A painting by Mexican artist Rufino Tamayo that was expected to be the star item at a Christie`s auction was pulled from the sale Monday after a court ruling.

"Trovador" ("Troubador") was expected to fetch up to three million dollars at the Latin American art auction, but Virginia`s Supreme Court barred Randolph College from selling the piece after fans filed a lawsuit objecting.

The Tamayo piece was among four paintings, including a George Bellows worth more than 30 million dollars, that the college wanted to sell in order to help its finances.

The auction did set a new record for Spanish-Mexican surrealist artist Remedios Varos, whose 1959 oil painting "Exploracion de las fuentes del Orinoco" was sold for 1.27 million dollars. Her previous record was 825,000 dollars.

Twelve individual records were broken at the Christie`s auction, which sold a total of 65 items for 21.6 million dollars.

A sculpture by Fernando Botero, "Mujer Fumando" ("Woman Smoking"), sold for 1.6 million dollars, a record in the genre for the Colombian artist known for his rotund figures.

The Latin American art auction continues Tuesday at Christie`s and the rival auction house Sotheby`s.

Tuesday`s auctions include a Tamayo painting that was stolen two decades ago and was recovered in 2003 in amongst the trash on a New York street.
sections: Culture