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 Reynolds Painting Dominates British Art AuctionThu June 12, 2003 03:51 PM ET
LONDON (Reuters) - A portrait of a woman by 18th century British artist Joshua Reynolds sold at auction on Thursday for just under 2.7 million pounds, five times its pre-sale estimate.
It was the second highest price paid at auction for a work by Reynolds after his portrait of Omai was sold in November 2001 for 10.3 million pounds.
Portrait of Mary Wordsworth, Lady Kent, painted in 1777 when Reynolds was at the height of his powers, sold at Sotheby's auction of Important British Paintings in London. It had been expected to fetch around 500,000 pounds.
"We are delighted with these exceptional results which prove beyond all doubt that, since the sale of Omai in 2001, Reynolds' work can command prices of an entirely new order," Sotheby's head of British pictures David Moore-Gwyn said.
The painting, which has been in the same family since 1949, was only exhibited once -- at the Royal Academy in 1893.
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June 13, 2003 | Viewed 23,456 time(s)
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