Scott Reyburn is on fire at the International New York Times. Today he confirms last year’s sale of the re-discovered Leonardo that was featured in the London show of the master’s work:
The heavily restored painting, dating from about 1500, was bought by an unidentified collector for between $75 million and $80 million in May 2013, in a private sale brokered by Sotheby’s. The details of the purchase have remained locked in confidentiality clauses until they were revealed this week by trade insiders, such as the London dealer Anthony Crichton-Stuart.
“It’s a trophy painting by a highly important artist,” Mr. Crichton-Stuart said. “You have to balance its compromised condition against the fact that it is by one of the most magical and significant names in the entire canon of Western art, and in that sense, it feels like a fair price.”
Recently Attributed Leonardo Painting Was Sold Privately for Over $75 Million (ArtsBeat/NYTimes)