Not so many years ago, Old Masters ruled the auction game. But as the best examples of paintings from the Renaissance through the 19th century have become more rare, collectors have shifted their focus to the Impressionist and modern and contemporary art sales. That’s just one observation supported by our roundup of the top 10 records last year in five bellwether auction categories — contemporary, Old Masters, Chinese porcelain, photography, and Imp/mod — based on figures from leading houses in each field.

Here’s what we learned. Once again, nearly all top-of-the-market consignments in the three major fine-art categories went to the world’s two largest auction houses, Christie’s and Sotheby’s. To give some sense of the diversity in the trade, we also looked at the highest-earning pieces of Chinese porcelain and works sold under the photography banner. It should come as no surprise that Beijing-based Poly International, by some measures the world’s third- or fourth-largest house by total turnover, had a couple of entries on the porcelain list. Photography has one of the most decentralized markets, with important and rare material showing up in unexpected corners, such as Rouillac, of Vendôme, France, which took the top listing with a view of Le Havre harbor by Gustave Le Gray.

Among Old Masters, Francesco Guardi’s A View of the Rialto Bridge, Looking North, from the Fondamenta del Carbon led the way, earning nearly $43 million. But this was a bright spot in a market dominated by 20th-century works, including the two that managed to best it: one of the extremely rare Clyfford Stills sold by the city of Denver through Sotheby’s for $62 million, and one of the very first comic-book panel paintings by Roy Lichtenstein, which brought Christie’s an estimate-busting $43 million. The price differential between the top of the Old Masters list and the bottom — it falls to around $10 million by the fourth-place lot — was far wider than those for more recent works, indicating a paucity of prime material. By contrast, among Imp/mod and contemporary categories, all 10 leading lots came in above $20 million. That these berths are dominated by perennial favorites like Pablo Picasso and Andy Warhol reflects, in part, the houses’ strategy of packing sales with marquee names in an uncertain economic climate.

CONTEMPORARY

1) Clyfford Still
1949-A-No.1
$61,682,500
Sotheby’s, New York, November  9

2) Roy Lichtenstein
I Can See the Whole Room...And There’s Nobody in It!, 1961
$43,202,500
Christie’s, New York, November  8

3) Andy Warhol
Self-Portrait, 1963–64
$38,442,500
Christie’s, New York, May 11

4) Mark Rothko
Untitled No. 17, 1961
$33,682,500
Christie’s, New York, May 11

5) Clyfford Still
1947-Y-No. 2
$31,442,500
Sotheby’s, New York, November  9

6) Francis Bacon
Study for a Portrait, 1953
$28,666,155 (£17,961,250)
Christie’s, London, June  28

7) Andy Warhol
Self-Portrait, 1986
$27,522,500
Christie’s, New York, May 11

8) Andy Warhol
Liz # 5 (Early Colored Liz), 1963
$26,962,500
Phillips de Pury & Co., New York, May 7

9) Francis Bacon
Three Studies for a Self-Portrait, 1974
$25,282,500
Christie’s, New York, May 11

10) Gerhard Richter
Abstraktes Bild (849-3), 1997
$20,802,500
Sotheby’s, New York, November  9

OLD MASTERS

1) Francesco Guardi
A View of the Rialto Bridge
$42,865,105 (£26,697,250)
Sotheby’s, London, July  6

2) George Stubbs
Gimcrack on Newmarket Heath
$35,906,000 (£22,441,250 )
Christie’s, London, July  5

3) Titian
The Madonna and Child with Saints Luke and Catherine of Alexandria
$16,882,500
Sotheby’s, New York, January  27

4) Johan Zoffany
Two Portraits of Mr. and Mrs. David Garrick
$10,563,777 (£6,761,250)
sotheby’s, London, December  7

5) Thomas Gainsborough
Portrait of Mrs. William Villebois
$10,459,600 (£6,537,250 )
Christie’s, London, July  5

6) Jan Steen
Interior with Figures Playing Cards at a Table
$7,588,967 (£4,875,250)
Sotheby’s, London, December  7

7) Claude-Joseph Vernet
A Grand View of the Sea Shore
$7,026,500
Sotheby’s, New York, January  27

8) Joachim Wtewael
Adam and Eve
$6,242,500
Sotheby’s, New York, January  27

9) Correggio
Madonna and Child with the Infant Saint John
$5,820,701 (£3,625,250)
Sotheby’s, London, July  6

