Wynn buys Cezanne

Thursday, May 8, 2003 | 11:05 a.m.

Las Vegas casino mogul Steve Wynn has bought his second multimillion-dollar art piece in two days, winning the bid for a self-portrait by Paul Cezanne for $17.3 million at Christie's in New York.

The acquisition came a day after Wynn won a bid for Pierre-Auguste Renoir's "In the Roses (Madame Leon Clapisson)" for $23.5 million at Sotheby's.

Cezanne's self-portrait has not been publicly displayed for more than six decades, but the piece is expected to be exhibited at the Wynn Collection in Las Vegas.

Wynn could not be reached for comment on when the piece would be displayed or whether it was acquired with personal funds or by one of his companies.

The Wynn Collection is at the former Desert Inn hotel-casino, next door to the construction site of the $2.4 billion Le Reve, which is scheduled to open in April 2005.