At $46 million, a Norman Rockwell painting has set a record for a painting sold at an American art auction.

Rockwell crafted the painting, "Saying Grace," in 1951, and it appeared on the cover of the Saturday Evening Post, for which Rockwell worked for many years. Jarvis, Rockwell's son, was one of the models for the painting.

The winning buyer eclipsed another telephone bidder, who relented only after nine minutes of back-and-forth. The identity of neither buyer was known.

Two other Rockwell paintings, "The Gossips" and "Walking to Church," went for $8.5 million and $3.2 million, respectively.

Rockwell painted 321 covers for the Saturday Evening Post in his 47 years working at the magazine. The magazine paid him $3,500 for "Saying Grace," which readers voted their favorite cover a few years later.

He is also known for his artwork created for the Boy Scouts of America, most notably for the magazine Boys' Life.