Painting fetches $119.9m at auction

A price for a single painting that exceeds $100 million (3.7 billion baht) would scare most people away, but bidders in a New York auction didn't quit until a world record was set.

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Edvard Munch’s The Scream is auctioned at Sotheby’s May 2012 Sales of Impressionist, Modern and Contemporary Art on Wednesday. AFP

Munch's 'Scream' beats auction record at $119.9m

The only privately owned version of Edvard Munch's "The Scream" – one of the most recognisable paintings in history – set a world record when it sold for $119.9 million (3.7 billion baht) at Sotheby's in New York.

Heated competition between seven bidders took the price to the highest for a work of art at a public auction in just 12 minutes, sparking applause.

"World record," announced auctioneer Tobias Meyer after bringing down the hammer.

The previous record was held by Picasso's "Nude, Green Leaves, and Bust," which sold in 2010 for $106.5 million.

"The Scream" is one of four versions of a work whose nightmarish central figure and lurid, swirling colors symbolised the existential angst and despair of the modern age.

It was sold by Norwegian Petter Olsen, whose father was a friend and supporter of the artist. He plans to establish a new museum in Norway.

On two occasions, other versions of the painting have been stolen from museums, although both were recovered. Copies have adorned everything from student dorms to tea mugs and the work has the rare quality of being known to art experts and the general public alike.

Reflecting the excitement, Sotheby's spokesman Darrell Rocha said there had been an "electric" atmosphere during the sale of a painting that had been estimated to fetch at least $80 million.

"A group of seven bidders jumped into the competition early, but it was a prolonged battle between two highly determined phone bidders that carried the final selling price to its historic level," he said. AFP

auction – a usually public sale of goods or property, where people make higher and higher bids (= offers of money) for each thing, until the thing is sold to the person who will pay most; to sell through an auction การขายโดยการประมูล การขายทอดตลาด, นำไปขายโดยการประมูล
impressionism – a style in painting developed in France in the late 19th century that uses colour to show the effects of light on things and to suggest atmosphere rather than showing exact details ทฤษฏีการเขียนภาพจากความประทับใจ
contemporary – belonging to the present time ที่อยู่ในปัจจุบัน, ทันสมัย
private – intended for or involving a particular person or group of people, not for people in general ส่วนตัว
privately owned – owned by a particular person or group ของส่วนบุคคล,  ของเอกชน
version – a particular form of something which varies slightly from other forms of the same thing – ชุด, เวอร์ชั่น
recognisable – easy to recognise or remember เป็นที่รู้จักกัน, จำได้ง่าย
heated competition – involving strong and close competition แข่งขันกันอย่างเผ็ดร้อน
bidder – a person or company who makes an offer to buy/sell something at a specific price ผู้ประมูล  ผู้ยื่นเสนอราคา  
public – open to people in general อย่างเปิด
spark – to make something happen ก่อให้เกิด
applause - showing enjoyment or approval of something such as a performance or speech by clapping the hands repeatedly to make a noise การปรบมือแสดงความชื่นชม
auctioneer – a person who runs an auction by offering things for sale and taking bids (offers) ผู้ขายทอดตลาด
hammer – in this cases a gavel, a small hammer used by a person in charge of a meeting or an auction, or by a judge in court, in order to get people's attention ค้อนเล็กที่ใช้ในการประมูล, ค้อนเล็กสำหรับทุบโต๊ะของผู้พิพากษาในศาล
nude – a person who is not wearing any clothes คนเปลือยกาย
bust – a stone or metal model of a person's head, shoulders and chest รูปปั้นครึ่งตัว (หัวและไหล่)
nightmare – an extremely unpleasant event or experience or possible event or experience; a very upsetting or frightening dream ฝันร้าย
nightmarish – like a nightmare
figure – a shape, especially of a person รูปร่าง, รูปทรง
lurid – too bright in colour, in a way that is not attractive  สว่างไสวอย่างน่ากลัว
swirling – moving quickly in circles หมุนวนอย่างเร็ว
symbolise – to represent something; to be a symbol of something เป็นสัญลักษณ์, เป็นเครื่องแสดง
existentialism – the theory that humans are free and responsible for their own actions in a world without meaning อัตถิภาวนิยมl
angst – a feeling of anxiety and worry about a situation, or about your life ความเป็นทุกข์, ความเป็นห่วง, ความกังวล
despair – the feeling that there is no hope and that you can do nothing to improve a difficult or worrying situation สิ้นหวัง, ความรู้สึกสิ้นหวัง, ความหมดหวัง
age – a particular period of history ยุคสมัย, ยุค
establish – to start a company, organisation, fund, etc. that will likely continue for a long time สถาปนา, ก่อตั้ง, จัดตั้ง
museum – a building where objects of historical, scientific or artistic interest are kept พิพิธภัณฑ์
occasion – a time at which something happens ครั้ง, โอกาส
recover – to get something back that has been lost or stolen ได้กลับคืนมา
adorn – to make something/somebody look more attractive by decorating it or them with something ตกแต่ง, ประดับ
dormitory – a large building in or near a college or university, where students live หอพัก
mug – a tall cup for drinking from, usually with straight sides and a handle  เหยือก
rare – not often seen or found หาได้ยาก
quality – a thing that is part of something’s character, especially something good คุณลักษณะ
expert – someone who has a particular skill or who knows a lot about a particular subject ผู้เชี่ยวชาญ
general public – people in general ประชาชน, สาธารณชน, มหาชน
reflect – to show สะท้อน แสดงถึง
electric – full of excitement; making people excited ตื่นเต้น
atmosphere – the mood or feeling that exists in a place บรรยากาศ
estimated – thought to be a particular amount, size, etc. based on a guess or the best information available ประมาณการ
fetch – to be sold for a particular amount of money ขายในราคาหนึ่ง
prolonged – lasting a long time ยืดเวลาต่อไป
determined – wanting to do something very much and not letting anyone or any difficulties stop you ตั้งใจจริง, ซึ่งมุ่งมั่น
historic –  of historical importance ที่สำคัญในประวัติศาสตร์
level – a position or rank in a scale of size or importance ระดับ