
New world record for Canaletto as view of Venice sells for £31.9m
A Canaletto painting, *Venice, the Return of the Bucintoro on Ascension Day* (circa 1732), sold for £27.5 million (£31.9 million with fees) at Christie’s in London on July 1, setting a new auction record for the artist. The work, once owned by Britain’s first prime minister Robert Walpole, exceeded its $20 million estimate and was purchased by an anonymous phone bidder. The sale drew five bidders from Asia, Europe, and North America, and the painting was backed by a third-party guarantor.

























