A portrait made by renowned Spanish Golden Era portraitist Diego Velázquez depicting the country's queen in the 1620s, Isabel de Borbón, has been quietly pulled out of the auction block ahead of the Sotheby's "Old Masters" sale to be held in New York this February.
This development follows the initial news that the piece will break the master's previous final price record with its high-end valuation sitting at $35 million.
What Happened to the Much-Awaited Velázquez Portrait Sale?
The sale of the portrait, which stayed in a family's private trust in the US starting in 1978, was reportedly canceled because of "ongoing discussions" initiated by the sellers, according to the Art Newspaper.
This coincides with the painting's omission from Sotheby's website catalog, which was released last Dec. 21.
As per the art publication, there is an ongoing conjecture that a museum based in the US has possibly offered an undefined sum for the piece, something the auction house declined to comment on.
In an earlier statement from Sotheby's, it said that the Borbón painting may have been linked to a portrait of her husband Philip IV, similarly made by Velazquez, with the latter currently being held at Madrid's Museo del Prado.
During Napoleon's invasion in 1808, the Borbón piece was taken from the Spanish royal family's treasury, before it eventually found itself in a French aristocrat's collection come 1838.
It then changed hands and was once possessed by British collector Henry Huth, whose kin held onto the piece until 1950, when it was last seen publicly in an auction catalog.
Works made by Velázquez of this caliber and quality are usually procured and held by royal or institutional collections. Sales of pieces such as the Borbón portrait are rarely made, with the initial price tag reflecting its rarity.
Had the sale of the piece been pushed through, it would have fetched two-fold the Spanish master's current record of $16.9 million for his "Saint Ruffina" piece sold in a London Sotheby's Auction back in 2007.
