Yearender: 10 'mosts' of arts in 2014

2．The most lavish spending of the Chinese rich in the world art market: Wang Zhongjun's purchase of a Van Gogh painting

Two staff members pose in a gallery with "Still Life, Vase with Daisies, and Poppies" by Vincent Van Gogh from 1890 at Sotheby's auction house in London October 10, 2014. [Photo/Agencies]

Van Gogh's 1890 painting, Nature Morte, Vase aux Marguerites et Coquelicots, fetched $61.8 million, far more than the pre-sale estimate of about $40 million, at a Sotheby's Autumn Evening Sale in New York on Nov 5, 2014.

Created one month before the artist's death, the vibrant painting is considered both a rare masterpiece and a savvy investment.

The buyer was Chinese film mogul Wang Zhongjun, chairman of the high-powered Huayi Brothers film studio. The purchase set off an Internet debate about lavish spending, with experts saying China's high-profile art buying has only just begun.

Related:

Film mogul buys a Van Gogh for $62m

Van Gogh purchase paints picture of China's rich