Sotheby’s Old Masters auction, which took place during the evening of July 3, 2013 in London, garnered over $52 million and included the sale of El Greco’s (1541-1614) Saint Dominic in Prayer. The painting sold for $13.9 million, exceeding its high estimate of $7.5 million and setting the record for a Spanish Old master at auction.
The auction, which captured the attention of collectors from 33 different countries, included another work by El Greco, Christ on the Cross, which sold for $5.1 million. The sale marked the first time in living memory that two masterworks by the artist were offered as part of the same auction.
Alex Bell, Worldwide Head of Sotheby’s Old Master Paintings, said “The greatest Old Master paintings have a timeless quality that transcends their era and gives them a relevance to audiences today, as tonight’s global bidding and record result for El Greco’s St. Dominic in Prayer attest. The dialogue between Old and New is injecting fresh energy into our field. We’re now firmly in a new era, where clients from new markets are collecting Old Masters in new ways. Our response has been to offer the most exciting and diverse works we can find – and to present them in a more contemporary way.”
