US: A self-portrait by the artist Rembrandt that was discovered only last autumn was bought by a casino magnate for a record £6.9 million (€9.9 million) yesterday.
American Mr Stephen Wynn bid by telephone for the masterpiece, sold in London by Sotheby's, and has said he intends to display the work in Las Vegas.
The £6,949,600 paid for the painting is the highest price a self-portrait by the Dutch painter has sold for at auction.
A Sotheby's spokeswoman described the atmosphere in the Bond Street sales room in central London as "tense but exciting" as the bidding war between Mr Wynn and another art collector escalated.
The portrait, which shows the painter wearing a beret and coat with a fur-trimmed collar, had been hidden under layers of overpainting for more than 350 years until removed by experts.
Rembrandt painted the work in 1634, when he was 28, but within a few years his style had changed considerably and experts believe he had the work restyled to make it saleable.
Experts believe it was painted over by a student in Rembrandt's studio, who added earrings, a goatee, shoulder-length hair and a velvet cap to make the subject appear to be a Russian aristocrat. Researchers spent six years removing the layers of added paint. - (PA)