William Adolphe Bouguereau’s 1882 masterpiece Fishing For Frogs realized $1,762,500, including Buyer’s Premium at Heritage Auctions on Tuesday, May 15, as part of the company’s $5+ million American & European Art event.
The price set an auction house record, becoming the highest price-realized for a painting in Heritage’s history.
There were several bids above the pre-auction estimate before the bidding settled, said Greg Rohan, President of Heritage Auctions, drawing a round of applause when it sold and showing that we’re capable of selling important works. We continue to make concerted efforts to broaden the reach of our Fine Arts department, such as bringing Brian Roughton on as Director of American & European Art, which has already proven a very good move.