Eric Clapton Sells Gerhard Richter Painting for $34 Million

Michael Haskoor

After enriching his estate even further, it appears that Eric Clapton is not at any sort of Crossroads, especially the one he sings about. At the Sotheby’s auction in London last week, the musician sold a Gerhard Richter abstract titled “Abstraktes Bild (809-4)” for an astounding $34 million. This marks a new record as the highest purchased artwork sold by a living artist. As Clapton has donated a large amount of his proceeds from the sale of his instruments, amplifiers and memorabilia to benefit his co-founded rehab center, the Crossroads Center, for recovery from drug addiction and alcoholism in the past, he is likely to contribute again.

Purchased by Clapton in 2001 for a mere $3.4 million and only projected to sell for around $19 million, this sale surprised auctioneers. The painting was completed in the mid-1990’s as part of a series of four, three of which the musician owns. The fourth belongs to the Tate and the National Galleries of Scotland. The artist Gerhard Richter’s work has included the album artwork for Sonic Youth’s 1988 LP titled Daydream Nation.