Posted on 07/07/2010 3:26:02 PM PDT by JoeProBono
A Turner masterpiece depicting the city of Rome with the Colosseum in the background tonight sold at auction in London for £29.7m, a record for the British master.
The buyer was a London dealer, Hazlitt, Gooden & Fox, on behalf of the J Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles, California.
Six bidders pushed the price well above expectations, surpassing the Turner record of £20.5m set in 2006, for Venice, Giudecca, La Donna della Salute and San Giorgio.
"Turner's Modern Rome – Campo Vaccino has achieved a tremendous and much-deserved result this evening," said David Moore-Gwyn, deputy chairman at Sotheby's. "This breathtaking image shows the artist at his absolute best and, for collectors, it ticked all the boxes – quality, superb condition, provenance, and freshness-to-the-market."
Painted in 1839, the work is described by art experts as perhaps Turner's finest view of an Italian city.
(Excerpt) Read more at guardian.co.uk ...
The buyer made a smart purchase.
In five years his 20 million will buy a postcard replica.
Hisbest known and a treasure of England is "The Fighting Temeraire Towed To Her Last Berth".
Maybe. But The Getty has a reputation for over paying. And in five years, it might be that no one is paying anything for paintings.
ML/NJ
Both so different but magnificent in their own way.
Two beautiful paintings. Thanks Joe.
Before she passed away I went over to visit her. She told me when her husband bought the home off of a sea captain, most of the furniture came with the house. All the paintings came along with it including the Turner.
She stopped by my mothers house about two weeks before her death, and told my mom to give me (no, not the Turner) but something almost as precious to me. She gave me a quilt that my grandmother had given her many years ago. The pattern was a school house and she said she wanted me to have it since I became a teacher too.
My grandmother made the quilt back in the 50's for her. It was in pristine condition when I got it in 1980.
The school houses were all red with white trim.
Funny, that teacher taught every one of my brothers and sister (7 of us). She also taught both my mother and father. Our family relationship with her went back to 1930.
Never knew what the towing Tem was called, but Turner is beyond belief.
Kenneth Clark's Civilisation helps to put it all in perspective.
I LOVE Turner!
Attaboy!
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