From correspondents in London, England, 08:00 AM IST

A portrait by Dutch artist Rembrandt (1606-1669) was auctioned for a record 20.2 million pounds ($33 million) Tuesday night, Christie's said.

The piece, entitled Portrait of a Man, first went under the hammer in 1930, when it sold for 18,500 pounds. It had not been publicly displayed for 40 years.

In 1958 it was donated to Columbia University in New York, adorning the president's office. It was later put in storage, until this auction.

The painting, created in 1652, was sold to an anonymous phone bidder.

(Staff Writer, © IANS)