Hayez 'Il bacio' sells for nearly $2M at Christie's New York

A version of Francesco Hayez's iconic Romantic painting 'Il bacio' sold at Christie's Rockefeller Plaza in New York for nearly $2 million (€1.655 million), setting a new world record for the artist. The oil on canvas (118.4 x 88.6 cm) was executed in 1867 and signed on the reverse 'Franco Hayez/Veneziano'. The previous record was set at Sotheby's London in November 2008 for the 1861 version commissioned by the Mylius family. The sold painting had been on view at Gallerie d'Italia in Milan until February 21. In other news, the Corriere della Sera compares the Metropolitan Museum of Art and MoMA: the Met reported $300 million in revenue in 2015 with a $10 million loss, while MoMA director Glenn Lowry received a $100 million donation from producer and collector David Geffen, whose art collection is valued at $6.2 billion. The Sole 24 Ore comments on the UK government's White Paper, noting that between 2008 and 2014 the UK creative industries grew 29% versus 12% for the overall economy, now representing over 8% of the British economy.