THREE deep-pocketed Chinese buyers spent US$116.67 million at an auction of Western art last week in New York, according to China Daily. They acquired three of the top five lots that were auctioned off at Sotheby’s evening sale of impressionist and modern art.

    The regularly held sale is where the auction house earns most of its revenue and records are often broken. The latest sale grossed more than US$368 million, nearly one-third of which was contributed by Chinese mainland buyers.

    Vincent van Gogh’s “L’allee des Alyscamps” (“The Alley of Alyscamps”) sold for US$66.33 million, taking the top spot.

    A Chinese mainland buyer won a hotly contested bidding race against another four competitors, including “an important American museum,” said Sotheby’s, which refused to reveal the identity of the buyer.

    Pablo Picasso’s “Femme au Chignon Dans un Fauteuil” (“Woman With a Hair Bun on a Sofa”) fetched US$29.93 million to become the third-highest paid lot of the night. It went to Chinese media mogul Wang Zhongjun, who also acquired a van Gogh painting for US$61.8 million at Sotheby’s November sale.

    Claude Monet’s “Bassin aux Nympheas, les Rosiers” (“Pond With Water Lilies and Roses”) was another star of the evening sale, with a US$20.41 million price tag. (SD-Agencies)