Katya Kazakina steps into a new role at Bloomberg with her coverage of the Old Master sales at Sotheby’s on January 27th. Remarking on the number French, Italian and Russian accents in the room, Kazakina identifies the buyer of the day’s biggest gainer:

Claude-Joseph Vernet’s “Grand View of the Sea Shore Enriched With Buildings, Shipping and Figures” sold for $7 million, up from a presale estimate of $1.5 to $2 million. New York-based art adviser Carol Strone bought the work, bidding on behalf of a private American collector. It was yet another auction record.

“Looks like the Old Masters are entering a new era of greater enthusiasm and broader collector base,” said Strone.

Kazakina also got a broader sense of what is underlying the market, museums:

“I’ve never seen such a good sale,” said Paris-based art adviser Etienne Breton, who has worked in the field for 25 years and sees a shrinking market now driving the demand for Old Masters.

“American museums are buying, European museums are buying, Louvre Abu Dhabi is buying,” said Breton. “For many patrons it’s the last chance to get a reference picture.”

On the importance of Perino Del Vaga:

“He is one step down from Raphael and Michelangelo,” said Armin Kunz, director and partner of C.G. Boerner gallery in New York and Duesseldorf, which specializes in Old Masters. “Del Vaga is less known to a wider public, but for the specialists in the field he is an important artist.”

Titian Brings $16.9 Million, Met Buys Second Del Vaga (Bloomberg)