Sotheby's auction sets world records

Sotheby's auction sets world records

SINGAPORE (AFP): An auction of Southeast Asian paintings at
international art house Sotheby's here yesterday chalked up sales
totaling S$4.2 million (US$3 million) and set world auction
records for two artists.

The highest price of $1.1 million went to Landscape in oil
painted by Russian-born German painter Walter Spies, who lived
and worked in Bali, Indonesia, early this century.

"It was bought by an Asian private collector who also picked
up the second most expensive painting today," a spokeswoman for
Sotheby's said, adding that $1.1 million was the highest auction
price offered for the painter's works so far.

Sotheby's offered 155 Southeast Asian works worth $4.2 million
at its second auction in Singapore yesterday. Its debut sales
here in October last year fetched $3.8 million.

Miety Heiden, specialist-in-charge of the sale, said: "Once
again, the sale reflects a strong interest in Southeast Asian art
in the region. Among all paintings, the Balinese themes still
proved the most popular."

Another work, Fighting Animals, by 19th century Indonesian
painter Raden Saleh was sold for $773,750. It was picked up by
the same Asian private collector who bought Landscape. The
painting Pasar in Bali sold for $168,750 was a world record price
for Austrian artist Emil Rizek.