Modigliani sculpture sets records in Paris

[June 15, 2010]  PARIS (AP) -- A sculpted stone head by artist Amedeo Modigliani sold at Christie's in Paris on Monday for euro43.18 million ($52.8 million), breaking the record for a work by the Italian artist, the auction house said.

It was also the highest-priced work sold at an auction in France, Christie's said. An anonymous buyer bid for the piece by telephone.

The piece, sculpted between 1910 and 1912, depicts an elongated head with almond-shaped eyes and flowing hair, and it is reminiscent of the artist's paintings. Modigliani, who lived from 1884 to 1920, originally focused on sculpture but switched to painting in part because of health problems.

The painting was part of a collection amassed by Gaston Levy, a French businessman who founded the country's Monoprix supermarket chain. Levy died in 1977.

[Associated Press]

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