SHARES

On Friday, Sotheby’s announced one of the top lots for its contemporary art evening auction: Francis Bacon’s 1981 Triptych Inspired by the Oresteia of Aeschylus, a large-scale, three-part oil painting that will carry an estimate of $60 million. Inspired by ancient scholar Aeschylus’s Greek tragedies dating from the 5th century B.C., the lot will be on offer at the house on May 13 in New York.
The artwork comes from the collection of Hans Rasmus Astrup, a Norwegian business tycoon and heir to a real estate and shipping conglomerate, and one of the ARTnews Top 200 Collectors; he is also the founder of a private museum in Oslo housing his collection of more than 1,300 modern and contemporary works. The proceeds of the sale will benefit the consignor’s family foundation, which funds the museum’s maintenance and development.