Focus on Triptych of the Annunciation and explore the Acquisition.
The IMA acquired this artwork one particularly hectic week in 1997, when they also purchased major works by Willy Finch and Richard Edward Miller. On December 3, associate curator of pre-1800 paintings and sculptures Ronda Kasl traveled to Sotheby's London branch to bid on the triptych. Relying on stealth, she stayed out of the bidding at first and allowed her competitors to dismiss her as a scholarly observer. She then blindsided them around the $1 million mark, battling it out with a prominent New York art dealer before securing the artwork for $1.25 million. After this triumph, she rode the Tube back to her hotel. The acquisition was funded by the Lilly Endowment and Anonymous Art Fund. As part of the IMA's permanent collection, it has the accession number 1997.138.
Willy Finch New York Richard Edward Miller Sotheby's London Tube triptych