140 million dollars...

Fresh off of the news of the tragedy that foiled the sale of Steve Wynn's Picasso, it seems that another big whig - entertainment magnate, David Geffen has unloaded a pricey painting from his collection. The painting, Jackson Pollock's 'No. 5, 1948' has just been sold for a reported $140 million - which, if true would break the record set a few months back by the Klimt painting acquired by the Lauders.

According to The New York Times -

Reached by telephone, Mr. Geffen declined to comment on whether he sold the painting. Tobias Meyer of Sotheby’s is said to have brokered the deal.

The art-world experts identified the buyer as David Martinez, the Mexican financier who bought a two-floor apartment in the south building of the Time Warner Center for $54.7 million recently.

Mr. Martinez did not return calls seeking comment. Obsessively private, he has emerged as a megabuyer in modern and contemporary art in recent years, snapping up works by masters like de Kooning and Rothko both privately and at auction.

In October, Geffen sold two other 20th century painting - pulling in $143.5 million from the sale. He sold Jasper Johns 'False Start' to Kenneth Griffin (another one of those art buying finance schmucks) for $80 million.

To Steven Cohen, he sold Willem de Kooning's 'Police Gazette' for $63.5 million. Cohen was the hedge fund manager who, also last month, had been set to buy Picasso's 'Le Rêve' from Steve Wynn - for $139 million. As you may recall, Wynn put his elbow through that painting - thus negating the sale. Classic.