Circa-1900 Paris Metro guard rail auctioned for $27,500

NEW YORK (AP) - An Art Nouveau remnant of the Paris subway system has sold for $27,500 at auction.

The circa-1900 cast-iron entrance guard rail from a Paris Metro station was expected to bring $9,000 but had been entered without reserve in Christie's 20th Century Decorative Art & Design sale, held March 26, 2009 at the company's Rockefeller Plaza gallery.

More than 4 feet high and almost 5 feet wide, it was created by the architect Hector Guimard (1867-1942), who is considered the most prominent representative of the French Art Nouveau movement. He produced more than 140 Metro guard rails, but most have not survived.

Some are at top museums including New York's Museum of Modern Art.

Christie's did not release the name of the buyer.
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AP-CS-03-26-09 1715EDT