A Turner masterpiece became the most expensive British painting sold at auction today when it was bought for $35,856,000 (£20.5 million) at Christie's in New York.

Giudecca, La Donna della Salute and San Giorgio, a view of the Grand Canal in Venice from the island of Giudecca in the Venetian lagoon, had not been in seen in public for more than 30 years when it was put on display at Christie's in London last year.

Expected to fetch around £11 million, the painting easily surpassed the previous record sum paid for a British work: the $21,153,800 (£12m) that purchased John Constable’s The Lock in 1990. The highest price paid for a Turner before today was £7.3 million for the late, experimental work, Seascape, Folkestone, sold in 1984

The seller of the painting was the St Francis of Assisi Foundation, a New York-based charity which was given the work by a European collector in the 1990s. It was bought by a private collector over the telephone after a wobble at $18m mark gave way to swift bidding.

Described as the finest old master to be sold at Christie’s in New York since 1989 and a perfect example of J.M.W Turner's enduring fascination with Venice, the work was one of three oil paintings made for the Royal Academy of Arts Exhibition of 1841.

At the time, Giudecca was described by the Art Union journal as "a glorious example of colour, leaving, as usual, much to the fancy of the spectator... absolutely extorting applause".

Before today's sale, Nicholas Hall, international director of old master paintings at Christie’s, said the auction had attracted a range of possible buyers. At top-level auctions, collectors are sounded out months in advance to test the market and secure the right contest on the day.

"We’re absolutely delighted," Mr Hall said this afternoon. "This is a great painting. It’s an incredibly rare painting and it fully deserved to make this record for the artist which is three times the previous amount ever achieved by a Turner at auction."

"In my personal view Turner is the greatest of all British artists," said Mr Hall. "This was a perfectly preserved example of his work and an absolutely beautiful composition."

The painting will now be delivered to its ninth owner since it first went on display at the Royal Academy. It was first purchased in 1841 by Elhanan Bicknell for 250 guineas, before being sold at Christie’s in 1863 for 1,650 guineas.

In 1897 the work was sold at Christie's again, this time for 6,800 guineas to Sir Donald Currie. His grandson sold it through Agnew’s to William Wood Prince in 1959 for an undisclosed sum and the work returned to Agnew’s in 1992 to be sold to an anonymous collector, who in turn donated the picture to the St Francis of Assisi Foundation.

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