Abramovich was mystery art buyer at New York auctions, report says

Arts News

May 19, 2008, 12:40 GMT

London - Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich was the mystery buyer of two paintings which smashed records at auctions of British works in New York last week, the London-based Art Newspaper reported Monday. Abramovich, who lives in London, was said to have bought Lucian Freud's painting Benefits Supervisor Sleeping for 17.2 million pounds (34.4 million dollars) at Christie's in New York on May 13. He also splashed out 43 million pounds the next day on Francis Bacon's Triptych, painted in 1976, at rival auction house Sotheby's in New York, the well-informed Art Newspaper said. The work by Freud, a life-size painting of a naked London Jobcentre supervisor sleeping, broke the world auction record for a work by a living artist. The sum paid for the Bacon was the most ever spent on a work by the Irish-born British artist. The three-panelled picture depicts a headless human form surrounded by three vultures and flanked by two portraits of disfigured human faces. Ambramovich, worth a reputed 11.7 billion pounds, has not previously been known as a serious collector of art. But reports said his new girlfriend, Daria Zhukova, 25, may be behind his desire to buy into the art world. Zhukova is scheduled to open a gallery in Moscow next month, and reported to plan to create a 'permanent collection' in the Russian capital.

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