Massive windfall for Magnier in artwork sale

Billionaire John Magnier got a windfall from the sale of an Amedeo Modigliani nude at Sotheby’s in May. The auction house was not as fortunate.

The 1917 “Nu couche (sur le cote gauche)” fetched $157.2 million, an almost sixfold increase in value since 2003 when the Irish bloodstock tycoon bought it. Although Sotheby’s heralded the price as the highest auction result in its 274-year history, the painting was sold on a sole, prearranged ...