Da Vinci sketch sells for record $US3.63M

Press, 23 February 1987, Page 12

Da Vinci sketch sells for record $US3.63M

By

Peter Elsworth

NZPA-Reuter New York A small two-sided sketch by Leonardo da Vinci has sold for a record $U53.63 million ($7 million) at Sotheby’s auction house.

The da Vinci was bought by Adrian Ward Jackson, a London dealer, on behalf of a private American collector. The 5U53.63 million was the most ever paid for a da Vinci drawing. The two-sided study, featuring a child and a lamb and' some machinery with lines of mirror writing, was part of a collection of 46 drawings sold by John Gaines, a collector of old master and modem drawings and the owner of Gainesway Farm, a thoroughbred

breeding enterprise. Over all, 45 of the 46 drawings in the Gaines collection were sold for a total SUS2I.3 million ($4l million). Among the drawings were works by Matisse, Picasso and Gauguin. Other items included drawings by Bartolommeo, Durer and Rembrandt. After the sale, Mr Gaines told Reuters he felt “joyful” at the outcome of the sale, adding he had “no regrets” about selling his collection. “It is time for other people to enjoy the work,” he said. Other drawings sold included Picasso’s “Tete d’homme a la Pipe,” which sold for SUSI.6S million ($3.2 million) and

Edgar Degas’ “Le Pas Battu” sold for SUSI.I million ($2.1 million). Record prices for drawings included $U5957,000 for a Rembrandt, $U5935,000 for a Matisse, $U5852,500 for a Watteau and $U5797,500 for a Millet. Before the sale, Mr Gaines said he had selected draftsmen who best represented a particular period or style. He added that he had completed what he set out to do in assembling the collection and he felt it was time to move in another direction in his collecting interests. The da Vinci drawing, “Child With Lamb,” is believed to be one of only two drawings by da Vinci stili jp private ownership.