemporary art adviser at the London-based Frahm Ltd. "The key is quality."

The work is fraught with symbolism. Sunflowers are at once a Chinese street snack and also an emblem adopted by Mao Zedong.

It had been in the same private collection for more than 30 years.

Lichtenstein's "Sleeping Girl," depicting a woman with closed eyes and flowing blond hair, fetched $44,882,500; Weiwei's 1-ton, handmade porcelain "Sunflower Seeds" brought $782,500.

The "Elvis" silkscreen was exhibited at the Ferus Gallery in Los Angeles in 1963, the year it was created. The auction catalog described the work, based on a movie publicity photo, as "the deification of a contemporary warrior-saint, the towering, pre-eminent idol bearing a deadly weapon as if protecting the mythical world of celebrity itself."

The record for a Warhol is $71.7 million for his "Green Car Crash — Green Burning Car I," sold at Christie's in 2007.

Come Monday, watch out for Jason Wu all over lower Manhattan. The designer is set to paper downtown guerrilla-style with his Willy Vanderperre-photographed images, starring Julia Frauche wearing his fifties couture-inspired shapes from his Spring ‘12 collection. Before you spot them on the street, Style.com has the exclusive first look at the poster (above).

Photo: Willy Vanderperre

"Topping a box office record is super-dope," he wrote.

Elsewhere in the US box office, The Hunger Games held on to the number four spot, bringing its total domestic takings to $388m.

The Avengers' performance this week left Tim Burton and Johnny Depp's Dark Shadows standing in the dust.

Johnny Depp's latest movie is his eighth collaboration with Tim Burton

Whedon also faced up to the fact that his box office success could soon be eclipsed by The Dark Knight Rises - the heavily-anticipated final chapter of Christopher Nolan's Batman trilogy.

Aardman's Pirates! was at number six, taking $3.1m, while comedy The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel jumped from 16 to eight, taking $2.7m.

Among the cast are Robert Downey Jr, Scarlett Johansson and Chris Hemsworth - who have appeared in previous Marvel movies as Iron Man, Black Widow and Thor, respectively.

"I will feel sad," he admitted, "but let's look at the bigger picture".

The Avengers was directed and co-written by Joss Whedon, creator of the TV series Buffy The Vampire Slayer.

Their spoof horror movie, which opened on Friday, made an otherwise-respectable $28.8m, taking second place at the box office.

"What doesn't change is that I've had the smartest, most loyal, most passionate, most articulate group of - I'm not even gonna say fans. I'm going with 'peeps' - that any cult oddity such as my bad self could have dreamt of."

Joss Whedon's next project is an adaptation of Much Ado About Nothing, filmed in his back yard

"People have told me that this matters, that my life is about to change. I am sure that is true. And change is good - change is exciting.

Zac Efron's romantic drama The Lucky One was at number five, while two British films took spots in the top ten.

After The Avengers took $207.4m in the US last week - the biggest opening weekend on record - Whedon posted a public letter on his website, thanking his supporters.

The film is now the first in Hollywood history to ring up more than $100m in its second weekend of release.

It is the movie's second record, after scoring the biggest-ever US opening weekend, with takings of $207.4m.

The blockbuster sees a team of Marvel comic-book heroes team up to fight an extra-terrestrial threat.

Globally, the film looks set to top the $1bn mark this weekend, distributor Disney said on Sunday.

An Oscar-winner for his work on Toy Story, Whedon has had a notoriously rough decade - with TV series Firefly and Dollhouse cancelled, and his horror film Cabin In The Woods delayed by three years due to financial trouble at MGM.

Superhero movie The Avengers has topped the US and Canadian box office for the second week in a row, taking $103.2m (£64m), studio estimates suggest.

‘Super-dope’

"I can't say this enough: This is not a zero sum game. Our successes, whoever has the mostest, are a boon to each other."

Sorvino and Backus tied the knot in 2004 after dating for one year. The duo made it official in a private Santa Barbara ceremony on June 11 before jetting off to Capri, Italy for a second wedding.

Baby Lucia joins elder siblings Mattea, 7, Johnnie, 5, and Holden, 2.

It's a girl for Mira Sorvino.

