Nation IN BRIEF : NEW YORK : George Washington Sale Nets $2.6 Million
A life mask made of George Washington’s face fetched $1.1 million at auction in a $2.6-million sale of 10 historic relics that belonged to the first president. An unidentified American private investor was the successful bidder of the mask cast by French sculptor Jean Antoine Houdon, said Charles Moore, president of the Charles G. Moore Americana auction house in New York City. “I’m absolutely stunned and amazed that the mask, the clothes and chair commanded such big prices,” said Genevieve Marsh, who with her brother put the collection they had inherited up for sale. Since 1942, they had exhibited the memorabilia in Federal Hall, across from the New York Stock Exchange.
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