A Raphael goes for $37.2 million

A painting by Italian Renaissance artist Raphael that had not been seen publicly for more than 40 years was sold at auction Thursday for $37.2 million. The portrait of Lorenzo de’ Medici, a member of Florence, Italy’s ruling family, had been in the private collection of an American art dealer for nearly half a century. Auctioneers at Christie’s in London had expected the painting to sell for between $20 million and $30 million. The portrait was sold to a private collector bidding on the telephone.

“There are only a few Raphael paintings that remain in private hands,” Christie’s spokesman Matthew Paton said. “We probably won’t have another Raphael again for a lifetime.”