Deals
Bacon Triptych Sells For $84.6 Million, Boosting Art Market
- Chinese client placed a $73.1 million bid online for the Bacon
- Market passes first test since lockdowns ‘with flying colors’
Francis Bacon’s “Triptych Inspired by the Oresteia of Aeschylus” fetched $84.6 million at Sotheby’s, giving the high-end art market a boost after a months-long slump caused by the pandemic.
Estimated at $60 million to $80 million, the 1981 trio of paintings was the top offering at the marquee sales of contemporary, Impressionist and modern art sales. Sotheby’s guaranteed the work, consigned by the foundation of Norwegian businessman Hans Rasmus Astrup, who has displayed it at his private museum in Oslo since 1993. Proceeds from Monday’s sale will help expand and diversify the museum collection, Sotheby’s said.