An iconic Paul Gauguin painting of two Tahitian girls was sold privately by a Swiss collection for a reported $300 million, ranking it among the highest prices ever paid for a work of art, if not the highest.

The seller, Basel-based former Sotheby's executive Rudolf Staechelin, 62, would not confirm or deny that the buyer was in oil-rich Qatar. The tiny emirate formerly paid a record $250 million for Cezanne's "The Card Players" in 2011. Qatar's royal family and its museum authority have been major players in the global market for so-called trophy artworks.

"Nafea Faa Ipoipo (When Will You Marry?)" dates from 1892, during Gauguin's coveted Polynesian period. It is one of 20 Impressionist and post-Impressionist masterpeices that the Staechelin familly collection had on permanent loan to the Kunstmuseum Basel.

Recent squabbles over the renegotiation of a contract between the family trust and the museum preceded the sale. Staechelin decided to "diversify his assets" by offering up the Gauguin. The painting will tour a few exhibitions worldwide before heading to its new owner next January.