Andy Warhol’s “Self-Portrait, 1963-1964” sold for a world auction record price for a Warhol portrait, realizing $38,442,500 at Christie’s.

NEW YORK — A just-concluded two-week series of art auctions devoted to important Impressionist, Modern, Post-War and Contemporary Art held by Christie’s realized a combined $557 million, underscoring the solid demand in the high-end art market.

In total, a whopping 88 lots offered over the course of the last two weeks surpassed the $1 million price threshold. Two lots—the record-setting 1963-64 Andy Warhol self portrait and a rediscovered Mark Rothko—exceeded the $30 million mark, and nine lots exceeded the $10 million mark. Numerous artist records were set—for Maurice de Vlaminck, Maximilien Luce, Cindy Sherman, Urs Fischer, Richard Diebenkorn, Cy Twombly and Anselm Kiefer, among others. Among the many landmark prices achieved, Christie’s also set the record for the most expensive photograph ever sold (Cindy Sherman) and the top price for any Warhol portrait.

“These sales were marked by strong, sensible bidding on the part of collectors, with moments of rational exuberance,” said Marc Porter, chairman and president of Christie’s Americas. “Collectors and dealers alike were committed to acquiring the very best examples of work, whether from blue-chip legends like Picasso and Warhol, or from contemporary artists like Urs Fischer and Marc Quinn.”

Among the themes and trends that emerged during the sales series was the continued demand for top-quality works by Warhol. Christie’s offered a total of 25 works by the art world’s King of Pop, realizing a combined total of $96,729,850. The photo-booth style “Self-Portrait, 1963-64”—the artist’s very first self-portrait—sold for $38,442,500 after a protracted bidding competition that auctioneer Christopher Burge quipped was “the longest lot in history.” The price with premium surpasses the previous record of $32.5 million set for a Warhol self-portrait last year. On the same night, “Self-Portrait, 1986”—from the last great self-portrait series the artist completed before his death in 1987—sold to a bidder in the room for $27,522,500.

Maurice de Vlaminck’s “Paysage de banlieue” (1905) recorded a world auction record for the artist by selling for $22,482,500.

Self-portraits by post-war and contemporary artists fared well overall, from Francis Bacon’s “Three Studies for Self-Portrait,” 1974, which fetched $25,282,500, to Cindy Sherman’s “Untitled,” 1981—which established not only a new world auction record for the artist, but also set a new world auction record for any photograph at $3,890,500.

Re-discovered works also inspired collectors this season, and Christie’s unveiled several significant paintings that had been hidden from view in private collections for decades. Leading the group is Pablo Picasso’s “Les femmes d’Alger, version L,” one of the largest works within the artist’s groundbreaking series of 15 paintings created in 1955 in homage to the masterpiece of the same name by the 19th century master Eugène Delacroix (1798-1863). Originally owned by the legendary New York collectors Victor and Sally Ganz, the grisaille-toned painting of a single female figure was offered from a private American collection and had not been seen in public in more than 50 years. It fetched $21,362,500.

In the Post-War & Contemporary sales, Mark Rothko’s “Untitled No. 17,” a rare discovery and heralded addition to the great Rothko canon, realized $33,682,500, while Roy Lichtenstein’s drawing “Study for Kiss V,” a study for one of Lichtenstein’s most famous paintings fetched $2,098,500. This magnificent work was acquired for a mere $10 in 1965 at a New York City “Happening,” and had been owned by the same collector since.

Claude Monet’s plein air “Les Peupliers,” painted in 1891, sold for $22,482,500.

Mark Rothko’s “Untitled No. 17” (1961) brought $33,682,500.

In addition to the new world auction records mentioned above, world records were established for the following artists, including:

• Maurice de Vlaminck – $22,482,500 for “Paysage de Banlieue,” 1905
• Cy Twombly – $15,202,500 for “Untitled, 1967.
• Richard Diebenkorn – $7,698,500 for “Ocean Park #121, 1980.
• Urs Fischer- $6,802,500 for “Untitled (Lamp/Bear), 2005-2006
• Maximilien Luce – $4,226,500 for “Notre-Dame de Paris,” 1900
• Robert Indiana – $4,114,500 for “Love Red/Blue, 1990.
• Anselm Kiefer – $3,554,500 for “Laßt tausend Blumen blühen! ,” 1999
• Marc Quinn – $1,202,500 for “Myth Venus, 2006
• George Condo – $1,052,500 for “The Ballerina, 2002
• Henri Lebasque, $1,022,500 for “Le goûter sur la terrasse à Sainte-Maxime,” 1914
• Jean Helion, $782,500 for “Sans titre,” 1935
• Alexander Calder – $602,500 for “Necklace,” 1939, a world auction record for Calder jewelry.

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Francis Bacon’s “Three Studies for Self-Portrait”

The Bacon pieces—“Three Studies for Self Portrait” (1974) and “Untitled (Crouching Nude on Rail)” (1952)—have been recently been exhibited in the United Kingdom before the sale for the first time, having resided in private American collections. It is expected to realize $25 million or more.

The arrival of these landmark works to the market—which feature Bacon’s timeless sinuous renditions of elasticized flesh that touch on the human condition and the fleeting nature of life—is buoyed by significant recent sales of Bacon’s work, most notably his “Portrait of Lucian Freud” from 1964, which realized more than $37 million in February of this year.

Bacon (1912-1992) painted only 10 self-portraits in the 1970s. In “Three Studies for Self Portrait,” each of the three distorted, guttural faces of Bacon is placed against a dark, muted background on 14-inch x 10-inch canvases. The work is one of the most anticipated lots of the Post-War and Contemporary Evening Sale and joins a cadre of important self-portraits to be offered in the auction, along with those by Andy Warhol, Cindy Sherman, Urs Fischer and Mike Kelley.

Bacon’s unequivocally timeless, richly-hued self-portraits convey psychological intensity akin to Rembrandt and Van Gogh. Bacon’s depictions of himself express with haunting power the existential nature of the human condition. Having suffered the loss of many near to him in the mid-1970s—including the death of his lover, George Dyer—Bacon embraced the cathartic exercise of painting himself during this period of grief, guilt and self-reflection.

Painted in 1974, the triptych shows the artist with eyes shut—in sleep, pain or contemplation—and varied in degrees from twisted expression to mutilation, offering the piece a powerful sense of motion, and fragility. This work was acquired more than 35 years by the present owner. It was exhibited in New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art’s in 1975 and at the Fondation Beyeler, in Basel, Switzerland in 1999.

“I loathe my own face, but I go on painting it only because I haven’t got any other people to do… [there is] nobody else left to paint.” Bacon said in 1975.

