Gerhard Richter painting withdrawn from Christie's London auction

Christie’s auction of postwar and contemporary art in London began with a bombshell: The event’s star lot, an abstract painting by Gerhard Richter, was withdrawn. That was just minutes after the world’s largest rough diamond failed to sell at Sotheby’s.

Richter’s 1994 ‘Abstraktes Bild (811-2)’ was consigned by an anonymous American collector, according to the auction house.

Printed on the cover of the evening sale’s catalogue, the work, made with a squeegee and rich in green and red hues, was estimated at £14m (€16.9m).