A Cubist still life by Juan Gris
fetched 34.8 million pounds ($56.8 million) at Christie’s
International in London today, almost doubling the previous
auction record for the Spanish artist.
Painted in 1915, “Nature Morte a la Nappe a Carreaux”
(“The Checked Tablecloth”) depicts a mount of objects,
including a newspaper, a guitar and grapes on a checked
tablecloth. Consigned by a private Swiss collector, it was
estimated at 12 million to 18 million pounds, the auction house
said. The final sale price includes buyer’s premium.
Christie’s evening sale of Impressionist, modern and
Surrealist art kicked off two weeks of semiannual auctions in
London, the first major test of the art market in 2014. The
previous record for Gris (1887-1927) was set in 2010 when his
1913 painting of a violin and a guitar sold for $28.6 million at
Christie’s in New York.
Earlier in today’s sale, Alberto Giacometti’s
Article source: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-02-04/gris-still-life-sells-for-record-56-8-million-in-london.html