A Triptych Oil Painting by Chinese Artist Zhang Xiaogang Sold for $10.1 Million in Hong Kong
A triptych oil painting by Chinese artist Zhang Xiaogang sold for $10.1 million
Auction giant Sotheby’s sold $447 million worth of Asian art, wine, watches and jewellery in its Asian spring sales. The centrepiece of auction in Hong Kong was an early triptych oil painting, Forever Lasting Love by renowned Chinese artist Zhang Xiaogang sold for $10.1 million. Sotheby’s said it was a record auction price for a contemporary artwork from China.
Zhang’s early 1988 work, oil painting of figures in an arid landscape suffused with mystical symbols fetched HK$79 million with fees, more than double a hammer-price estimate of as much as HK$30 million, with the anonymous winning bid taken by telephone from Miety Heiden of Sotheby’s, New York. It was the top lot of 105 offered by Guy Ullens, founder of Beijing’s largest private art museum, with a $16.7 million total estimate. The price was higher than the $9.5 million paid for a Zeng Fanzhi canvas in 2008 and a series of massive gunpowder works by Cai Guoqiang that fetched a similar price in 2007.