Why Rembrandt started painting apostles?

New York, Jan 26: A Rembrandt painting of an apostle in prayer sold for 25.8 million dollars at Sotheby's in New York, falling short of the record price of nearly 29 million dollars for a work by the Dutch painter.

A spokesman for Sotheby's said the painting, ''Saint James the Greater,'' had been sold to a buyer who wanted to remain anonymous.

The auction house had valued the 1661 painting at between 18 million dollars and 25 million dollars.

The record for a Rembrandt is held by ''Portrait of a Lady, Aged 62,'' which was sold at auction by Christie's in London in December 2000 for 28.7 million dollars, well above the million to 8 million dollars estimate.

Sotheby's Vice Chairman George Wachter said last week that he did not believe there had been another Rembrandt done late in his life on the market since 1961. ''It's incredibly rare,'' he said of the painting.

The apostle painting was sold by the US-based Shippy Foundation in the aid of Social Justice, Human Service and Education.

''The lady who owned it was a descendant of Stephen Clark, who was a member of the Singer Sewing Machine family, and it descended in the family to this woman, who then gave it to the foundation last year,'' Wachter said.

Wachter said there has been a lot of speculation as to why Rembrandt started painting apostles.

''We have done a lot of work on this picture and discovered certain things which make me believe that he was commissioned to do it,'' he said.

REUTERS