Van Gogh Self-Portrait Sells for $71.5 Million
November 23, 1998 - 0:0
NEW YORK Vincent Can Gogh's Portrait of the Artist Without His Beard became the third most expensive painting in history when it sold for more than $71.5 million at Christie's Auction House. The September 1889 painting sold Thursday for 71,502,500 after an enthusiastic round of bidding, with several bidders still in the running even after the price shot past $50 million.
The painting had been valued at $20 to 25 million. The sum paid for Portrait of the Artist Without His Beard is the second highest price ever paid for a Van Gogh and the third highest price ever paid at an auction. The record for a Van Gogh painting remains a portrait that sold for $82.5 million in 1990. Van Gogh painted the self-portrait for his mother, Anna Cornelia Carbentus Van Gogh, as a birthday present.
It is believed to be his last self-portrait. It had belonged to former BMW chief Jacques Koerfer, who died in 1991. At the time it was painted, Van Gogh was convalescing in Saint-Remy de Provence. His face is heavily lined and his eyes extremely sad. Christie's also sold The Black Castle by Paul Cezanne Thursday for over $11.5 million. The 1904 painting a vibrant mosaic of blues and greens had also belonged to Koerfer. It had been valued at between five and seven million dollars.
The Castle, which overlooks Aix-en-Provence in southern France, was one of Cezanne's favorite subjects. There are paintings with the same title in the Picasso Museum in Paris and the Museum of Modern Art in New York. Christie's had started the auction by selling 17 paintings from the collection of Harry Torczyner, including 12 works by Rene Magritte which had belonged to the surrealist painter's lawyer.
The record for a Magritte work was beaten twice. First, $5.7 million was paid for a painting of wrestlers that had been valued at between 1.5 and two million dollars. Then a bidder paid 7.5 million dollars for Personal Values, a 1952 oil painting that had been valued at between 2.5 and 3.5 million dollars. The selling price of such works includes the Auction House Commission of 15 percent up to 50,000 dollars and 10 percent above that amount.
(AFP)
The painting had been valued at $20 to 25 million. The sum paid for Portrait of the Artist Without His Beard is the second highest price ever paid for a Van Gogh and the third highest price ever paid at an auction. The record for a Van Gogh painting remains a portrait that sold for $82.5 million in 1990. Van Gogh painted the self-portrait for his mother, Anna Cornelia Carbentus Van Gogh, as a birthday present.
It is believed to be his last self-portrait. It had belonged to former BMW chief Jacques Koerfer, who died in 1991. At the time it was painted, Van Gogh was convalescing in Saint-Remy de Provence. His face is heavily lined and his eyes extremely sad. Christie's also sold The Black Castle by Paul Cezanne Thursday for over $11.5 million. The 1904 painting a vibrant mosaic of blues and greens had also belonged to Koerfer. It had been valued at between five and seven million dollars.
The Castle, which overlooks Aix-en-Provence in southern France, was one of Cezanne's favorite subjects. There are paintings with the same title in the Picasso Museum in Paris and the Museum of Modern Art in New York. Christie's had started the auction by selling 17 paintings from the collection of Harry Torczyner, including 12 works by Rene Magritte which had belonged to the surrealist painter's lawyer.
The record for a Magritte work was beaten twice. First, $5.7 million was paid for a painting of wrestlers that had been valued at between 1.5 and two million dollars. Then a bidder paid 7.5 million dollars for Personal Values, a 1952 oil painting that had been valued at between 2.5 and 3.5 million dollars. The selling price of such works includes the Auction House Commission of 15 percent up to 50,000 dollars and 10 percent above that amount.
(AFP)