Photographs: Shannon Stapleton/Reuters
Irish-born British figurative painter Francis Bacon's painting ‘Three Studies of Lucian Freud’ became the most expensive artwork ever sold at auction. The three-panelled painting on Tuesday fetched $142.4 million (888.32 crore) at Christie's, in one of the biggest auctions in history.
The painting depicts the Dublin-born painter's friend and fellow artist Lucian Freud on a chair, with a view from each side and one face-on. Christie’s described it “a true masterpiece that marks Bacon and Freud's relationship” and their “creative and emotional kinship.”
The 1969 triptych carried a pre-sale estimate of about $85 million topped Edvard Munch's ‘The Scream’ that was sold for over $119 million (Rs 630 crore) in May of last year at Sotheby's.
The previous record for a Bacon work of art was $86.3 million, in 2008.
The bidding, which started at a whopping $80 million, sold after a drawn-out bidding in the New York salesroom and via telephone.
Christie's did not disclose the identity of the successful buyer.
Take a look at some of the most valuable paintings sold in recent times.
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'The Scream'
Photographs: Reuters
Edvard Munch's iconic painting 'The Scream', considered one of the most recognisable in art world, was sold for over $119 million (Rs 630 crore), creating a new record for the highest price ever paid for a work of art at any auction.
The auction house did not release the name or any other details of the buyer. The bidder was participating in the auction through phone.
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'Nude, Green Leaves and Bust'
Photographs: Shannon Stapleton/Reuters
Painter: Pablo Picasso, Spain
Painting: Nude, Green Leaves and Bust
Price: $106.5 million (Rs 564.4 crore)
Nude, Green Leaves and Bust is one of a series of portraits that Picasso painted of his mistress and muse Marie-Thérèse Walter from 1932. The vibrant blue and lilac canvas is more than 5 feet (1.5 m) tall.
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'Femme assise dans un fauteuil'
Photographs: Lee Celano/Reuters
Painter: Pablo Picasso, Spain
Painting: Femme assise dans un fauteuil (Woman sitting in a chair)
Price: $29.2 million (Rs 152 crore)
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'Printemps necrophilique'
Photographs: Photographs: Courtesy: vg.no
Painter: Salvador Dali
Painting: Printemps necrophilique (Spring necrophilic)
Price: $16.3 million (Rs 84.76 crore)
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'Tete humaine'
Photographs: Lee Celano/Reuters
Painter: Joan Miro, Barcelona, Spain
Painting: Tete humaine (Human head)
Price: $14.86 million (Rs 77.2 crore)
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'Leonora in the Morning Light'
Photographs: Courtesy: artinfo.com
Painter: Max Ernst, Germany
Painting: Leonora in the Morning Light
Price: $7.9 million (Rs 41 crore)
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'Cabane Sous les Arbres'
Photographs: Courtesy: paul-gauguin.net
Painter: Paul Gauguin
Painting: Cabane Sous les Arbres (Cabin Under the Trees)
Price: $8.4 million (Rs 43.6 crore)
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'Le Chasseur de chez Maxim's'
Photographs: Courtesy: nordonart
Painter: Chaim Soutine, Belarus
Painting: Le Chasseur de chez Maxim's (The Hunter at Maxim's)
Price: $9.3 million (Rs 48.4 crore)
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'No. 5, 1948'
Photographs: Courtesy: artfortune.com
Painter: Jackson Pollock, United States
Painting: No. 5, 1948
Price: $140 million (Rs 730 crore)
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'Triptych, 1976'
Photographs: Alessia Pierdomenico/Reuters
Painter: Francis Bacon, Dublin, Ireland
Painting: Triptych, 1976
Price: $86 million (Rs 447 crore)
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'Le Bassin aux Nympheas'
Photographs: Lucas Jackson/Reuters
Painter: Claude Monet, France
Painting: Le Bassin aux Nympheas (The water lily pond)
Price: $80 million (Rs 416 crore)
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'Mona Lisa'
Photographs: Charles Platiau/Reuters
Painting: Mona Lisa
Painter: Leonardo da Vinci, Italy
Price: Approximately $720 million (Rs 3,744 crore)
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