“Untitled (Crouching Nude on Rail)” (estimate: $10-$15 million), was painted in 1952. The work was part of one of the greatest art discoveries in modern times—one of several museum-quality works by Bacon that were rediscovered in the 1990s in a storeroom in Chelsea, London, where Bacon had left them in the 1950s. The discovered cache included one of the artist’s finest, “Pope” paintings, “Study after Velazquez,” 1950.

The present work is a sister painting of “Study for Crouching Nude, 1952,” in the collection of the Detroit Institute of Arts. Upon its discovery, Bacon expert David Sylvester hailed “Untitled (Crouching Nude on Rail)” as a masterpiece, describing it as “more poignant” than the Detroit Institute’s painting, which is “more controlled and conventional.” Sylvester further described the work with “Matissean sensuousness that evokes the flesh in that mood . . . combining eroticism and melancholy.”

Francis Bacon's “Untitled (Crouching Nude on Rail).

The malformed figure is half man, half animal figure. It is almost entirely abstracted, evoking psychological unrest with undertones of angst, passion and pathos. The expressive sweep and gesture of the work is symbolic in Bacon’s life and work, like one of his subjects and contemporaries, Lucian Freud. This work was acquired by the present owner in 1998, at the same time that Bacon’s rediscovered “Study after Velazquez” sold privately for the highest price ever paid for a Bacon painting.

“It is such a rare honor to be able to present to the market in one sale two amazing works by one of the greatest painters of the 20th century,” said Brett Gorvy, deputy chairman and international head of Post-War and Contemporary Art at Christie’s.” The Bacon market is truly global and we have witnessed strong prices paid in recent months. The rarity and importance of these two works will be very exciting for collectors and museums worldwide.”

Formore information about this auction, visit the Christie’s web site.

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This pencil and crayon drawing on paper was a lottery prize in 1965. The owner paid $10 for the lottery ticket and found the prize in a locker at Pennsylvania Station in New York. It is going up for auction at Christie’s next month and is expected to sell for $1 million or more.

NEW YORK – In a tale that could inspire anyone to collect art no matter the budget, a crayon and pencil drawing by the American Pop Art master Roy Lichtenstein, won by way of a $10 lottery ticket in 1965, will be offered at the Post-War and Contemporary Evening Sale at Christie’s on May 11 and is expected to realize more than one million dollars.

“Drawing for Kiss V” (estimated to sell for between $800,000-$1,200,000), rendered in graphite and wax crayon on paper, is the original drawing for Lichtenstein’s masterpiece painting “Kiss V” of 1964 and belongs to the artist’s most celebrated series of iconic portraits of comic-book-style dream-girls that he created between 1961 and 1965.

The drawing was acquired by the present owner at one of the legendary “Happenings” organized by the Artists’ Key Club—a group formed by a leading group of emerging pop artists in the early 1960s. The invitation for the event instructed participants to convene at the Hotel Chelsea in New York and register in a lottery in return for a key to a locker at Penn Station, famously undergoing renovation in 1965. Inside each of these lockers was a work that had been donated by artists, including Roy Lichtenstein, Arman, Christo, Niki de Saint-Phalle and Andy Warhol. The present owner bought their lottery ticket for $10 and that evening in March of 1965 found this masterpiece in their locker. “Drawing for Kiss V” has remained in the same New York private collection for more than 45 years and is a unique piece of history that captures the remarkable aesthetic and cultural zeitgeist of the New York art world at a time of revolutionary change.

“Drawing for Kiss V is a master work created by Roy Lichtenstein in 1964, while at the height of his creative powers,” said Jonathan Laib, Post-War and Contemporary Art Specialist at Christies.
“Lichtenstein has succeeded in producing in this very small work a statement that traps the viewer in a voyeuristic gaze. Through the use of a shallow pictorial space Lichtenstein intensifies the dramatic events within; As a viewer we are violating an intimate and perhaps even violent moment between two lovers in an ambiguous situation that registers somewhere between agony and ecstasy.

Laib goes on to say that “in this incredible drawing, Lichtenstein accomplishes much of what defines his greatest works; the lingering effects of this drawing are lasting, it finds its way into the crevices of the mind and lingers freezing time to create experience. Though small in scale this drawing packs a punch that is much larger than its physical limitations.”

In November 2010, Lichtenstein’s masterpiece “Oh… Alright…” sold for $42.6 million, setting the world record price for the artist at auction. The world record price for a work on paper by the artist was established at Christie’s London in June 2010 when “Collage for Nude with Red Shirt” sold for $4,451,217.

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From Reuters:
Mayan relic sold for $4 million is a fake?

Well, if you’re going to fake something, you might want to do some research. A purportedly Pre-Columbian statue of a Mayan warrior brought in $4 million at auction last week. The sale caught the interest of Mexico’s National Institute of Anthropology and History. Experts there studied the catalog and noticed that the warrior in question did not have the right height, posture or boot straps for the period. Moreover, the same experts deemed 66 other items bogus.

From Reuters:
Warhol’s Elizabeth Taylor portrait to be auctioned

From WMUR Manchester:
Liz Taylor Love Notes Up For Auction

And so it begins. Elizabeth Taylor has been dead only a week, and already the rush to auction has begun. Andy Warhol’s “Liz #5” hits the block in May. Phillips de Pury’s head of contemporary art Michael McGinnis says the 1963 portrait is “Warhol at his very best with a perfect screen, glowing colors, and impeccable provenance. She is classic yet every bit as cutting edge as she was when Warhol painted her nearly 50 years ago.” The second auction is not quite so high end. Seventeen-year-old Elizabeth Taylor was smitten with 28-year-old William Pawley Jr., so smitten that she became engaged to the son of a well-off American ambassador to Peru. The engagement didn’t last long as the young Liz quickly went on to marry Nicky Hilton. Sixty-six love letters written by Taylor are being offered in May.

From The Telegraph:
Burglar joined National Trust to ‘case’ stately homes before break-ins

Graham Geoffrey Harkin came up with an ingenious way to check out British mansions before robbing them. He joined the National Trust so that he could receive discounts, as well as scout places from which he intended to steal precious items. He got away with antiques worth almost $2 million. He was caught by his own greed. Harkin tried to collect a $32,000 reward for a clock he stole and kept for safekeeping in the trunk of his car.

From The Herald Sun:
Royal couple to be coined

Do you want a piece of the William-Kate collectibles action? Now’s your chance. The Royal Australian Mint has come out with a queen-approved coin celebrating the royal engagement. On one side is the betrotheds’ names, on the other, Queen Elizabeth’s image. Bet a lot of people would have preferred a likeness of Kate.

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“Mao: one plate (F. & S. II. 99) screenprint in colors” (1972) by Andy Warhol, pierced by bullets by Dennis Hopper in a “collaboration with the artist, realized $302,500 at an auction of the actor’s collection hosted by Christie’s on Jan. 12, 2011.