The Academy Award-winning actress, 44, welcomed daughter Lucia on Thursday, May 3 in Los Angeles, a rep confirms to The Hollywood Reporter. The child is Sorvino's fourth with husband Christopher Backus.

The Academy Award-winning actress gave birth to daughter Lucia on Thursday.

"We are thrilled beyond measure to have been blessed with our fourth precious, healthy child," the couple said in a statement to People, who first reported the news.

If you need inspiration for integrating leopard into your wardrobe, check out Dries Van Noten’s Fall ‘10 collection. He set the trend of mixing leopard with military-inspired items, which I’m loving right now. Or for more cool ideas, try Riccardo Tisci’s Resort ‘11 collection for Givenchy—cool whites look even crisper when paired with spots.

Talbots Haircalf Rectangle bag, $179, available at Talbots, www.talbots.com.

—Marina Larroude

Photo: Courtesy of Talbots

Though he wouldn’t reveal any details about what he has in mind for the future of Dior, he said he’s always been attracted to the midcentury period (Dior’s heyday), which included the “then-radical full-skirted New Look that Dior pioneered.” He also mentioned his admiration for the house’s founder and spoke to a mutual “penchant for plant life and the outdoors.”

“When I’m married to a house, I will fully embrace its original intention, its original heritage and meaning,” says the designer. “I’m interested in creativity, the evolution of creativity and the relationship between creativity and the times we live in.” Simons arrives in Paris today to begin work on his first Dior Couture collection, debuting in July. Until then, we wait.
Photo: Alexander Klein

The rumor mill churns again. With Marc Jacobs thought to be out of the running for the creative director position at Dior, some industry insiders are now speculating that Jil Sander creative director Raf Simons is Bernard Arnault’s latest target to take over the historic label.

Simons began his career as a menswear designer, founding his namesake men’s label in 1995, and adding women’s to his repertoire when he took over Jil Sander, for which he designs both men’s and womenswear, in 2005.

At Jil Sander, he’s tempered the minimalism of Sander’s own aesthetic with occasional blasts of color (as with his much-photographed neon collection for Spring 2011) and exaggerated shape (like the Fall 2009 collection, inspired in part by French ceramist Pol Chambost). Recent collections have found him experimenting with couture shapes (Fall 2011) and Dior’s own era, the fifties (Spring 2012).

WWD reports that the appointment is not confirmed and that several details, first among them timing, would need to be worked out. No mention has been made of Simons’ namesake menswear line, though Dior’s current menswear designer, Kris Van Assche, does maintain a separate label under his own name in addition to the one he creates for the house.

TLC has set a return date for its fashion makeover series What Not to Wear.

TLC will launch both fashion-centric series back-to-back in late May.

Tiana B. Women’s Ottoman Surplice Neckline Cap Sleeve Dress, $33.99

By Sasha Charnin Morrison for UsMagazine.com. To read more of the Recessionista blog, click here

14k Yellow Gold Garnet Dangle Earrings, $210.99

10k White Gold Created Ruby Diamond Earrings, $110.99

I love this raspberry shift dress Cynthia Nixon wore in the upcoming Sex and the City 2 flick. It’s designed by RM Roland Mouret and it’s retailing for approximately $1580.

This genius dress here is by Tiana B. and it comes it’s priced just right at $32.99. Hello?! Can you say perfect? The color is so pretty as well as the cut of the dress. I love the idea of a black peep toe pump and for some jazzy sparkle, a pretty gold and garnet earring at $89.99 is the perfect piece. Not too sparkly. It’s just right to stay as modern and professional as the Miranda.

14k Yellow Gold Garnet and 1/10ct TDW Diamond Earrings, $89.99

Connected Apparel Women’s Double V-neck Dress, $46.99

London Times Women’s Cap Sleeve Jacquard Dress, $55.99

Even the candidate himself is essentially ignoring Tuesday’s primaries. Romney has been spending the day campaigning in Michigan, where he castigated President Barack Obama as an “old-school liberal” whose policies would take the country backward.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Mitt Romney has won the Indiana and North Carolina presidential primaries.

A West Virginia victory is expected to follow.

The trio is certain to push Romney closer to the 1,144 delegates he needs to clinch the GOP nomination, handing him 100 or so delegates of the 288 he still needs.