Qatar royals buy Cezanne painting for $250m

Sunday, 5 February 2012 5:42 PM

Cezanne's Card Players has been bought by Qatar for $250m.

The Qatari royal family has paid £158m ($250m) for Paul Cezanne’s The Card Players painting, making it the highest sum ever paid for an art work, according to media reports.

The sale beats the previous record of £88.7m paid for Jackson Pollock’s No 5, 1948 in 2006, the UK's Telegraph reported.

See the 10 most expensive paintings ever sold here.

Although the Qatari royals bought the piece last year from Greek shipping magnate George Embiricos, the amount they paid was disclosed in an article in Vanity Fair magazine, the paper said.

The details emerged as VIP collectors, curators and dealers head to Qatar for the opening of an exhibition by Japanese artist Takashi Murakami.

Qatar is pitching itself as a new destination in the art world as it is hosting exhibits by Richard Serra, Louise Bourgeois and will host an international art forum in March, the paper said.

The Art Newspaper ranked Qatar as the world’s biggest art buyer last year citing the king’s daughter, Sheikha Al Mayassa, as a driving force behind the attempt to "turn the oil-rich desert state into a cultural centre to rival Paris and New York".

She is the chairwoman of the Qatar Museums Authority, an organisation overseeing the country’s ambitious cultural initiatives.

In June 2011, Edward Dolman quit his job as chairman of Christie’s International to join the organization’s board.

Qatar has in the recent past bought Mark Rothko’s White Center (Yellow, Pink and Lavender on Rose) and Damien Hirst’s pill cabinet Lullaby Spring.

Cezanne’s other four pieces from the series, created around the 1890s, are held by Musée d’Orsay in Paris, New York’s Museum of Modern Art, the Courtauld Institute in London and the Barnes Foundation in Philadelphia.

Nicolai Iljine, an art consultant for the Guggenheim, is quoted by The Telegraph as saying: “There is not much great art left on the market and there is a lot of competition to get it.”

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Posted by: Muhammad Tuesday, 7 February 2012 8:05 PM[UAE] - Bahrain

its really sad and sometimes i feel like crying when i see in one part of the world - people in Somalia, and other parts of Africa don't get anything to eat and in the other part of the world, people "BURN" their money in buying worthless paintings, the amount which could have been used to provide food to people dying in Africa.

Posted by: gordon Thursday, 9 February 2012 8:49 AM[UAE] - dubai

@sam actually they only printed half of my message, the rest discussed population growth from 42 mio in 1985 in Ethiopa to 90 mio now plus other associated information, as such the truncated message would be taken out of context.That is the problem with censorship, only have story gets out.

Posted by: SAM Wednesday, 8 February 2012 2:06 PM[UAE] - UAE

@Gordon,this fish saying is annoying; you must have a boat, a net, be in good health, learn technique and avoid polluted waters, which means you have to first invest in the would-be fisherperson. The situation here is that no one is providing these necessary tools and conditions to allow for healthy fishing. So unless there is an effort to create fishermen, your catch-22 argument is without merit. Just an aside, I am allergic to fish.

Posted by: gordon Wednesday, 8 February 2012 8:41 AM[UAE] - dubai

I understand what you are saying, but it is a little simplistic.

I make and spend lot of money, but give a lot to charity.
It is only because I do make a lot of money that I can give a lot to charity, if I gave all I earned to charity it would have no motivation to work.
Qatar does a lot in society, but those societies that get help, just squander and never address the problem. Give a man fish and he eats for a day, teach him to fish and he eats for a lifetime.

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Posted by: Irani Tuesday, 7 February 2012 7:35 PM[UAE] - Iran

The Shah of Iran spent a few millions on a lavish event in 1975 and many see that as the point that made Iranians look at him in a different way...
If only people could just be more moderate and less EXTREME:
extreme in religion
.... in politics
.... in ethics
.... in spending
and you name it.
Normally the extreme mesures receive extreme response which can lead to lose-lose situation...

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Posted by: irfan Monday, 6 February 2012 7:05 PM[UAE] - uae

nice purchase. Usually art is bought and sold to rich people. this is what we other folks, the ones criticising this purchase, dont understand. the qatari royals can probably sell this stuff in the future for a lot more. Very nice business like purchase.

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Posted by: Rick Monday, 6 February 2012 11:49 AM[UAE] - UK

Seems strange to purchase a painting which goes against their ethics.

Posted by: Telcoguy Monday, 6 February 2012 4:46 PM[UAE] - UAE

Kind of interesting when you link this news with the recent ones from Qatar.

Posted by: Farah Lewis Monday, 6 February 2012 4:16 PM[UAE] - Liban

Ethics !!!?

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Posted by: Budaiya Calling Monday, 6 February 2012 11:48 AM[UAE] - Bahrain

The people of the Gulf in general (barring some countries who are now making a u-turn and investing in sustainable businesses such as KSA, UAE etc) will look back to the past 100yrs with regret. Investments in assets (I use the term loosely) that have no real world application and/or stable income stream is a bad idea. Investment banks who made the same move before the ?bust? quickly found out when you purchase an asset whose value is based on ?taste? the investment can quickly go sour. The amount of money spent on art and other assets on the recommendation of ?wealth managers? etc need to be studied closely.

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Qatar royals buy Cezanne painting for $250m

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