Degas Pastel Nets Record 17.6 Million Pounds at Auction
June 30, 1999 - 0:0
LONDON -- A pastel by Edgar Degas was sold Monday for a record 17.6 million pounds (26.5 million euros, 27 million dollars) at auction here, a spokesman for Auctioneers Sotheby's said. "Danseuse au Repos" (dancer at rest) was acquired by a bidder on a telephone link who wished to remain anonymous, the spokesman said. The price was the highest ever paid for a Degas work.
The pastel, one in a series of studies of ballerinas completed at the end of 1870s by the French impressionist painter, had only been expected to reach between five and seven million pounds. Another Degas painting, "Femme Assise Devant un Piano" (woman seated in front of a piano), dated 1882-85, fetched more than three million pounds. The Degas pastels belonged to the family of French businessman Jules-Emile Boivin, who bought the paintings in 1885. (AFP)
The pastel, one in a series of studies of ballerinas completed at the end of 1870s by the French impressionist painter, had only been expected to reach between five and seven million pounds. Another Degas painting, "Femme Assise Devant un Piano" (woman seated in front of a piano), dated 1882-85, fetched more than three million pounds. The Degas pastels belonged to the family of French businessman Jules-Emile Boivin, who bought the paintings in 1885. (AFP)