Paul Gauguin’s painting of two Tahitian girls has brought a new level of pricing to the art world.
The previous record is held by Paul Cezanne, “The Card Players” when it was bought by Sheikh Saud bin Mohammed Al-Thani of Quatar for $250 million. Al-Thani bought the painting for the National Council for Culture, Arts and Heritage in Saudia Arabia, The young Sheikh unexpectedly passed away this past November, he was 48.
The Paul Gauguin painting that now holds the record was painted in 1892 and noted by historians as “Nafea Faa Ipoipo” or”When Will You Marry.” The painting, like “The Card Players” was sold in a private sale to an undisclosed source but was transferred by Rudolf Staechelin, a retired Sotheby’s executive from Basel.
The painting has been rumored to have actually been sold to the same museum that now holds the Cezanne painting which previously held the record in art.
The painting was part of a 60 year display at Basel’s Art Museum but was sold after Steachelin had a falling out with the institution. The Basel Museum has been noted as saying “We are painfully reminded that permanent loans are still loans.”