ArtsForgotten boom: the legacy of Japan's 1980s art buying spree
Record prices pushed art market valuations forward on a global scale
Workers unpack a painting from Van Gogh's iconic "Sunflowers" series in Tokyo in 1987 after it was purchased by Yasuda Fire and Marine Insurance Co. for a record-breaking $39.9 million. © Getty Images
ALEXANDRA BREGMAN, Contributing writer
October 16, 2020 08:00 JST
NEW YORK -- On March 30, 1987, a painting from Vincent Van Gogh's iconic "Sunflowers" series was up for auction at Christie's London. Speculation was that it would go for as much as $12 million, nearly $3 million more than the last Van Gogh, "Landscape with Rising Sun," auctioned at the highest-ever price of $9.9 million.