Actor and art collector Brad Pitt popped up in Switzerland on Tuesday at Art Basel.

Apparently Pitt laid down around $1 million on new artwork and purchased a Neo Rauch 9-foot rainbow-colored racetrack painting.

The 1998 painting depicts a swirling view of a driver behind a red, Formula One-style race-car, with workers nearby carrying coloured hoses.

WSJ writer Kelly Crow states: “After eyeing the 9-foot-wide work for several minutes, Pitt rubbed his goatee, fiddled with his tweed driving cap, and walked away.”

But Pitt returned minutes later with Eli and Edythe Broad, the major Los Angeles collectors, who actually triggered Pitt’s art purchase by telling the actor that if he didn’t buy it, they probably would.

The four day art fair Art 40 Basel features more than 300 leading art galleries from all continents, contemporary art works by over 2500 artists and it aims to attract wealthy visitors !

Also seen at the exhibition were Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich and his girlfriend Daria Zhukova, designer Karl Lagerfeld and model Naomi Campbell.

The star-studded fair turned out to be a hit within the very first hour, with the sale of world’s largest, diamond-encrusted sculpture by Takashi Murakami for $2 million. “

“There’s a mood of cautious optimism,” Jeffrey Poe, co-founder of the Los Angeles-based gallery Blum & Poe, said in an interview.

“It’s back to quieter and more interesting days.” Photos: Reuters