NEW YORK (AFP) — Mexican artist Rufino Tamayo's oil painting "The Troubadour" sold for 7.2 million dollars at a New York auction, smashing the world record for Latin American art.
The 1945 painting showing a man playing a guitar sparked a feverish telephone bidding war between two people, which ended with a round of applause when the winner was announced at the Christie's auction house on Wednesday.
The previous record for a Tamayo piece was 2.5 million dollars. The earlier Latin American record had been held by fellow Mexican artist Frida Kahlo's "Roots" painting, which sold for 5.6 million dollars in 2006.
"Tonight's sale is historic," said Virgilio Garza, head of Latin American Art at Christie's.
"It demonstrated the vitality and continued ascent of the Latin American art market, showing vigorous demand from international collectors," he said.
The painting, which had been initially valued at between two million and three million dollars, was pulled from auction in November after a lawsuit was filed to block its sale.
The owner, Randolph College, wanted to sell it to help its finances, but fans and staff at the college's museum objected the auctioning of donated art.
A court finally gave the college the green light to sell the painting.
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