Raphael Record

I did suggest that it would be well worth visiting the pre-sale exhibition of art in Sotheby’s London evening auction of Old Master Paintings and Drawings on 5 December (CLICK). This Raphael black-chalk drawing Head of an Apostle (1519), a study for his Transfiguration, fetched £29.7m, setting a record price for any drawing in art history. It came from the private collection at Chatsworth House, home of the Duke of Devonshire. Three years ago Christie's sale of Raphael's Head of a Muse sold for £29.2m. Yanks are claiming this as the record in dollars, due to fluctuating exchange rates; but both drawings were sold in pounds sterling, so Sotheby's is claiming the record (CLICK). My special interest in this sale was Lot 18, Portrait of Giovanni Gaddi by an unknown master, estimated value £600,000 to £800,000. It sold to an online bidder for £1,273,250 (CLICK). Too pricey to be a "sleeper", but I suspect somebody grabbed a bargain.