An Andy Warhol portrait of Mao, punctured by two bullets fired by actor Dennis Hopper, was the top lot in a collection of nearly 300 items from the actor’s collection sold at auction at Christie’s on Jan. 12, 2011.

“Mao: one plate (F. & S. II. 99) screenprint in colors” (1972), realized $302,500, garnering a new world auction record for a single print from the iconic Warhol series. In total, the “Property from the Dennis Hopper Collection” realized $14,741,657, including this month’s sales as well as the November 2010 Post-War and Contemporary Evening and Day Sales, in which more than 30 important works from Hopper’s personal collection were auctioned.

The January sale features 241 works of art, including pieces by major artists such as Warhol, Marcel Duchamp, Gerhard Richter, Annie Leibovitz, Helmut Newton, Kenny Scharf, and fellow actor Viggo Mortensen, among others. The sale also featured a large group of ephemera, memorabilia, furniture and decorative objects from the late actor’s homes.

“This special selection offerd fascinating insight into Dennis Hopper’s own collecting vision, which was grounded in the Beat Generation of artists whose careers were launching at the same time that Hopper’s own star began to rise in Hollywood,” said Cathy Elkies, director of iconic collections at Christie’s.

Bruce Conner’s “Picnic on the Grass,” fabric, printed paper, plastic, string, acorn, gouache and glass on masonite, sold for $96,100, nearly six and a half times the pre-auction estimate.

“Hopper was that rare combination of artist, celebrity and collector, with a keen eye for selecting works that have withstood the test of time,” Elkies added. “For both new and established collectors, this sale represents an exciting opportunity to acquire works by some of the greatest names in American contemporary art, with the added imprimatur of one of our most beloved celebrity collectors.”

Warhol’s “Mao: one plate,” a full-sheet, framed screenprint of the Chinese Communist leader Mao Zedong, is from Warhol’s iconic series of the 1970s. As the story goes, Hopper’s version is uniquely accessorized with two bullet holes—the result of a particularly wild night when Hopper mistook the portrait on his wall for Mao himself and shot at it. Hopper later showed the bullet punctures to his friend Warhol, and the pair agreed to call the work a collaboration, with Warhol drawing circles around the two holes and labeling them “warning shot” and “bullet hole.”

In addition to his long friendship with Warhol and the artist’s extended circle of West Coast artists, collectors and dealers, Hopper was deeply immersed in the arts scene revolving around the Ferus Gallery in L.A., which was founded by the critic Walter Hopps and Hopper’s friend, artist Ed Kienholz. By the mid-1960s, Hopper had amassed a sizable collection of works by those artists he was closest to, including Wallace Berman, Bruce Conner, George Herms, Ed Ruscha and Robert Irwin, as well as the East Coast artists Jasper Johns, Robert Rauschenberg, Claes Oldenburg, and Roy Lichtenstein, among others.

Wallace Berman’s “Untitled,” verifax collage, brought $42,500 at auction.

Other top-selling items from the auction includes:

• Andy Warhol, “Marilyn”: one plate (F. & S. II.27) screenprint in colors, 1967, $206,500;
• Bruce Conner, “Picnic on the Grass,” fabric, printed paper, plastic, string, acorn, gouache and glass on masonite, $96,100;
• Wallace Berman, “Untitled”, verifax collage, 1963, $42,500;
• Gerhard Richter, “Untitled,” graphite on paper, 1988, $32,500.

For more information about this auction, visit the Christie’s Web site.

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Andy Warhol’s hand-painted masterpiece, “Big Campbell’s Soup Can with Can Opener (Vegetable)” (1962)—an icon of Pop Art and one of the largest examples of Warhol’s most famous image of a Campbell’s Soup can—will be sold at auction at Christie’s New York on Nov. 10, 2010.

NEW YORK – Andy Warhol’s hand-painted masterpiece, “Big Campbell’s Soup Can with Can Opener (Vegetable)” (1962)—an icon of Pop Art and one of the largest examples of Warhol’s most famous image of a Campbell’s Soup can—is expected to the highlight of Christie’s upcoming Post-War and Contemporary Art Evening Sale, slated for Nov. 10, 2010. The piece is estimated to sell for between $30 and $50 million.

At 72 by 52 inches, “Big Campbell’s Soup Can with Can Opener (Vegetable)” is the first in a series of very rare, large-scale Campbell’s Soup cans—a subject matter that helped shape the course of art history in the 1960s. Of the 11 large-scale Campbell’s Soup can paintings, eight now reside in museums, foundations or are promised to museums, such as The Menil Collection in Houston, The Andy Warhol Museum in Pittsburgh and The Kunsthalle in Zurich. The present lot is the most important example to come on the market in more than a decade, according to Christie’s Post-War and Contemporary Art Deputy Chairman Laura Paulson, who says that Warhol’s soup cans challenge the traditional boundaries of art and life as well as art and business. Warhol believed anything could be touched by art: from the mundane, such as the humble Campbell’s soup can and Brillo boxes, to ubiquitous public figures and celebrities such as Jacqueline Kennedy and Marilyn Monroe.

Warhol’s Big Campbell’s Soup Can with Can Opener (Vegetable) “is a cultural icon and a pivotal image that changed the face of art history,” said Paulson. “With its impeccable provenance and freshness to the market, Christie’s anticipates the painting to be the most sensational highlight of the fall season.”

The Campbell’s Soup can has been described as the ultimate everyman consumer product. It is completely accessible and recognizable, making it a key icon of Pop Art. In this work, Warhol’s eponymous static soup can has been pierced by a can opener against a seamless background.

Conceived and executed in Warhol’s storied New York factory, this work has only ever been in the hands of three esteemed private collections. New York collectors Burton and Emily Tremaine purchased the work directly from the artist in 1962. In the summer of 1962 it was included in an exhibition at the Wadsworth Atheneum, Hartford, making it Warhol’s first painting to be shown in an American museum. It then moved into the hands of Ted Ashley, the then chairman of Warner Brothers, in 1972. Its current owner, Barney Ebsworth, acquired the painting in 1986. The proceeds from the painting’s sale will finance a church designed by the Japanese architect Tadao Ando.

Other Warhols to be sold in the Christie’s Post-War and Contemporary fall 2010 auctions include: “Campbell’s Soup Can (Tomato)” (1962, estimate: $6-$8 million), “Marilyn” (1962, estimate: $4-$6 million) and “Dollar Sign” (1981, estimate: $2.5$-3.5 million).

For more information about this auction, visit the Christie’s Web site.

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Andy Warhol’s “Holly Solomon,” the cover lot of the Post-War and Contemporary Art Evening Sale hosted by Christie’s, , is estimated to bring between $7-$12 million.

