'Da Vinci copycat' fetches $1.5m at New York auction
A painting that came to global prominence after being declared a Da Vinci 'copycat work' has sold for $1.5 million at a New York auction. The work, 'La Belle Ferronniere', smashed the estimated $500,000 it was expected to fetch at the Sotheby's auction, despite the fact that experts have long since established that it was painted some 100 years after the Italian's death.
According to the auction house, the fevered interest and high price the painting has generated was driven partly by its fascinating history, not least the 1920s court case which saw it dismissed as a fake on the eve of being sold to one of America's top galleries as a genuine Leonardo.
George Wachter, the co-chairman of Sotheby's Old Master's paintings department explained that the Italian is such a "potent name" in the art world that even works that are only associated with him are likely to fetch high sums at auction.
He added: "The market feels strong, especially for the best, but buyers are price-sensitive."
Mr Wachter went on to say that while Russian collectors have entered the old masters paintings market in recent years "they were definitely bidding, but not so many were buying."
Da Vinci's Codex Hammer was sold at auction to Microsoft founder Bill Gates for over $30 million.
