Georgina Adam confirms what most people assumed during the YSL/Bergé sale, that some of the big money behind that sale came from the Gulf States trying to stock the new museums planned for the area. With the groundbreaking on the Abu Dhabi Louvre project imminent, Adam writes this weekend:

Intense secrecy has surrounded these first acquisitions but sources in Paris have confirmed that one of the main prizes is Mondrian’s “Composition avec bleu, rouge, jaune et noir” (1922), which sold for €21.7m at the Yves Saint Laurent sale in Paris in February. Other Louvre Abu Dhabi buys are said to include Limoges enamels, Gothic figures and tapestries. Also going to the Gulf is the top lot in the Yves Saint Laurent sale, Matisse’s “Les coucous, tapis bleu et rose” (1911), which made €35.9m. The same sources say it was bought by a member of the Qatari royal family.

The Art Market: Modern Masters in the Gulf (Financial Times)