Since bursting upon the art scene back in the ’80s, American artist Jeff Koons has been no stranger to controversy. Indeed, his ostentatious artworks have long been decried and celebrated in equal measure. All the controversy surrounding his sundry creations has, of course, only driven up their value. A clear case in point is his Balloon Dog (Orange) – a stainless steel sculpture of a toy balloon dog – which sold for US$58.4 million in 2013, the then-record for any auctioned artwork produced by a living artist.

Now, that record has been shattered and by yet another of Koons’ animal-inspired creations – a 41-inch stainless steel sculpture simply known as Rabbit. Completed in 1986, this cartoonish figure is widely regarded as one of the most iconic examples of 20th-century art, hailed as being exuberant and celebratory by his admirers, while dismissed as vacuous and disposable by his many detractors.

Regardless of its artistic value, none can deny its monetary worth, with this best-in-show bunny snagging US$91.1 million at a recent Christie’s auction, surpassing the US$90.2 million record set last November by David Hockney and reaffirming Koons’ reputation as a genius cash-generating creative talent.