NEW YORK – Forty-nine seminal works by the leading lights of modern and contemporary art are being offered in a Post-War and Contemporary Art Evening Sale taking place on May 11, 2010 at Christie’s. Led by extraordinary works by Yves Klein and Andy Warhol, the auction will offer collectors highly important examples by Jasper Johns, Jeff Koons, Yayoi Kusama, Roy Lichtenstein, Chris Ofili and Christopher Wool.

“The quality exhibited by this sale demonstrates how much the psychology of the market has shifted over the past year. It has become evident that the world’s top collectors are eager to consign in a market, which is once again, realizing record prices,” said Robert Manley, dead of Christie’s New York Post-War & Contemporary Art Evening Sale.

Yves Klein’s “ANT 93, Le Buffle”( “The Buffalo,” 1960-61, estimate: $8-$12 million) leads the sale and is a monumental work from the artist’s celebrated “Anthropométrie” series. Standing almost six feet high and more than nine feet wide (70 x 110 3/8 in. / 177.8 x 280.4 cm.), “ANT 93, Le Buffle” is a dramatic work from the last great series created by the artist before his untimely death at the age of 34. Painted in the signature “International Klein Blue”—the artist’s specially patented pigment for which he is most recognized—it is a work that captures the artist’s fascination with movement, form and the artistic process. Over a giant support, Klein created the series by orchestrating the movement of curvaceous women as they writhed on the surface of the picture coated in his signature, using the female form as the paintbrush. Offered for the first time on the auction market, its sale coincides with the first major American retrospective of the artist’s work for 30 years, “Yves Klein: With the Void, Full Powers,” which will be held at the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Washington D.C., from May 20 to September 12, 2010 and The Walker Art Center, Minneapolis, from October 23 to February 13, 2011.

In addition to Klein, Christie’s will also be offering works from several artists associated with the Zero Group, including Piero Manzoni’s “Achrome” (1958, estimate: $3-$4 million) and Jan Schoonhoven’s “R60-27” (1960, estimate: $300,000-$400,000).

Andy Warhol's “Silver Liz” (1963, estimate: $10-$15 million).

The sale will include five works by Andy Warhol, and will be led by the iconic images “Silver Liz” (1963, estimate: $10-$15 million), “Holly Solomon” (1966, estimate: $7-$12 million) a stunning double self-portrait of the artist, titled “Self Portrait” (1964, estimate: $5-$7 million).

“Silver Liz” is considered one of Warhol’s most personal works, reflecting his passion for one of Hollywood’s most glamorous stars. It is a shimmering Pop icon and an early example of his silkscreen canvases. With impeccable provenance of the Ferus Gallery, Leo Castelli Gallery and the distinguished collection of Mr. and Mrs. Holly and Horace H. Solomon (from which the cover lot also comes), this painting is one of the most iconic pieces of Warhol’s work still in private hands. It was included in the artist’s ground-breaking shows that made him the most famous artist in the world, including the Ferus Gallery in 1963, the Institute of Contemporary Art in Philadelphia in 1965 and his first traveling retrospective in 1970. Central to his pantheon of Pop icons, which included Marilyn Monroe, Jackie Kennedy and Elvis, “Silver Liz” immortalizes Elizabeth Taylor as the embodiment of the cult of celebrity.

Yves Klein’s “ANT 93, Le Buffle”( “The Buffalo,” 1960-61, estimate: $8-$12 million).

Warhol’s “Self Portrait” also finds its origin in the unmediated snapshot of a four-for-a-quarter Times Square photo-booth. The distinguished provenance of the present work clearly indicates the significance of its place within the history of Pop Art, as it found its first home in the Scull collection, whose early support helped Warhol to become the most influential artist of his age. It is a further testament to the importance of this Self Portrait that it was included and prominently displayed in Warhol’s internationally touring retrospective in 1970.

“Holly Solomon,” the cover lot of the sale, is a nine-panel portrait of the legendary New York art dealer and socialite. In 1966, Holly Solomon was an aspiring actress who, with her husband Horace Solomon, started to build an extensive collection of Pop Art. As an avid collector, she became a well-known personality around the gallery scene. She already owned a Marilyn painting when she decided to have her own portrait done. The work is based on a single photo booth picture of Solomon and is one of the most celebrated works in the artist’s series of silkscreen portraits of art world figures and movie stars of the 1960s. It was unveiled in public at Warhol’s first major retrospective at the Institute of Contemporary Art in Boston in 1966.

“Andy Warhol’s portrait of Holly Solomon is pure Pop and comes from a period in his career when he was producing some of his most innovative and exciting work. His use of the photo booth snapshots allowed him to mix together elements of “high” and “low” art. The photo booth represented a quintessentially modern intersection of mass entertainment and private selfcontemplation”, said Robert Manley, head of Christie’s Pop department.

Untitled Composition (Figures with Sunset),” Roy Lichtenstein (1977, estimate: $2.5-$3 million).

“Untitled Composition (Figures with Sunset),” Roy Lichtenstein (1977, estimate: $2.5-$3 million), is one of the artist’s most significant works of the 1970s. Part of his “Surrealist” series, “Untitled Composition (Figures with Sunset)” is one of eight mural-sized works from the series he began in 1977 and completed 18 months later. Since the beginning of his career, Lichtenstein had established a dialogue with modern masters within his work. This painting demonstrates a great range of influence from his artistic role models, including allusions to the surrealist works of Magritte, Picasso and Leger, which he also combines with references to his own work. The work is an exhilarating blend of wit and symbols realized in his iconic comic book style. Additional pop masterpieces within the evening sale will include Jasper Johns’ “Figure 0” (1959, estimate: $3-$4 million), Robert Rauschenberg’s “Untitled” (1954, estimate: $3.5-$4.5 million) and Wayne Thiebaud’s “Coming and Going” (2006, estimate: $1.8-$2.5 million).

Christopher Wool’s “Blue Fool” (1990, estimate $1.5-$2 million)

For this sale, Christies is also offering three extraordinary paintings by internationally acclaimed contemporary artists, including American Christopher Wool’s “Blue Fool” (1990, estimate $1.5-$2 million), British artist Chris Ofili’s “Dead Monkey – Sex and Drugs” (2001, estimate: $1-$1.5 million) and German Neo Rauch’s “Suche” (2004, estimate: $800,000-$1.2 million). Executed in 1990, “Blue Fool” is a quintessential example of Wool’s celebrated word paintings, and at 108 inches tall, is one of the artist’s largest. Its outsized capital letters leap out off the wall at a volume loud enough to be heard over the noise of the city. The aesthetics are clear and explicit, but the work’s meaning remains more ambiguous.

Ofili’s “Dead Monkey – Sex and Drugs” is the final canvas from a trio of paintings called “Monkey Magic.” The painting encompasses many of the personal and artistic challenges the artist was facing at this pivotal point in his career. Superbly representing Ofili’s unique ability to mix racial, religious and cultural themes to produce works of amazing beauty, it became one of his favorite works.

