It also comes in second only to “Les femmes d’Alger” (Women of Algiers) by Picasso, which was also sold by Christie’s in May for $179 million.
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To win the prized artworks, Christie’s offered the sellers of 17 pieces minimum guaranteed prices regardless of the outcome in the salesroom. Initially, the guarantees were backed by Christie’s.
Bidding for Modigliani’s ravishing brunette on a red couch started at US$75 million and attracted seven hopefuls.
Mr Liu’s biography on the Long Museum website says the couple has been collecting art for 20 years.
Chinese art collector Liu Yiqian confirmed to the NY Times that he was the buyer of the painting.
It has since been exhibited at a few of the finest art galleries all over the world including at the Royal Academy of Arts in London. Monday’s sale assuaged concerns that the Modigliani painting would be too risque for a few collectors. The purchase made headlines when it set the record for a Chinese artwork sold at an global auction. The previous auction record for a Modigliani was $71 million.
That was right in the middle of the presale estimate of $442 million to $540 million.
Wang Jianlin (head of Wanda, owners of cable channel AMC) – Spent $28 million a year ago on the 1950 Pablo Picasso painting Claude and Paloma.
“This painting leaps off the page as the most vibrant, sexual, lyrical of the catalogue raisonné”, said Ana Maria Celis, a Christie’s specialist in postwar and contemporary art.
Christie’s auctioneer Jussi Pylkkanen auctions Amedeo Modigliani’s Reclining Nude during a curated auction at Christie’s entitled “The Artist’s Muse” in NY November 9, 2015. “Nurse”, which has a stellar exhibition and provenance history, is estimated to bring $80 million, exceeding the auction record for the pop artist of $56 million. Later owners included John Quinn and Lillie Bliss, one of the original founders of the Museum of Modern Art in NY.
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It also stands atop Modigliani’s relatively small output of paintings – only 350 before succumbing to tuberculosis at age 35 in 1920. Ana Maria Celis, a specialist in post-war and contemporary art for Christie’s, was quoted in The Times calling the work “almost contemplative” compared to the centerpiece “Nu Couche”. With two sales of American art and old masters still to come, the estate’s running total of $420 million could still be considered a coup-except the house set expectations dauntingly high by giving Mr. Taubman’s heirs a guarantee of around $515 million.
