Three Goya drawings rake in 4 mln pounds at auction

London, July 9 : Three drawings by Spanish artist Goya, presumed lost for over 130 years, have raked in nearly 4 million pounds after going under the hammer at Christie's in London.

Last seen at an auction in Paris in 1877, the drawings went for double their original estimate of 2 million pounds reports the Telegraph.

Rediscovered in a Swiss private collection, Goya's works were in exceptional condition as they had never been framed or exposed to light.

The drawing that raked in the highest amount was 'They Go Down Quarrelling', also known as 'Down They Come or Witches And Women'.

The painting, which depicts four women fighting as they fly through the air, one of them screaming in pain, set a world record price for a work on paper with an amount of 2,281,250 pounds. The second drawing of a man praying before a cross, Repentance, fetched 959,650 pounds, while the third, Constable Lampinos Stitched Into A Dead Horse, raked in 769,250 pounds.

Benjamin Peronnet, director and international head of Old Master and 19th Century Drawings at Christie's, said he was thrilled that people would get to see the drawings.

"Today's auction saw fiercely competitive bidding for privately sourced drawings of exceptional quality and condition. We are thrilled to have exhibited the Goya drawings to the public for the first time in over 130 years," he said.

ANI