Rauch’s status as one of the most important painters working today is currently being underscored by a retrospective spanning two museums, the Pinakothek der Moderne in Munich and the Museum der bildenden Künste of his native Leipzig, to celebrate his 50th birthday. Painted in 2004, the monumental “Suche” represents one of his finest and most complex paintings from a moment when his work began to take on new scale and ambition, specifically looking at nineteenth century narrative painting. The title “Suche” means “search” and for Rauch, painting is a quest in its own right, an organic process by which the various elements on the canvas suggest themselves, rearrange themselves, and finally coalesce to form a single dreamlike narrative. In “Suche,” Rauch is mining his own rich seam of memories and images, rearranging them and reconfiguring them in such a way as to create an image that, while rooted in his own personal iconography, has a gnawing relevance to all viewers.

Yayoi Kusama’s “No. G.A. White” (1960, estimate: $1.5-$2 million).

“No. G.A. White” (1960, estimate: $1.5-$2 million) is a striking example of Yayoi Kusama’s “Infinity Nets” series in which she combines lace-like painting with swathes of impasto to produce a work of touching delicacy. Recently rediscovered in a private collection, this picture was purchased by the late Mary Louise Freeman, who acquired the work on a whim from one of Kusama’s first U.S. solo shows at the Gres Gallery in 1960, the gallery which was responsible for introducing Kusama’s work to the American art market. “No. G.A. White” was the first and last work that Freeman ever purchased, and it has remained a point of pride within her family home for the past 50 years.

Kusama’s enthusiastic and energetic application of paint to the canvas clearly has its roots in Abstract Expressionism, but the piece’s machine-like repetition and purity also appealed to artists who later became involved in minimalism, such as Donald Judd who championed and collected her work. In addition to the Zero Group with which she exhibited, Kusama was also an inspiration to artists who belonged to the Post-Minimalist movement, such as Eva Hesse, as she provided a more sensual and organic repetition that departed from the industrial aesthetic of minimalism. “No. Red Q” (1960, estimate: $1-$1.5 million) is another magnificent example of Kusama’s appreciation for both the physical and psychological properties of color.

Lee Bontecou's “Untitled” (1962, estimate: $2-$3 million).

Also featured is Lee Bontecou’s “Untitled” (1962, estimate: $2-$3 million), the most important sculpture from the artist to come to auction. Bontecou’s materials—gaping orifices of steel and canvas pulled and stitched like skin—evoke both industrial technology as well as metaphors for the body. In these groundbreaking works, Bontecou built up a heavy armature of metal, which she then covered in scraps of canvas and an array of industrial materials and objects, including screws, zippers, pipes, saw teeth, fan blades and even helmets and masks. The result is a highly charged assemblage, which thrusts outward into the viewer’s space with a distinctly aggressive energy. The work comes from the celebrated Abrams Family collection, who acquired the work 40 years ago. The offering coincides with Lee Bontecou’s exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art, “Lee Bontecou: All Freedom in Every Sense,” April 16-August 30, 2010.

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From the Honolulu Star-Bulletin:
Own a piece of ‘Lost’

Once in a while, a TV series comes along that has viewers glued to the set and salivating for the next episode. “The X-Files” was such a cult favorite. “Lost”—at least for the first few seasons—is another. Now “Lost” fans can buy some of the show’s props as it is wraps up its final season. The Madonna figures that a character used to smuggle heroin. Kate’s toy plane. A Dhramaville foam submarine. The Web auction will be conducted in June.

From The Associated Press via Auction Central News:
Resistance is futile for frustrated ‘Star Trek’ fan

A Trenton, N.J., Trekkie was more than happy to fork over $24,000 at auction for purportedly authentic “Star Trek” memorabilia. Then he ran into Brent Spiner, the actor who played Data on “The Next Generation.” Spiner looked at the visor the Trekkie had bought and said it was a fake. Since hell hath no fury like a “Star Trek” fan fooled, he sued Christie’s and CBS Consumer Products for $7 million. A New Jersey court apparently failed to understand the enormity of the Trekkie’s pain and ruled he could only recover the cost of two of the items he bought.

From Bloomberg:
Raphael’s $47.5 Million Muse Beats Matisse to Top 2009 Prices

The winner of the 2009 auction sweepstakes, a chalk drawing by Raphael. Coming in second, a Matisse still life. Coming in third, Andy Warhol’s dollar bills painting. Buyers went for Old Masters, top-quality 20th-century pieces, jewelry and wine. They, for the most part, eschewed a lot of contemporary art.

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From The Associated Press:
Byron letters get nearly $460,000 at UK auction

To put it delicately, Romantic poet Lord Byron was a rake who racked up big gambling debts, had serial affairs and was characterized as “mad, bad and dangerous to know.” Fifteen letters written by Byron chronicling his love affairs and his dog sold to an anonymous bidder.

From The New York Times:
Thanks for the Memories, Andy Warhol

In 1965, a high-school senior ventured into Andy Warhol’s Factory to gather information for a paper. Next thing she knew, she was hired as a receptionist. She worked so diligently that Warhol gave her a self-portrait. Fast forward to today, the portrait will be auctioned at Sotheby’s next week. Estimate? Between $1 million and $1.5 million.

From The Times (UK):
Prince Michael of Kent’s christening set included in £1m heirloom auction

British royalty appear to be looking for cash in their attics. More than 300 lots inherited by the Duke of Kent, Prince Michael of Kent and Princess Alexandra from their parents Prince George and Princess Marina are going under the hammer. The timing of the sale may be because Prince Michael and Princess Alexandra will have to start paying for their apartment in Kensington Palace next year. Times are tough for everyone. Let’s hope Queen Elizabeth won’t have to rent out her corgis.

From The Associated Press via Auction Central News:
Miniature portrait of Peter the Great sells for $1.3M in NYC

In more royalty news, a portrait of a rather dorky-looking Peter the Great in a bejeweled frame went for 10 times more than its presale estimate. It is believed that Peter gave such portraits as reward for meritorious service.

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From The New York Times:
Insurance Waived in Warhol Theft Case

Hmmm. As noted here earlier, 10 Andy Warhol silkscreens valued at a million dollars went missing from a West Hollywood home. If the lack of a forced entry had L.A. police wondering, the new wrinkle in the case must have them totally baffled. The owner has said thank very much, but no thanks to his insurance company, which was offering him reimbursement. Huh? Richard Weisman says he doesn’t want the company going through his records.

From the New York Times:
Elvis’s Hair, Streisand’s Costumes Sold at Auction

In another update, that shock of Elvis Presley’s hair sold at auction for $18,300 even though there was no DNA authentication of it. It, however, was not the top seller. That honor went to a monogrammed shirt that the King of Rock may have worn for a magazine shoot. The presale estimate was between $2,000 and $4,000. When the hammer came down, the shirt sold for $62,800.

