$2.86 Million Paid for Bust of Jefferson

A plaster bust of Thomas Jefferson, later used as the model for the third President’s profile on the nickel, was auctioned Friday for $2.86 million, the most ever bid for a pre-20th-Century sculpture.

The 28 3/4-inch-high bust, made in 1789 when Jefferson was minister to France, was sold at Christie’s auction house to an anonymous collector, spokeswoman Robin Riley said. The bust, by Jean Antoine Houdon, “is considered the definitive image of Jefferson’s likeness,” she said.

The previous record was $1.01 million paid for a 17th-Century bronze statue of a rearing horse by Adriaen de Vries.