Three paintings by Paul Cézanne that a Swiss museum foundation said it had to sell to ward off insolvency fetched $52.5 million, with buyer’s fees, at a Christie’s auction in New York last night. Markus Stegmann, the director of the Museum Langmatt in Baden, said that after subtracting buyer’s fees, its parent foundation will reap 42.3 million Swiss francs from the sale of the three paintings, enough to keep the museum operating. The money will be used to create an endowment that will secure the museum’s future. It’s a relief.”The Foundation Langmatt’s decision to sell the Cézannes earned wide criticism before the auction. The Swiss branch of the International Council of Museums, which said the sale was a clear breach of its guidelines for de-accessioning from museum collections, called for the paintings to be withdrawn.

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Persons: Paul Cézanne, Markus Stegmann, ” Stegmann, “ Organizations: International Council of Museums Locations: Swiss, New York, Baden