Aussie Surfaces as Buyer of Van Gogh’s ‘Irises’

Australian multimillionaire Alan Bond, a former sign painter, revealed today that he is the mystery buyer who bought Vincent van Gogh’s “Irises” for $49 million.

“It’s not just a painting,” Bond told reporters. “It’s the most important painting in the world.”

The 50-year-old magnate acquired the work at a Sotheby’s auction in New York more than a year ago but waited until his luxurious penthouse office in Perth was completed before revealing it.

The Van Gogh takes an honored place in the 51st-floor office, which has panoramic views of the city where Bond has built a worldwide natural resources, brewing, media and real estate empire, with assets of well over $10 billion.

Bond’s art passion for 20 years has been collecting French Impressionist works as well as building a collection of early Australian art.

With the Van Gogh high above the city are a Gauguin, a Renoir and a Toulouse-Lautrec. There is also a Picasso and Bond’s personal favorite, Camille Pissarro’s “Paysanne Assise Soleil Couchant” (“Peasant at Sunset”) of 1892.

“I started collecting 20 years ago,” Bond said, “and I’ve never sold a painting, although I’ve had some fancy offers for this one.”

In 1987 Bond was outbid by a $40-million offer by Japanese investors for one of Van Gogh’s “Sunflowers” series.