A painting by Chinese contemporary artist Qi Baishi was sold for $65 million, a record high price for contemporary and modern Chinese paintings and calligraphy by Beijing-based China Guardian.
The high auction price was in the history of the Chinese mainland art market, second only to ancient calligrapher Huang Tingjian's hand scroll "Pillar Ming," which was sold for 436.8 million yuan in 2009.
Said to be Qi's largest work, entitled "Eagle Standing on Pine Tree with Four-character Couplet in Seal Script," consists of a painting measuring 266 cm by 100 cm and a pair of calligraphy scrolls each measuring 264.5 cm by 65.8 cm.
Qi was born in 1864 in central China's Hunan Province and died at the age of 93. Although he relished the portrayal of small things, such as birds, fish, fruit and vegetables, Qi was also known as an outstanding calligrapher.
The auctioned work, according to the signature on the scroll, was finished in 1946 when the painter was 86 years old.
The high-profile sale came amid the exponential growth of the Chinese fine art market in recent years.
According to a report released earlier this year by artprice.com, China soared from the ninth place to first in 2010, becoming the world's largest auction marketplace for fine art, overtaking the United States and Britain.
The spring auction at China Guardian runs from May 21 to 25 and includes categories such as Chinese painting and calligraphy, porcelain, jewels, stamps and coins, Chinese oil paintings and sculptures, rare books and manuscripts.
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