The 19th century painting “The Naughty Grandchild” by Nikiforos Lytras yesterday became the most expensively sold piece of artwork by a Greek painter, going for 1.08 million euros at auction in London.

The painting, which shows a grandmother talking to her grandchild, was bought by a private collector during the “Greek Sale” at Sotheby’s auction house. Lytras is one of the most respected Greek artists of his era. The painting appeared at auction for the first time and had not been available to scholars for some 100 years.

After it was first unveiled in 1888, Lytras reworked the painting, which originally showed the child in the nude, and, at the turn of the century, sold it to a private collector in the USA. Sotheby’s sold a total of 82 paintings by Greek artists in yesterday’s auction for some 4 million euros.