$590,000 For Dogs Playing Poker

[jeffrey]

From cnn.money.com

Two "Dogs Playing Poker" paintings cleaned house at Doyle New York's annual Dogs in Art Auction, fetching a staggering $590,400, the auction house said.

Before the sale it was estimated that the two rare paintings from Cassius Marcellus Coolidge's 1903 series of dogs playing poker would fetch $30,000 to $50,000, said Alan Fausel, senior vice president of paintings at Doyle, after Tuesday's auction.

After intense bidding, "A Bold Bluff" and "Waterloo: Two" sold to a private collector from New York City. The buyer was not identified.

"A lot of people came to speculate on the piece, a lot of whom were outside our traditional area of collectors," said Fausel, who is also the specialist in charge of the Dogs in Art auction. "It was a once in a lifetime opportunity."

Poker's current vogue is another factor that likely contributed to the sale price, the auction director said... Entire Story Here