[attach id=194784 size="medium"]The rare watercolour study by Paul Cezanne that was believed lost and last seen in 1953.[/attach]

A rare watercolour study by Paul Cezanne believed lost for nearly 60 years fetched over €14.3 million at a New York City auction.

Christie’s auction house said A Card Player was sold to a buyer who wished to remain anonymous. The price included the buyer’s premium.

The watercolour was a study for Cezanne’s celebrated series of oil paintings titled Card Players.

It was rediscovered this year in the collection of the late Heinz Eichenwald, a well-known collector from Dallas, Texas.

It shows a man in a hat and jacket seated at a table. Rendered in hues of blue and ochre, it was previously known to scholars only from a black-and-white photograph.

The French post-impressionist artist created the five-painting Card Players series between 1890 and 1896.

The preparatory study offers a rare glimpse into Cezanne’s creative process. The figure in the painting is that of Paulin Paulet, a gardener on Cezanne’s estate near Aix en Provence, France. It was last displayed at a New York gallery in 1953.

Christie’s said Mr Eichenwald inherited the work from his father.

Its presale estimate was €11.3 million to €15 million.