From Bloomberg:
Streisand’s Extra ‘A’ Sells for $8,750 in Auction for Charity

Bloomberg gives more details on the Streisand auction. One cute thing that sold was a wooden “A” painted gold. The clever Julien’s Auctions called it the missing letter from Barbra’s name. It went for almost 30 times its presale high estimate of $300.

From The Associated Press via Auction Central News:
Fabled French restaurant to sell surplus spirits, wine

If you’ve ever had the rapturous pleasure of dining at Tour d’Argent, which is perched above the Seine in Paris, you already know the restaurant has an incredible wine cellar. Since the restaurant has been around since 1582, it has had ample time to fill its cellar with 450,000 bottles. In doing some clearing out, bottles that the sommelier forgot about were found, though it’s hard to imagine anyone would forget several 1875 Armagnac Vieux. Much to the delight of wine lovers, 18,000 bottles will be auctioned in December.

From Bloomberg:
Raphael Drawing May Sell for Record $19.7 Million

If all goes as expected, a 12-inch chalk drawing by Renaissance artist Raphael will set a record when auctioned at Christie’s next month. The piece has notable provenance having been owned by painter Sir Thomas Lawrence (1769-1830) and King William II of Holland (1792-1849). The drawing has not been up for auction in 150 years.

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From The Los Angeles Times:
Fortune in Warhol Pop Art stolen

Ten portraits of athletes worth multimillions of dollars—including O. J. Simpson, skater Dorothy Hamill, soccer hero Pelé, Muhammad Ali and Chris Evert—by Andy Warhol were stolen from a Los Angeles home, and a $1-million reward for information leading to their return has been offered. Also gone was another Warhol painting of the owner, art collector Richard L. Weisman. There was no sign of forced entry. Stay tuned.

From The Associated Press:
Report: FBI probing ‘stolen’ Jackie Kennedy note

After Robert Kennedy’s funeral, Jackie Kennedy sent a handwritten condolence note to her sister-in-law, Ethel. In a long and complicated road, the note went missing from the Kennedy Virginia home and wound up at Heritage Auctions in Dallas in 2006. The FBI has investigated the note, which is estimated at between $25,000 and $30,000, as “a stolen good.”

From BBC:
Loan deal saves Leibovitz images

The soap opera of Annie Leibovitz’s tangled finances took an upturn for the famed photographer. She has been given an undisclosed time to repay a $24-million loan that was overdue. Leibovitz, known for the Vanity Fair cover shot of a nude and pregnant Demi Moore, along with many other arresting photos, was in danger of losing the copyright to all her work. Leibovitz has racked up heavy-duty mortgages on property in Greenwich Village and upstate New York.

From Bloomberg:
Williams Sisters Picture Goes Unsold at Open Auction

A LeRoy Neiman painting of Venus and Serena Williams was expected to sell at a tennis memorabilia auction for $60,000, but there was nary a bid. The auction came a day after Serena took exception with a foot-fault call, berated the line judge with an obscene-laced screech about how Williams would like to shove the tennis ball down the woman’s throat. It’s the opinion of dealers than the nasty outburst had nothing to do with no paddles being raised for the picture.

From The Boston Herald:
Polaroid to auction art

Polaroid kept a collection of incredible photos shot by the likes of Ansel Adams and Andy Warhol. Now Polaroid wants to auction the collection, and a lot of photo historians are not happy.

From The New York Times:
Hitler Paintings Sold

Before Adolf Hitler became, well, that Adolf Hitler, he had aspirations of becoming an artist. That didn’t pan out. So he went into politics. Almost a century after his starving-artist days, some of his watercolors (described by the auctioneer as “of rather modest quality”) went for $60,000. Maybe had Hitler’s paintings sold so well in 1910, there would have been no World War II.

From Reuters:
Michael Jackson glove fetches $49,000 in Australia

In 1996, the King of Pop wore one of his signature jeweled gloves in an Australian concert. Up for auction now, a bidding war ensued, and it went for big bucks. We have to wonder how many more jeweled gloves are out there.

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Flowers,” by Andy Warhol (1964), highlights the Christie’s First Open sale of Post-War and Contemporary Art, to be held on Sept. 23, 2009.

NEW YORK — Appealing to a variety of collecting portfolios, Christie’s First Open sale of Post-War and Contemporary Art will offer an array of exciting paintings, sculptures, and works on paper on September 23.

Presenting the opportunity to enhance an existing collection or start one anew, First Open kicks off the category’s fall season with works by some of the most sought after artists working today as well as a selection of works by Post-War masters. The sale will feature works by Andy Warhol, Richard Anuszkiewicz, Gerhard Richter, Ed Ruscha, Lawrence Weiner, Kiki Smith, and Gavin Turk, among others.

Leading the sale is “Flowers” by Warhol, dated 1964 (estimate: $500,000-700,000; estimates do not include a buyer’s premium). The painting’s subject derives from a color photograph of hibiscus flower blossoms that was appropriated by Warhol, who transcribed the hibiscus flower heads into a more pattern-like square by cropping the original image and re-positioning the flowers. Here, Warhol clearly took on the tradition of still-life painting, but combines implacable objectivity with an impenetrable graphic style. Highly expressionistic, the work conveys a preoccupation with degradation, exuding destruction and frailty at the same time.

Kiki Smith’s “Small Deer” (2001).

Among the contemporary works being offered is Kerry James Marshall’s “Terra Incognita,” 1991 (estimate: $300,000-400,000. Following the success of Marshall’s record-breaking work, “Our Town,” in Christie’s May 2009 Evening Sale, First Open will present another fascinating work by the artist. In “Terra Incognita,” Marshall combines childhood scrapbook memories with direct influences of African-American history. Seeping with historical and personal references the work depicts a waiter, floating in time and space, detached from his continent of origin, and culturally ship-wrecked in his new, imposed guise. Marshall’s waiter bears a halo, and could be interpreted as an angel or a martyr, like many of the crusaders for social causes and heroes of the Civil Rights movement to whom Marshall pays tribute with many of his works.

Gavin Turk’s “Brillo 5” (2003).

The sale has a strong selection of works by leading conceptual artists. Leading this group is a work on paper by Ruscha entitled “Stains” from 1970 (estimate: $120,000-180,000). Well known for his text paintings, Ruscha has constantly experimented with visual idioms and linguistic symbols throughout his career. For “Stains,” he used gothic lettering against an ominous gray backdrop, imbuing the work with austere and disconcerting connotations.

