Now that we know the sale price — a staggering $450.3 million — the mystery remains: Who bought Leonardo da Vinci’s Jesus painting at a New York auction?
God knows.
But experts are speculating.
“Some dealers say the buyer is likely an American, since there is only one da Vinci in the U.S. — currently at the National Gallery in Washington — and it would make sense for a billionaire to buy it and donate it to a museum in New York or L.A.,” said cnbc.com.
One major collector said: “This feels to me like it was someone who wanted to bring the only Leonardo to Asia. … Anyone who pays nearly a half billion for a painting is likely to be worth at well over $5 billion and most likely over $10 billion.”
Speculation included Liu Yiqian, the Chinese billionaire who purchased a Modigliani for $170 million in 2015. “But on Thursday, Liu posted a message on WeChat saying he wasn’t the buyer.”
Jeff Bezos, worth $95 billion, sold $1 billion worth of stock in early November and didn’t announce a use of the proceeds, cnbc said.
Alice Walton, the Wal-Mart heiress, was another pick, as well as fellow art-collecting billionaire Ken Griffin. No word from either.
Don Thompson, author of “The $12 Million Stuffed Shark: The Curious Economics of Contemporary Art,” recently told CBC why buyers are shy.
“To announce you’ve just spent $40 million on a work of art is to hold up a sign and say ‘Burglars of the world, here’s where I live and there’s probably a lot of other good stuff around my house.’”
But Thompson added: “This one will be known quickly. It’s either a major museum or purchased for a major museum… likely Qatar or Abu Dhabi. Or it’s been purchased by a very wealthy individual as a show piece. His friends will see it and word will get out very quickly.”
Some other artful guesses:
I think I know who bought the fake Leonardo for $450 million… pic.twitter.com/gwf6hlpiAf
— WILDBONE (@sethwulsin) November 16, 2017
Hm. Whoever bought this painting (which may or may not be authentic) from Russian oligarch Dmitry Rybolovlev paid more than three times what Rybolovlev paid in 2013 (from art dealers who only paid $10,000 for it) https://t.co/HH2aUAgFk0
— Natasha Bertrand (@NatashaBertrand) November 16, 2017
To quash the unsubstantiated rumors: I was NOT the anonymous person who bought the DaVinci at auction yesterday. https://t.co/Xmy2s49nva
— Jeffrey Platsky (@JeffPlatsky) November 16, 2017
Time to end the speculation – it was me who bought it. I’ve been saving up for a while. I’ve got a nail waiting to hang it on opposite the downstairs loo – it’s what #LeonardoDaVinci would have wanted,https://t.co/695RRPxdEL
— Canaries Caption It (@Saund65) November 16, 2017