Vincent van Gogh painting sells for $61.8 million (N9.88 billion) at New York auction

A rare piece of artwork by legendary Dutch painter, Vincent van Gogh (painted weeks before his death in July 1890) sold for $61.8 million (N9.88bn) yesterday (Tuesday, November 4) at the New York fall art auctions of impressionist and modern art.

The 1890 painting (Still Life, Vase With Daisies and Poppies) had been expected to fetch between $30 and $50 million (N4.8bn-N8bn) at the evening sale in Manhattan (New York).

Van Gogh painted the bouquet of wildflowers at the French home of his physician, Dr Paul Gachet, in 1890.