Today, recered British Old Master John Constable’s masterpiece “The Lock” sold for a record-setting £22.4 million ($35.2 million) at Christie’s Old Masters evening sale in London. Though a record, the price was actually on the low end of the £20-25 million estimate once buyer’s premium (which is included in the result but not in the estimate) is factored out. In total, the auction tally was £85.1 million ($132.7 million).
One family's feud-induced loss is another's gain. The painting was consigned by the eccentric Baroness Carmen Thyssen-Bornemisza, the fifth and last wife of the Swiss industrialist and art collector baron Hans Henrich Thyssen-Bornemisza. The former Miss Spain created an uproar within European art circles with her decision to sell the painting, which has until now been on display at Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum in Madrid. After hearing that it would be sent to auction, Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum trustee and former exhibitions director of the Royal Academy London, Sir Norman Rosenthal, publicly declared that it "represents a moral shame on the part of all those concerned, most especially on the part of Tita," according to the Telegraph ("Tita" being Carmen Thyssen-Bornemisnza). He resigned his post at the Spanish museum.
After the Baron Thyssen-Bornemisza's death in 2002, most of his large art collection was sold to the Spainish government, but about 250 works were kept by the Baroness. Most of them have been on loan to the state free of charge for more than a decade. Thyssen-Bornemisza announced in March that she found herself in need of cash because of the economic crisis, and would therefore sell the painting. According to the Telegraph, the Baroness's stepdaughter, Francesca Von Habsburg, refuted the claim that Carmen needs the money.
There is no word yet on the buyer. The London Old Masters sales continue tomorrow at Sotheby's.
An abbreviated version of this article originally appeared on Above The Estimate.