10) Michelangelo
A two-sided work with male nudes
$5,083,600 (£3,177,250)
Christie’s, London, July  5

CHINESE PORCELAIN

1) A Blue-and-White Vase with Fruit Sprays
Yongle period
$21,669,437 (HK$168,660,000)
Sotheby’s, Hong Kong, October  5

2) A Famille-Rose and Gold Decorated Vase
Probably Republican period
$18,002,500
Sotheby’s, New York, March  22

3) A Turquoise Imperial Vase
Qianlong period
$14,425,600 (£9,001,250)
Bonhams, London, November 10

4) A Famille-Rose Peach Vase
Qianlong period
$11,596,605 (HK$90,260,000)
Sotheby’s, Hong Kong, October  5

5) A Two-Handled Pear-Shaped Vase
Qing Dynasty
$10,825,600 (RMB70,150,000)
Poly, Beijing, June  5

6) A Blue “Fruits” Vase with Yellow Ground Underglaze
Qianlong period
$9,228,400 (RMB59,800,000)
Poly, Beijing, June  5

7) A Robin’s Egg and Famille-Rose Revolving Vase
Qianlong period
$9,025,375 (HK$70,100,000)
Sotheby’s, Hong Kong, April  8

8) A Magnificent Celadon-Glazed Carved Baluster Vase
Qianlong period
$7,922,500
Christie’s, New York, March  24

9) A Blue-and-White Fish Pond Brush Washer
Xuande period
$6,568,358 (HK$51,060,000)
Sotheby’s, Hong Kong, April  7

10) A Prunus and Rose Charger
Yongzheng period
$6,413,440 (HK$49,940,000)
Sotheby’s, Hong Kong, OCTOBER  5

PHOTOGRAPHY

1) Gustave  Le  Gray
Bateaux quittant le port du Havre, 1856–57
$1,305,050 (€917,000)
Rouillac, Vendôme, June 18

2) Richard Avedon
The Beatles Portfolio, 1967
$722,500
Phillips, New York, October  4

3) Henri Cartier-Bresson
Derrière la gare Saint-Lazare, 1932
$586,062
Christie’s, New York, November 11

4) Nadar and Adrien Tournachon
Pierrot with Fruit, 1854–55
$542,500
Phillips, New York, October  4

5) Gustave  Le  Gray
La Saïd, 1857
$529,419 (€372,000)
Rouillac, Vendôme, June 18

6) Richard Avedon
Marilyn Monroe, New York City, May 6, 1957
$482,500
Christie’s, New York, May  6

7) Richard Avedon
Dovima with Elephants, 1955
$455,304 (SKr 3,062,000)
bukowskis, stockholm, November 16

8) Man Ray
Untitled (Photomontage with Nude and Studio Lamp), 1930s
$410,500
Sotheby’s, New York, April  6

9) Man Ray
Untitled (Self-Portrait), 1933
$398,500
Phillips, New York, October  4

10) Alfred Stieglitz
A complete set of Camera Work: A Photographic Quarterly
$398,500
Sotheby’s, New York, October  5

IMPRESSIONIST & MODERN

1) Pablo Picasso
La Lecture, 1932
$40,711,612 (£25,241,250)
Sotheby’s, London, February  8

2) Gustav Klimt
Litzlberg am Attersee, 1914–15
$40,402,500
Sotheby’s, New York, November  2

3) Egon Schiele
Häuser mit bunter Wäsche, 1914
$40,099,627 (£24,681,250)
Sotheby’s, London, June  22

4) Pablo Picasso
Femme assise, robe bleue, 1939
$29,133,148 (£17,961,250)
Christie’s, London, June  21

5) Pablo Picasso
L’Aubade, 1967
$23,042,500
Sotheby’s, New York, November  2

6) Claude Monet
Les Peupliers, 1891
$22,482,500
Christie’s, New York, May 4

7) Maurice de Vlaminck
Paysage de Banlieue, 1905
$22,482,500
Christie’s, New York, May 4

8) Pablo Picasso
Jeune fille endormie, 1935
$21,866,588 (£13,481,250)
Christie’s, London, June  21

9) Salvador Dali
Portrait de Paul Eluard, 1929
$21,688,635 (£13,481,250)
Sotheby’s, London, February 10

10) Pablo Picasso
Les femmes d’Alger, Version L, 1954–55
$21,362,500
Christie’s, New York, May 4