Venice artist's work sets auction record

LONDON, July 12 (UPI) -- Sotheby's and Christie's London auction houses broke records a day apart on sales of paintings by Venetian artist Canaletto.

A painting entitled "The Bucintoro at the Molo Venice, on Ascension Day" fetched $20.3 million July 6, setting a record for a Canaletto work, Artprice.com announced Tuesday.

The next day, Sotheby's surpassed the record by garnering more than $33 million for Canaletto's "Venice, View of the Grand Canal."

The painting was originally owned by British Prime Minister Robert Walpole, who put it up for auction in 1751.