AMSTERDAM.- Todays sale of 19th Century European Painting at Sothebys Amsterdam brought 1,586,925 ($2,312,848), within pre-sale expectations (est. 1.5 2 million). The auction achieved sell- through rates of 46.9% by lot and 69.2% by value, and set three new artist records. The highest price achieved was for Winter in the Streets of a Dutch Town painted by Willem Koekkoek (1839-1895), one of the most distinguished painters of townscapes, which realised 228,750 ($333,389) against a pre- sale estimate of 100,000 150,000. Koekkoeks works were greatly admired all over Europe for their nostalgic mood and uniquely refined and detailed style of painting. This painting is an impressive example, not only because of its size, but also because of its ability to capture Holland’s Age of Romanticism. Speaking after the sale, Mrs. Eveline van Oirschot, Chairman