Jean-Michel Basquiat’s painting, In this Case, has sold for $US93.1 million ($119 million) at auction in New York, the second-highest price paid for a work by the late artist.

The 1983 painting, which depicts a skull on a red background, sold for $US81 million at Christie’s, but with fees and commissions the final price came to $US93.1 million, well above the estimate of $US50 million.