Modigliani Painting Sells for Record $8.6M
A painting by Italian Jewish artist Amedeo Modigliani sold at auction in Jerusalem for $8.6 million, despite not actually being in the country.
It is believed to be the most expensive piece of art ever sold in Israel. Its sale tops that of a painting by Camille Pissarro which once sold in Israel for $1.2 million.
The Modigliani oil painting from 1919 which sold on Tuesday by the Matsart gallery and auction house is called “Portrait de Annie Bjarne” and comes from the private collection of Israeli businessman and millionaire Meshulam Riklis.
The painting remained in New York in order to avoid the 18 percent value added tax on the sale in Israel. Bidders were able to view it in photographs, however.
A message from our CEO & publisher Rachel Fishman Feddersen
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.
At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse..
Readers like you make it all possible. Support our work by becoming a Forward Member and connect with our journalism and your community.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO