Manet self-portrait sold for record $33M in London

[June 23, 2010]  LONDON (AP) -- A self-portrait by French painter Edouard Manet has sold for a record price of more than 22 million pounds ($33 million) at a London auction.

Sotheby's says the portrait, painted between 1878 and 1879, was bought for 22.4 million pounds ($33.4 million) by an anonymous bidder.

It was the highest price paid for a picture by Manet. The previous record for a Manet was 16 million pounds at a sale in New York in 1989.

Sotheby's says the painting, "Manet A La Palette," sold Tuesday evening was one of only two self portraits by the artist and ranks among the greatest of the Impressionist movement.

[Associated Press]

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