China’s richest man, Wang Jianlin, purchased a painting by Pablo Picasso of his young children, for $28.2 million at Christie’s in New York on November 4, 2013. The work, which was part of the sale of art dealer Jan Krugier’s collection, was expected to sell for $9 million to $12 million. Jianlin acquired Claude et Paloma through Rebecca Wei, managing director of Christie’s Asia. He is the founder of Dalian Wanda Group, a Chinese conglomerate with activities in real estate development, tourism, hotels and more.
Overall, the sale failed to reach its full potential, falling 34% below the low end of its presale estimate of $171.4 million. The two-part auction brought in $92.5 million and out of 155 lots, 29 failed to find buyers including works by Paul Klee, Joan Miro, Pablo Picasso, Wassily Kandinsky, Gerhard Richter and Robert Rauschenberg.
Krugier, who died in 2008, was one of the leading dealers in premier 20th century art for four decades. He operated galleries in Geneva and New York.
