Thursday, May 08, 2008

A post without a Monet pun in its heading


Te Papa may well have to go back to government with a reassessment of what the bill will be if their upcoming Monet exhibition goes up in flames or walks out the door. Last night at Christie’s Monet’s 1873 work The Railroad Bridge at Arenteuil sold at a record price for the artist of $US41.4 ($NZ52.9) million, SUS2.4 million above estimate. The painting last came up for sale in 1988 when the ticket price was $12.6 million. The price jump on Monets is comparatively recent, a previous record price of $US19.8 million set in 1998, held until mid last year.
Image: Monet mechandise