Le Pont Makes $41m

Back in February I reported that Claude Monet's painting Le Pont du chemin de fer a Argenteuil would be coming up for auction at Christie's New York on 6 May (CLICK). An anonymous buyer paid £20.9m ($41m) for it, a new record for a Monet. It is one of his finest paintings. Other works by Monet, Picasso, Van Gogh, Gauguin, Renoir and Matisse failed to sell. So maybe the market for third-rate art is drying up. To put this sale into perspective, note yesterday's news that Gordon Brown has pledged £5m toward aid for cyclone-struck Burma (CLICK)!