Steve Wynn’s ex-Wife Buys Bacon Portrait for $142.2 Million

It has been reported that Elaine Wynn, the ex-wife of US casino magnate Steve Wynn, was the mystery buyer of the triptych by Francis Bacon. The painting became the most expensive ever sold at auction last November when it went for $142.2 million.

Elaine Wynn won the auction for “Three Studies of Lucian Freud” at Christie’s in New York after a tense 10-minute sale. So far there has been no comment from Wynn or Christies.

Wynn has lent the painting to the Portland Art Museum; however, it is thought that it could end up at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art where she is a board member. Wynn is also tied to a number of cultural institutions in Nevada and Idaho.

Elaine Wynn was a co-founder of the Wynn casino empire and she has an estimated net worth of US$1.9 billion.

As well as the Bacon, Wynn owns works by Lucian Freud and her ex-husband’s art collection includes works by Rembrandt and Degas.

Next month another Bacon portrait, of his lover and muse George Dyer, is going on auction in London. It is estimated that it will sell for up to £30 million, however, it is not known if Wynn is interested.