VanGogh.jpg (Photo : Sotheby's)
Chinese business tycoon Wang Zhongjun, chair of the Huayi Brothers film studio, recently bought a $62-million-worth Vincent Van Gogh masterpiece, reports said on Wednesday.
According to the Shanghai news site The Paper, Van Gogh's Nature Morte, Vase aux Marguerites et Coquelicots (Still Life, Vase with Daisies and Poppie) was purchased by Wang for $61.8 million on Tuesday. The painting, with an estimated value of $30 million to $50 million, was auctioned at Sotheby's in New York City.
Wang is the latest Chinese mogul to stir news in the international art scene. A representative from Huayi Brothers, meanwhile, declined to comment about this.
In 2013, Wanda Group's Wang Jianlin bought a 1950 Pablo Picasso painting at double its value, from the highest estimated value of $12 million to $28 million.
Wanda Group was brought under fire with social media users' comments saying that it was such an extravagant purchase. The same thing happened to Huayi Brothers.
Sculptures by Alberto Giacometti and Amedeo Modigliani, meanwhile, earned $101 million and $70.7 million on Tuesday at Sotheby's biggest auction in its history.
Impressionist and Modern Art were sold at $422.1 million, reaching the highest pre-sale estimate of $423 million for all 73 works. 80 percent of which are sold.
Twelve pieces of sculpture were bought, including Giacometti's 1951 bronze Chariot, driving the record sale to $191 million.
The $101-million-price of the sculpture is still the highest in the two weeks of Sotheby's key autumn sales and rival Christie's.
Chariot was estimated to be sold at over $100 million, while Modigliani's Tete at $45 million. These exclude commission fees at over 12 percent.
Simon Shaw, co-head of Impressionist and Modern Art, said that they have witnessed a diverse bidding pool of collectors since 2004, with Asia giving a "terrific activity."
