Titian's Madonna and Child sold at auction for US$16.9 million

Titian's A Sacra Conversazione: The Madonna and Child with Saints Luke and Catherine of Alexandria sold for nearly $16.9 million at Sotheby's Old Masters auction on Thursday. (Sotheby's)

Madonna and Child (pictured) is sold at auction for US$16.9 million, the highest price for a painting by Titian.

A large-scale Titian painting of Jesus and the Madonna accompanied by two saints sold for nearly $16.9 million US in New York Thursday night, during an evening that saw several auction records set.


A European collector bidding by phone purchased Titian's A Sacra Conversazione: The Madonna and Child with Saints Luke and Catherine of Alexandria for $16,882,500, including auction house premium.


Offered as part of Sotheby's Old Masters sale, the 16th-century Titian painting fell short of its high-end pre-sale estimate, which was $20 million.


Still, the lofty price for the sumptuous, earth-toned oil painting broke the $13.6-million auction record for the artist, set at a London sale 20 years ago.