Billionaire Leon Black was the anonymous buyer of Edvard Munch’s “The Scream” for $119.9 million

[Ognir]

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-07-1 ... -ring.html

Jewish Billionaire Leon Black was the anonymous buyer of Edvard Munch's "The Scream" for $119.9 million at Sotheby's, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing people close to the private equity manager.

At the May 2 evening sale in New York, the 1895 pastel-on- board set a record for a work of art sold at auction. It was consigned by Norwegian businessman Petter Olsen, whose father, Thomas, was a friend, neighbor and patron of the artist.
Enlarge image 'The Scream'

"The Scream" by Edvard Munch, one of four versions of the composition by the Norwegian artist. Source: Sotheby's via Bloomberg
Enlarge image 1968 Ford GT40

A 1968 Ford GT40 racing car that once raced at Le Mans. It is estimated to sell for more than $8 million at a sale of classic cars held by RM Auctions in Monterey, California, on Aug. 17-18, 2012. Photographer: Pawel Litwinski/RM Auctions via Bloomberg
Enlarge image 1968 Ford GT40

A 1968 Ford GT40 racing car speeds down an open road. The car was used as a camera car for the 1971 Steve McQueen movie "Le Mans." Photographer: Pawel Litwinski/RM Auctions via Bloomberg
Enlarge image George III Musical Automaton Clock

A George III musical automaton clock, signed by Peter Torckler and made in about 1780 for the Chinese market. Featuring a movement that waves the elephant's trunk and flaps its ears, the clock was bought by a Chinese collector for 1.6 million pounds at Sotheby's "Treasures" auction in London on June 4. Source: Sotheby's via Bloomberg
Enlarge image Jane Austen Ring

A ring that once belonged to Jane Austen, the early 19th-century author of "Pride and Prejudice" and "Sense and Sensibility." Offered by a descendant of the novelist, it sold for 152,450 pounds at a Sotheby's auction of English literature in London on July 10. Source: Sotheby's via Bloomberg
Enlarge image 18th-century Italian Taxidermy

An 18th-century Italian taxidermy ostrich. Signed on a paper label by Joseph Vulpinus and dated 1785, it will be offered for sale at Christie's International in London on July 19. Source: Christie's Images Ltd. 2012 via Bloomberg
Enlarge image Joan Miro

"Peinture (Etoile Bleue)," a 1927 painting by Joan Miro. The canvas was one of 48 works on offer at Sotheby's auction of Impressionist and modern art in London on June 19. It sold for 23.6 million pounds with fees, an auction record for the artist. Source: Sotheby's via Bloomberg

A major art collector, Black in 2009 paid $47.6 million at Christie's in London for Raphael's chalk drawing "Head of a Muse." At the time it set an auction record for a work on paper and became the priciest work at auction that year. Black is a trustee of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Charles Zehren, a Black spokesman, declined to comment.
'Le Mans'

A Ford GT40 Le Mans racer is estimated to sell for more than $8 million at classic-car auctions in California.

The works Gulf/Mirage, finished in trademark powder blue with a marigold stripe, was raced by Jacky Ickx at Daytona and Le Mans trials in 1968. It was later used as the camera car in Steve McQueen's 1971 film "Le Mans," said RM Auctions, who will be offering the Ford in its Monterey sale on August 17-18.
Ferrari Target

The GT40 was created by Ford in the early 1960s to beat Ferrari at long-distance sports car races, after the U.S. auto giant failed to buy the Italian company in 1963.

"They're fabulous motor cars," said Adrian Hamilton, chairman of the Hampshire-based dealer Duncan Hamilton & Co., who sold this same Gulf/Mirage works example for about 25,000 pounds in 1983. "The values are vastly different from Ferraris. Italian racers have an extra excitement and flair."

An apple-green 1962 Ferrari 250 GTO made for the race driver Stirling Moss sold in a private transaction for a record $35 million in May. The Ferrari 250 Testa Rossa in which the U.S. driver Phil Hill won the 1958 Le Mans 24-Hour race was sold by the French collector Pierre Bardinon for about $25 million in May, according to anamera.com, which tracks classic car prices.

The RM sale also includes a 1967 GT40 Mk.I, one of 31 road cars produced. Lacking a Le Mans history, and a Steve McQueen connection, this is estimated at $2.3 million to $2.7 million.