Dante Gabriel Rossetti’s Proserpine, was bought by a private collector at Sotheby’s auction house in London. Photo: Sotheby’s/PA Wire

Proserpine by Dante Gabriel Rossetti, described as one of the most recognisable images of the 19th century, has been sold for a record price for the artist.

The drawing, in coloured chalks, was bought for £3,274,500 (€3,910,874) yesterday by a private collector in the UK at Sotheby’s auction house in London.

The sale followed a fierce round of bidding, involving five international bidders, Sotheby’s said.

The artwork, on the market for the first time in more than 40 years, is one of the defining images of the Pre-Raphaelite era.

Depicting the empress of the underworld, Proserpine was considered by Rossetti as the “most beautiful of all his inventions,” Sotheby’s said. It had been expected to fetch up to £1.8 million.

Grant Ford, head of Sotheby’s British and Irish art department, said: “This is one of the most important Pre-Raphaelite pictures to be seen on the auction market in recent years, having only been in three collections since it was completed in 1880.

“There has been a resurgence of interest in Victorian art, not least in part due to the huge success of the Tate’s Pre-Raphaelites exhibition which opened last year and travelled to Washington and Moscow.

“Opportunities to buy the very best works by Rossetti seldom occur and Proserpine was hidden away in a private collection for over four decades.

Opportunities to buy the very best works by Rossetti seldom occur and Proserpine was hidden away in a private collection for over four decades

“Today’s record price demonstrates that collectors are hungry for pictures of this quality.

“We now look forward to selling inthe next two weeks three of the most important Victorian and Pre-Raphaelite oil paintings that Sotheby’s has ever had the privilege to handle, from the Leverhulme Collection.”

Proserpine, which dates back to 1874, was acquired by Glasgow MP William Graham in 1880.

It was reportedly last seen on the art market in 1970 when it was sold by the Stone Gallery in Newcastle-upon-Tyne.

The sale was part of an auction of British and Irish art, which brought in a total of £7,178,250. The second highest price achieved was £962,500 for Sir William Orpen’s Portrait of Lady Idina Wallace.