Painting sets European record
Francis Bacon 'George Dyer Talking' portrait sells for £42.2m to set
European record Painting sets European record for most valuable artwork
sold at Christie's A masterpiece by Francis Bacon has become the most
valuable piece of artwork ever sold by auction house Christie's in
Europe after going under the hammer for a record £42.2 million.
The 6ft-tall canvas of Bacon's former lover and muse George Dyer was
due to fetch around £28 million but the sale smashed the estimate after
being bought by an anonymous buyer over the phone.
Dyer died of an overdose in Paris two days before the painting was
displayed at Bacon's first major retrospective at the Grand Palais in
1971.
The piece, called George Dyer Talking, is the most significant
large-scale portrait of Dyer to be offered at auction in more than a
decade.
A depiction of MickeyMouse by acclaimed artist Damien Hirst was also
auctioned off for £902,500 with all the proceeds going to children's
charity Kids Company.
Hirst's work, which represents the figure of the Disney character
with a series of large circles, was expected to fetch £300,000, but went
for triple that. Kids Company was founded by Camila Batmanghelidjh in
1996 to provide practical, emotional and educational support to
vulnerable inner-city children and currently helps 36,000 children
across London and Bristol.
Damien Hirst, "Mickey" (2012) After the night's auction Ms
Batmanghelidjh said: "Some childlike magic happened tonight. "£902, 500
was generated through the sale of Damien Hirst's painting and, in
reality, Mickey came to the rescue of some of the most vulnerable
children.
This money will change lives. From the bottom of my heart thank you,
Damien."
Hirst said: "Brilliant and amazing. Sad to see Mickey go but that is
a great result, I'm so pleased to be able to help Kids Company."
The works were auctioned off as part of Christie's Post War And
Contemporary Art evening auction which takes place in London. Also
included in the sale was a Jeff Koons sculpture depicting a cracked
egg.The most expensive of Bacon's work was his triptych of Lucian Freud
which sold for £85.3 million (142 million US dollars) at Christie's New
York in November 2013.
- PA
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