The sale will offer a rare, early sculpture by Weiner, “Untitled,” 1961 (estimate: $20,000-30,000), pictured left. Eschewing conventional forms of artistic expression, Weiner experimented with different forms of medium and often repurposed ordinary objects. By isolating a simple window shutter and stripping it of its original function, Weiner created a bold and beautiful work that transcends the banality of the everyday.

Sam Francis, “Untitled” (1974).

The selection of sculpture also includes Smith’s “Small Deer,” 2001 (estimate: $12,000-18,000) and “Brillo 5,” 2003 by Turk (estimate: $20,000-30,000), pictured right. Turk’s “Brillo 5” is an ironic and ambiguous work that is essentially a copy of a cardboard box. Once again, an unassuming object associated with the every day is bestowed with an elevated status through the artist’s quixotic intervention and ingenious reinterpretation.

Additional highlights include a work on paper by Sam Francis, “Untitled,” 1974 (estimate: $10,000-15,000), a cibachrome print by Richter “Guildenstern,” 1998 (estimate: $7,000-9,000) and a painting by Anuszkiewicz, “Soft Yellow,” 1976 (estimate: $8,000-12,000).

The First Open will also include works by Keith Haring, Mona Hatoum, Takashi Murakami, and Guyton Walker among others.

A complete catalogue available online at www.christies.com or via the Christie’s iPhone app.

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Pete Max on the cover of "Life"

Peter Max's Liberty Overpaint

29. Mary Louise McLaughlin and Maria Longworth Nichols

An example of Rookwood pottery

Maria Longworth Nichols

28. Roy Lichtenstein

Roy Lichtenstein

"Blam"

"Ben Day Dot" artist whose cartoonish mass media works often incorporated words like "Zoom" and "Pow!" Probably overanalyzed by the experts, produced color and bold graphic art for fun's sake.

27. Charles & Henry Green

Mahogany Libary Table by Charles & Henry Green

Charles & Henry Green

26. Donald Deskey

Donald Deskey

A desk by Donald Deskey

Leading American Art Deco/Art Moderne Designer who streamlined designs and pioneered the utilization of cork-lined walls, copper ceilings, movable walls, pigskin-covered furniture, linoleum floors, Bakelite, Formica, Fabrikoid, brushed aluminum and chromium-plated brass.

25. Andrew Wyeth

Andrew Wyeth's "Christina's World"

Andrew Wyeth

Realism painter whose intense and moving photograph-like images draw record crowds when he exhibits. A true American "Grass Roots" artist.

24. Eero Saarinen

Eero Saarinen

The Ingalls Hockey Rink by Eero Saarinen

Architect and city planner famous for the TWA Terminal at Kennedy International, the Chicago Tribune Tower and the St. Louis Gateway Arch. Many of Saarinen's designs have almost no straight lines, just flowing streamlined curves. 1960's type Futurism on a grand scale.

23. Robert Rauschenberg

"Retroactive 1, 1961" by Robert Rauschenberg

Robert Rauschenberg

22. Jim Henson

Jim Henson and the Muppets

21. Harley Earl

Harley Earl's 1956 Oldsmobile Golden Rocket

Harley J. Earl

20. Hans G. & Florence Knoll

Hans and Florence Knoll

A Florence Knoll lounge chair

Husband and wife team followed in the footsteps of Knoll’s father’s pioneering modern furniture design and interior architectural planning.

19. Charles Eames

The Eames lounge chair and ottoman

Charles Eames

Remember those futuristic fiberglass and cast aluminum stacking chairs from the 50s and 60s? He invented them. Eames was a tireless experimenter in plastic, metal, plywood and other materials; and in bold new forms he introduced to his innovative body contoured furniture.

18. Edward Hopper

Edward Hopper

"Night Hawks" by Edward Hopper

Stark realistic painter of American vistas, often depicted in a somber mood and devoid of life even when characters are introduced to his work; as in his famous diner painting "Nighthawks."

17. Willem de Kooning

"Unititled XXV" by Willem de Kooning

Willem de Kooning

Abstract expressionist leader rivaled perhaps only by Jackson Pollack, de Kooning is famous for the action and figurative imagery he introduced into his modern art paintings.

16. Theodore Seuss Geisel (Dr. Seuss)

Theodore Seuss Geisel

The Cat in the Hat

15. Maxfield Parrish

"Cinderella" by Maxfield Parrish

Maxfield Parrish

14. Gustav Stickley

Gustav Stickley

The Stickley Chair

13. Thomas Hart Benton

"The Ballad of the Jealous Lover of Lone Green Valley" by Thomas Hart Benton

Thomas Hart Benton

American regionalist painter focusing on rural and small town American "characters," often in a comical light.

12. Georgia O'Keefe

Georgia O'Keefe

"Red Poppy" by Georgia O'Keefe

Imitative Realist whose sensuous and spiritual depictions of naturalistic southwestern desert terrain became one of the most popular lines of poster and print images hanging in American homes from the mid 1960s on.

11. Jasper Johns

"Three Flags" by Jasper Johns

Jasper Johns

10. Frank Lloyd Wright

Frank Lloyd Wright

"Fallingwater" by Frank Lloyd Wright

Invented a new type of suburbia with his broad eve. Deep porch, clean wood Prairie homes. Master designer and pioneer of Mission oak type furnishings. A true genius with wide ranging talents that made him a celebrity architect.

9. Jackson Pollock

Untitled (Green Silver)" by Jackson Pollock

Jackson Pollack

The guy who, amongst other techniques, splattered and poured paint onto a canvas from overhead and called it art. Thing was, it is. Surprisingly, Pollock's work is almost impossible to duplicate. An artist who assaulted the bounds of art and got away with it, brilliantly.

8. Jerry Siegel and Joseph Shuster

Jerry Siegel and Joseph Shuster

Action Comic and Superman

In 1933 the two self-described "bespectacled, introverted, inhibited boys pooled their talents and dreams to create a revolutionary new type of duel-personality comic book hero they called "The Superman."

7. Alfred Stieglitz

"The Steerage" by Alfred Stieglitz

Alfred Stieglitz

6. Louis Comfort Tiffany

Louis Comfort Tiffany

"Tulip Table Lamp" by Louis Comfort Tiffany

5. Alexander Calder

"The Star" by Alexander Calder

Alexander Calder

Abstract artist famous for the development of "mobile" and "stabile" sculpture and producing art on a monumental scale.

4. William Van Alen

William Van Alen with his wife

William Van Alen's Chrysler Building

3. Andy Warhol

"Campbell's Soup Can" by Andy Warhol

Andy Warhol

2. Norman Rockwell

Norman Rockwell

"Rosie the Riviter" by Norman Rockwell

1. Walt Disney

Walt Disney's Pluto and Mickey Mouse

Walt Disney

Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, Snow White, Bambi, Pinocchio, Fantasia, Cinderella, the first theme park, the Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow. What do you get when you combine artistic flair, unparalleled imagination, technical genius, inventiveness, brilliant business savvy and add in a good work ethic, too. You get the "Wonderful World of Disney!" He practically invented the art of making art fun, especially for kids.

