Cezanne painting belonging to the Ford family secretly sells for $100m

A virtually unseen Paul Cezanne painting owned by Henry Ford's son Edsel has sold for a high of $100 million, the Daily Mail reports.

The early 20th century oil work titled La Montagne Sainte-Victoire vue du bosquet du Château Noir, which depicts a mountain range in the south of France, was snapped up by a private collector who chose not to be named.

It was part a private collection at the former residence of Edsel Ford and his wife Eleanor in Grosse Pointe Shores, Michigan, which now operates as a non-profit museum.

According to The Detroit News, tax forms listing the sale show the couple originally bought the painting for $242,000.

It has reportedly only appeared publicly outside the Ford House twice in the past 60 years - once at a 1978 exhibition in Paris and later in a 1990 show in Edinburgh, Scotland.

Edsel & Eleanor Ford House president, Kathleen Mullins, told the Detroit Free Press that the board of trustees received an unsolicited offer for the painting in mid-2013 but turned it down.

However, the buyer came back with other proposals and the Ford House's board, which includes Ford descendants and the family's lawyer, gave the idea more consideration.

“This was really a once-in-a-lifetime offer,” Mullins said.

“The family thought it was a way to guarantee the estate would be taken care of the way Eleanor would have wanted.”

Eleanor Ford, who died in 1976 - 33 years after her husband - wanted their property be used for “the benefit of the public”.

Mullins said the Cezanne sale was done within the legal terms of Eleanor's will and the board is not selling more art.

The buyer of the Cezanne painting also reportedly wanted a watercolor by the French artist in the Ford collection but the board said no.