Aug
06
Sotheby’s Missed Out on Billionaire’s $157 Million Windfall from Modigliani Sale
By-
Second-quarter commission margin at auction house declines
- Shares sink 5.6 percent as Sotheby’s misses estimate
Billionaire John Magnier got a windfall from the sale of an Amedeo Modigliani nude at Sotheby’s in May. The auction house was not as fortunate.
The 1917 “Nu couche (sur le cote gauche)” fetched $157.2 million, an almost sixfold increase in value since 2003 when the Irish bloodstock tycoon bought it. Although Sotheby’s heralded the price as the highest auction result in its 274-year history, the painting was sold on a sole, prearranged bid. In the end, Sotheby’s didn’t keep much of its $18 million commission…
Sotheby’s Missed Out on Billionaire’s $157 Million Windfall from Modigliani Sale