Austria: Painting by Ottoman artist sold for $1.6M

By Askin Kiyagan

VIENNA (AA) - Lady of Istanbul, a painting by 19th century Ottoman painter, has been sold Wednesday in an auction in Austria for €1.5 million ($1.6 million).

The auction was held at Dorotheum art gallery in the capital Vienna and the painting by Osman Hamdi Bey was bought by an unnamed bidder who followed the auction via phone.

Doris Krumpl, spokesperson of the art gallery, told Anadolu Agency that the painting was the most expensive one this year, adding that its value reached to over €1.7 million or $1.9 million, including the commissions and tax.

Krumpl stressed that Lady of Istanbul was among the prominent works of Osman Hamdi Bey -- a pioneering Turkish painter who lived between 1842 and 1910.

According to experts, the painting is of great importance as it is one of the first samples of full-length painting of a person especially in Turkish art.

The painter’s work from 1890, Koranic Instruction was also sold on Wednesday in London for £4.64 million ($5.92 million).

Girl Reciting Quran, another work from Osman Hamdi Bey, was sold to Malaysian Islamic Arts Museum last month in London for £6.3 million ($8.1 million).

* Writing by Sena Guler