Canaletto Sold for 2.8 million

A painting of a Venetian view by Italian master Canaletto has been sold for 2.8 million pounds to a private buyer at a Christie's auction in New York. Painted in around 1740, it was one of four pictures originally sold by the Italian artist for a total of one hundred pounds. Known for painting highly detailed views of Venice, Canaletto also painted London and the River Thames in the mid-18th Century. Christie's sold the painting alongside a number of Old Masters, with Filippino Lippi's piece The Penitent Mary Magdalen Adoring the True Cross selling for 1.2m pounds - 50% more than it's estimate. For the full story - click the title Irish Art