‘It’s our Mona Lisa’: ‘Going to the Match’ set to sell for $9M at auction
Mona Lisa’ set to sell at Christie’s sale to benefit the art center
The Mona Lisa is set to undergo a major makeover and be auctioned off to benefit the Art Center College of Design at San Francisco’s Asian Art Museum, after an auction house set a reserve price for the painting at $9 million.
The painting, called The Mona Lisa, made famous by Leonardo da Vinci’s painting A Saint is said to be worth about $100 million. In 2013, Leonardo da Vinci’s final work – The Last Supper – was sold for $450 million at auction, which sparked an “art mavens and investors” boom.
The painting is also the first major artwork to be donated by the Art Center College of Design, after the school announced its partnership with Christie’s to auction off the work at a private sale.
The college had previously held a public auction at Christie’s to raise funds to purchase the Mona Lisa, but decided it would become an important part of the education and outreach efforts at the Art Center College of Design.
Now, a full-size replica of the painting will be included in the sales, with the proceeds going to the college.
“It’s a great opportunity for us,” Christina Cianciola, the dean of the school, told Fox5. “The university has decided that this was a really valuable work. We’re just excited to have it and to have it go to the college.”
The college has been working since 2013 to fundraise $5 million, and now has raised $4.5 million, and the Christie’s auction will help boost that campaign.
The painting itself is said to be worth about $100 million, although it’s been in public collections since the 18th century.
The painting is owned by the Louvre in Paris, and is part of a museum’s private collection.
“Going to the Match” event at