Venus Verticordia 2

Two months ago I reported that the watercolour version of Dante Gabriel Rossetti's most sensuous painting Venus Verticordia (1868) would be up for grabs in Sotheby's London auction of British & Irish Art on 10 December, estimated at £1m to £1.5m (CLICK). Yesterday four bidders drove the sale price up to £2,882,500, the highest price ever paid for a watercolour by Rossetti at auction. The winning bidder is a UK private collector. At least it won't be leaving the country. The oil painted version of Venus Verticordia is in the collection of the Russell-Cotes Art Gallery and Museum in Bournemouth. The model was Alexa Wilding (CLICK).