thesqueeze - Modigliani sculpture breaks French auction records

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Modigliani sculpture breaks French auction records

Christie's France president Francois de Ricqles auctions for 43.18 million euros (more than 52...

Artist Amedea Modigliani's sculpted stone head has smashed auction records in France after going under the hammer for 43.18 million euros ($53 million). It was sold at Christie's in Paris on Monday , June 14. An anonymous buyer bid for the piece of sculpture by telephone.
The piece of art, crafted between 1910 and 1912, a 65-centimetre (26-inch) head was part of an art collection owned by French businessman Gaston Levy, who founded the Monoprix chain of grocery and department stores and lived from 1893 to 1977. It had remained in the family and had never been seen in public.
The sale is also a new record for a work by the Italian artist. The previous auction record for France was for a Matisse painting at Christie’s Yves St. Laurent auction. The Matisse still life of cowslips fetched 35.9 million euros (then $45.6 million) in February 2009.
Most of Modigliani's 27 sculptures are currently in museums around the world, with 10 still in private hands.

Published 15.06.2010

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