SYDNEY (Reuters) - A painting by famed Australian artist Brett Whiteley has sold at auction for A$6.25 million ($4.6 million), setting a new record in the country and underscoring the appeal of art investments amid the uncertainties of the coronavirus pandemic.
"Henri's Armchair" is a chaotic depiction of Sydney Harbour with an elongated viewpoint through the windows of Whiteley's home in the Lavender Bay area of Sydney. It was last sold by the artist to lawyer Clive Evatt in the mid-1970s after Whiteley refused a request from the state gallery that commissioned the piece to paint over a matchbook in the painting that suggested drug use.