: "This should be the star of the show," commented Gene Shannon
moments before the start of Shannon's Fine American and European
Paintings, Drawings and Sculpture auction on Thursday evening,
May 4. The painting he was speaking of was Henri Fantin-Latour's
oil on canvas, "Bouquet d'Hiver," and it was not long before it
crossed the auction block and those words would ring true.
The painting, estimated at $150/250,000, depicted a bouquet of
flowers in a glass vase and went on to become the highest priced
painting ever sold by the auction gallery as it broke the $1
million mark. Bidding on the Fantin-Latour opened at $70,000 with
a bidder in the gallery chasing the lot, although in the end it
came down to a woman seated in the rear of the gallery,
communicating on her Blackberry, and a telephone bidder who
pushed the lot to a final selling price of $1,027,000.
The painting was but one of more than 250 quality paintings
offered by the auction house during a sale that many considered
Shannon's strongest offering to date. A complete review of the
auction will appear in a future issue.
-DSS
