Botticelli For Sale

Here's another rarity up for grabs: Sandro Botticelli's Study for a Seated St Joseph (1480s). It's been put up for auction by the Estate of Barbara Piasecka Johnson, widow of the late John Seward Johnson, the Johnson and Johnson pharmaceuticals magnate. It is one of nine Renaissance and Baroque artworks from her Estate to be offered in Sotheby’s London Evening sale of Old Master and British Paintings on 9 July. Proceeds from the 9 Johnson lots will go to charity, mainly helping children with autism. The Botticelli is estimated at £1m to £1.5m (CLICK). When you consider that this historically important rarity is by a master of the Early Renaissance, why on earth should any sane billionaire pay £50m for junk by Mark Rothko?