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.