The Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich is the mystery buyer of two paintings by Francis Bacon and Lucian Freud that sold for record prices at auction this week, The Art Newspaper said on its website, AFP reported.
It said Abramovich, 41, who owns English Premier League football side Chelsea, bought Bacon's "Triptych", which sold for 86.2 million dollars (55.4 million euros, 44 million pounds) at Sotheby's in New York Thursday.
Two days before, he purchased Freud's 1995 painting "Benefits Supervisor Sleeping" for 34 million dollars, at Christie's, also in New York.
Bacon's three-panel work from 1976 set a new record for a painting by an Irish artist while Freud's work is now the most expensive ever by a living artist.
The Art Newspaper said neither auction house discloses information on buyers but said "sources close to the market confirm that Mr Abramovich... purchased both lots, apparently for display in his London home".
"He has not previously been known to purchase works of art at this level. These purchases demonstrate how the balance of power in the art world is shifting away from the US," it added.
Abramovich, estimated to have an 11.7-billion-pound fortune from the oil and gas sector according to this year's Sunday Times Rich List, bought the Bacon from the Moueix family, owners of Chateau Petrus wine, the publication said.
The Art Newspaper, which is based in London, reported earlier this week that Abramovich's girlfriend, Daria "Dasha" Zhukova, is to open a new art gallery in Moscow in September and has long-term plans for a permanent collection.