A painting believed to be lost, La Surprise, a 14 inch oil on panel by 18th century master Jean-Antoine Watteau was sold in Christie’s Old Masters sale for a record setting $24.4 million.  It is the highest price realized for the artist and for a pre-Impressionist French painter.  In art historical circles, the painting was believed to be one of the best examples of Watteau’s work yet the only evidence that the painting existed was an engraving from 1731 by Benoit Audran.  The painting was discovered at an English country house by a team of Christie’s specialists conducting an estate appraisal.