$270,000

Rembrandt painted it late in his life when he was fast growing blind. It was a portrait of his son, "Titus in an Armchair," smiling faintly out of a dull background. Last week a few U. S. art merchants and connoisseurs fought for it at auction at the American Art Galleries, Manhattan. Somebody began the bidding at $50,000. Competitors nodded their heads. Each nod sent the price up another $10,000. Near the end, nods were only worth $1,000 apiece. Sir Joseph Duveen, semi-Semitic, ornate dealer and art authority, as might well be guessed, nodded last. "Titus in an Armchair" became his for $270,000, the highest price ever paid for a painting at a U. S. auction.

Another Rembrandt, "The Evangelist," was auctioned to Circus-man John Ringling for $78,000. The difference between the values of these two paintings is partly sentimental, partly esthetic. These and 35 other paintings were in the collection of the late Charles Chauncey Stillman of Manhattan. Their auction brought a total of $716,950.