Rare Rembrandt Drawing Nets Record-Smashing $18 Million at Auction

"A Rembrandt drawing of a young lion has become artist's most valuable work on paper to sell at auction after it realized a breathtaking $18 million at Sotheby's New York on February 4. The work, Young Lion Resting (ca. 1638-43), which carried a $15 million to $20 million estimate, smashed Rembrandt's $3.7 million auction record for a drawing. Ahead of the sale, it went on view Paris, London, Abu Dhabi, Hong Kong, and Diriyah, as Sotheby's deepens its presence in Saudi Arabia after staging its first-ever auction in the country last year."

"Believed to have been drawn from life by Rembrandt, the work comes from the collection of Thomas S. Kaplan and Daphne Recanati Kaplan, who own the world's largest private collection of Rembrandt works-17 paintings, just five fewer than the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam. In total, the Kaplan's hold around 220 works by Dutch Masters in their so-called Leiden Collection, named after Rembrandt's birthplace. Young Lion Resting was their first Rembrandt acquisition, purchased through the New York dealers John and Paul Herring in 2005."

""This extraordinary drawing has captured the hearts of everyone who has seen it-a true testament to Rembrandt's genius and ability to breathe life into the spirit of this magnificent creature," Gregory Rubinstein, the auction house's head of old master drawings, said in a statement."

Young Lion Resting (ca. 1638–43) achieved $18 million at Sotheby's New York, surpassing its $15–$20 million estimate and shattering the previous drawing record of $3.7 million. The drawing toured Paris, London, Abu Dhabi, Hong Kong and Diriyah as Sotheby's expanded activity in Saudi Arabia following its first auction there. The work is believed drawn from life and comes from Thomas S. Kaplan and Daphne Recanati Kaplan's Leiden Collection, which holds about 220 Dutch Master works including 17 Rembrandt paintings. The drawing was the Kaplans' first Rembrandt purchase in 2005 and is co-owned with conservation charity Panthera.

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