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London (dpa) - German Gerhard Richter's 1965 painting, Tante Marianne, was auctioned off for 3.9 million dollars to an anonymous bidder Wednesday night at Sotheby's in London.
The painting portrays Richter as a four-month old infant in the arms of his then 14-year-old aunt Marianne Shoenfelder, who was later diagnosed with schizophrenia and killed by the Nazis. What the now 74-year-old artist didn't know at the time, is that his father-in-law managed the mental institution where Marianne was "euthanized" in 1945.
Richter, whose work still routinely fetches prices in the millions, based the portrait on a grainy black-and-white picture of the scene taken in 1932.
Dresden's renowned Albertinum museum was reportedly among those interested in acquiring the portrait, but by the end only two parties were left engaging in a bidding war, eventually won by an anonymous bidder participating via telephone.
The 2.136-million-pound price tag (3.934 million dollars) was one of the highest ever for a Richter painting. Experts said the painting's selling price was raised by the tragic family history accompanying it.
Copyright 2006 dpa Deutsche Presse-Agentur GmbH
