The U.S. and Global Security Review - Blog by Michael Novakhov

With $170.4 Million Sale at Auction, Modigliani Work Joins Rarefied Nine-Figure Club Tuesday November 10 th , 2015  at  6:31 AM 1 Share In an overheated art market where anything seems possible, a painting of an outstretched nude woman by the early-20th-century artist  Amedeo Modigliani  sold on Monday night for $170.4 million with fees, in a packed sales room at Christie’s. It was the second-highest price paid for an artwork at auction. The painting became the 10th work of art to reach nine figures under the hammer. The bidding was palpably tense, with six people vying for the lot, and it took nine minutes to sell, with the winning bid coming from a Chinese buyer on the phone. The seller of the Modigliani, Laura Mattioli Rossi, the daughter of the Italian collector Gianni Mattioli, was guaranteed at least a $100 million minimum price. Just before the sale, Christie’s announced that a third party had stepped forward to share the risk — as well