Doha: Christie’s has denied ‘rumours’ circulating in a section of the Western media that a Picasso painting was sold to former prime minister H E Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim bin Jabor Al Thani at record price.
Femmes d’ Alger was sold to an anonymous telephone bidder for $179m, breaking all records for the most expensive artwork ever purchased at auction.
New York Post’s page 6 on May 20 reported that the painting was bought by Sheikh Hamad. Several leading newspapers and TV channels in the West carried similar reports.
Responding to the report, Christie’s denied the identity of the buyer and said what had been reported were rumours and assumptions. The British daily The Telegraph and the US-based CNBC channel also denied the rumours and said Sheikh Hamad is “definitely not” the buyer.
The Peninsula
