The 20th and 21st Century Art auctions kicked off in New York last night with The Collection of Robert F. and Patricia G. Ross Weis, celebrating a lifetime of discovery and the evolution of modernism. The top lot, Rothko’s luminous ‘No. 31 (Yellow Stripe)’, achieved $62.16 million after a nearly five-minute bidding battle, followed by Picasso’s striking portrait of his muse and lover from his pivotal year, 1932, which realised $45.48 million. Another highlight: Matisse’s vibrant ‘Figure et bouqu