Art: Fat woman nude breaks auction record, sells for $33M in New York
Wednesday, May 14th 2008, 3:21 PM
Emmanuel Dunand/AFP/Getty Images
La maja gorda: ‘Benefits supervisor sleeping’ on display at Christie’s before its sale.
A Christie’s auction house spokeswoman says a painting by British artist Lucian Freud has broken a global record for living artists by fetching more than $33 million at a New York sale.
Spokeswoman Sara Fox says an anonymous buyer won Tuesday’s bidding for Freud’s “Benefits Supervisor Sleeping.” The life-size 1995 portrait depicts a nude woman sleeping on a worn-out sofa.
At more than $33.6 million, the price easily topped the $23.6 million record for living artists. It was set in November by Jeff Koons‘ “Hanging Heart” sculpture.
The 85-year-old Freud is the grandson of psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud.
Tuesday’s sale also included “Studies for Self Portrait,” by British artist Francis Bacon. Fox says it sold for more than $28 million.