Vermeer sells for $30.1 million

The first painting by the Dutch Old Master Jan Vermeer to be sold at an auction in more than 80 years was bought for more than $30.1 million Wednesday.

The 10-by-8-inch picture, “Young Woman Seated at the Virginals,” far exceeded the reserve price of $5.5 million when it went under the hammer at Sotheby’s in central London.

A company spokeswoman said it was sold to an anonymous buyer for $30,101,472, including a buyer’s premium.

The painting is now the only accepted Vermeer work in private hands, Sotheby’s said. The buyer’s name was not disclosed.

The J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles did not buy or bid on the Vermeer, spokeswoman Pamela Johnson said Thursday, although its curator of paintings, Scott J. Schaefer, attended the auction out of professional interest.