Australian gallery buys early de Chirico painting

CANBERRA (Reuters Life!) - Australia's national art gallery unveiled a newly acquired pre-Surrealist painting by Greek-Italian master Giorgio de Chirico on Monday, but refused to say how much it paid for the work.

The small painting "La Mort d'un Esprit," or "Death of a Spirit," focuses on two biscuits on a bright orange panel and was painted by de Chirico in 1916.

National Gallery of Australia director Ron Radford said the painting was a major addition to the gallery's collection of early European Modernist works, alongside Monet's "Waterlilies" and works by Amedeo Modigliani and Sonia Delaunay.

"Impressionism to early Modernism is the most expensive area of the entire art market," Radford told reporters, saying the de Chirico work was acquired with the support of private donors.

De Chirico was known as the inventor of the Metaphysical art movement, which had a strong influence on the Dada and Surrealist movements.

Radford said the painting was the first European Modernist painting acquired by the National Gallery since 1993.