Elizabeth Taylor's Bel Air Art Collection Fetches $21.9 Million at Christie's

An extensive art collection of late actress Elizabeth Taylor has fetched a total of $21.9 million at Christie's auction. The collection, which was from the actress's Bel Air estate, contained rare works by major artists.

This includes works by famous artists Van Gogh, Degas and Pissarro which fetched competitive bidding by several interested parties.

Other highlights of the auction include a youthful self-portrait by Edgar Degas (1834-1917) and a large-scale landscape by Claude Pissarro (1830-1903), called Pommiers a Eragny. The pieces were sold for £713,250 and £2,953,250 respectively.

The top lot included an artwork by Vincent Van Gogh that fetched 10.1 million pounds ($16 million), including fees.  The painting called Vue de l'asile et de la Chapelle de Saint-Remy shows a view of the asylum where Van Gogh spent his last months and was bought by Taylor's father, who was an art dealer, in 1963.

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In total, the combined works by Degas and Pissarro fetched over 13 million pounds at the Christie's sale, more than double their pre-sale low estimate of 6.2 million pounds.

Taylor is known for her enduring passion for art reported to have been instilled by her father who was an art dealer himself.

Christie's has announced that a portion of the sale's proceeds will be donated to the Elizabeth Taylor Aids Foundation.

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