ART

Sotheby’s, the world’s largest art auctioneers, has come under fire for lending Australian tycoon Alan Bond approximately $27 million to buy a Van Gogh from them at the world record price for a painting. The painting was Vincent Van Gogh’s “Irises,” which Bond bought for $53.9 million at Sotheby’s New York in 1987. Questions were raised Friday by art dealers and experts as to whether “Irises” would have fetched that record amount if Sotheby’s had not been willing to lend Bond money so that he could bid on the masterpiece. “In my view, it is a practice that fuels the markets and creates more money to chase after pictures. I consider it a destructive practice; it is like printing junk bonds,” said prominent New York art dealer Richard Feigen. Sotheby’s defended the loan, saying it has made loans to buyers and sellers for about a decade, although the loans are not a major part of its business. A Sotheby’s spokeswoman said that Bond has repaid “significantly more than half” of the money he borrowed. Christie’s, Sotheby’s main rival in the rarefied world of fine art auctioneers, said it does not make loans to either buyers or sellers.