— by Wayne Mattox Antique Talk

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From The Boston Globe:
One giant signature for mankind

On July 16, 1969, a Saturn V rocket blasted off from Cape Canaveral. Destination—the moon. Before the launch, astronaut Neil Armstrong wrote a check for $10.50, repayment of a loan from Hal Collins, the NASA chief of mission support. In time for the 40th anniversary of the successful mission, that check is going on the auction block. It’s believed it will go for more than $19,000, the highest price paid for an Armstrong autograph to date.

From The Associated Press:
Hoarded art by ‘quirky’ collector could net $20M

Charles Martignette had a thing for illustration art, be it pinups or Norman Rockwell. And during his 57 years, he managed to indulge quite a bit in his penchant, amassing a collection of some 4,300 items. Described as a “character,” he needed a 2,500-foot warehouse to stash the art. After his death more than a year ago, a relative inherited the trove and then sold it to a group of investors. Heritage Auction Galleries is selling the collection this week and estimates it will bring in $20 million.

From The New York Times:
Obama Poster Photographer Says He Owns the Picture

The case of the Associated Press v. Shepard Fairey is getting curiouser and curiouser. The AP sued Fairey for copyright infringement over the artist’s use of a photo of Barack Obama in an iconic poster. But hold on. The freelance photographer who snapped the shot says the AP had no right to copyright it. So Mannie Garcia is suing both the news organization AND Fairey.

From The BBC News:
Constable fails to fetch reserve

Again, a story of a painting not being recognized as the work of a famous artist. In this case, last year, a bidder walked away with a picture for a mere £24,000 ($40,000). The new owner had it authenticated, and voilà, it turned out to be “Storm Clouds over Hampstead” by John Constable. Sotheby’s put the painting up for auction with a presale estimate of £300,000 ($500,000) to £500,000 ($820,000). When the reserve price was not reached, the owner decided to keep the painting.

From The Associated Press via The Denver Post:
Warhol’s Jackson portrait dropped from NY auction

The Michael Jackson death mania has affected a scheduled auction of his Andy Warhol portrait. An East Hampton, N.Y., house had put up the 1984 painting with a $1-million to $10-million estimate. Now with all things Jackson selling phenomenally, the official statement from the house is it wanted “the greatest number of prospective purchasers” to have the opportunity to bid.

From The New York Times:
Shepard Fairey Gets Probation

Shepard Fairey of the Obama campaign-poster fame is not going to the slammer for peppering public and private property in Boston with his art. Fairey got two-year’s probation and a $2,000 fine. The artist was arrested in February on his way to a Boston Institute of Contemporary Art party for the opening of a, yes, Shepard Fairey retrospective. How embarrassing. Still pending is the Associated Press suit charging Fairey used an AP photo in that Obama Hope poster.

From The Los Angeles Times:
I return Bette Midler’s stolen Emmy

Let’s say you really wanted the Emmy that Raymond Burr got for “Perry Mason.” And let’s say you were outbid, so you went for the Bette Midler Emmy and other odd memorabilia that went with it and got the lot. That was five years ago, and you’ve wondered ever since why the Divine Miss M would have put up her first Emmy for auction. You mention this to D-List Kathy Griffin, and whoa, Bette Midler’s people are on the phone.

From Forbes:
1,500-Year-Old Hidden Record Of Christ’s Words

The Codex Climaci Rescriptus has a history worthy of a Hollywood blockbuster. The sixth-century document with the supposed words of Jesus is on the block after a tortuous trek from a sacred monastery in the Sinai to Westminster College in Cambridge, England, to Sotheby’s with stops in between.

From BBC News:
Cartier-Bresson photos ‘not lost’

Henri Cartier Bresson, credited as the founder of photojournalism, was understandably upset when it was discovered that hundreds of his photos archived in France’s National Centre for Contemporary Arts were water damaged. Although they were supposed to have been destroyed, Bresson’s widow (he died in 2004 at 95) charges negligence on the part of centre since some of those photos are showing up on the black market.

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Items such as a Tiffany’s ladies’ tape measure—which now retails for about $225—can be worth $48,875, or a $250 gold-plated cigarette lighter can bring in $23,000, while a $95 stereoscope can demand $9975.00. The catch is, of course, that they are only worth these amounts if owned by the late Jackie Onassis or Andy Warhol.

A Tiffany’s silver ladies tape measure sells for about $225. But the one owned by Jackie Onassis brought close to $50,000. The difference, or course, is the fact that she owned that particular item, making it much more valuable than any other of its kind.

Not even the usual reasons for value, such as rarity or famous maker can top prior ownership to famous or infamous. How much of a difference such a provenance can make to any item is a mystery, even the most knowledgeable appraisers in the world who work for noted auction houses such as Sotheby’s or Christie’s can only offer estimates based on what comparable items with less famous owners (you and me) have sold for in recent years.

In the case of the ”Jackie O Auction,” many items surpassed their estimates by a large margin; to the extent the total sales exceeded estimates by 750 percent. The Andy Warhol sale, stuffed with items such as figural cookie jars and Fiesta Ware, more than doubled its presale estimates at nearly $30 million dollars.

As fame is fleeting, it’s unlikely these everyday items will maintain the values they sold for at such high profile sales. One only has to look back at past celebrity sales and compare the prices knocked down by the auctioneer at the original sale with auctions years later of the same celebrities everyday knick-knacks. After a while, even the most famous media darlings are slowly forgotten and interest wanes in their former possessions. But it’s nice to know that the rich and famous often have similar tastes as the rest of us.

Mike Wilcox, of Wilcox & Hall Appraisers, is a Worthologist who specializes in Art Nouveau and the Arts and Craft movement.

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Warhol for Charity

Tennis great John McEnroe’s winning $30,000 bid at a 1986 charity auction led to an acrylic-and-silkscreen portrait of him and wife Tatum O’Neal by Andy Warhol. Warhol worked from a Polaroid shot he took of the couple. http://www.sothebys.com/app/live/lot/LotDetail.jsp?sale_number=L08022&live_lot_id=27>Sotheby’s of London auctioned the piece July 1. Although it sold for far less than the expected $680,000, the hammer price of $481,535 with a buyer’s premium will go to benefit Habitat for Humanity. In a nice bit of scheduling, the sale was held during the second week of the Wimbledon tennis championships. McEnroe won this Grand Slam men’s singles title three times. Meanwhile, within the last month, ex-wife O’Neal made the headlines after being arrested in a drug bust. The Bloomberg.com article,“McEnroe to Sell His Warhol Portrait With O’Neal for Charity,” includes a photo of the painting.

Lawyers, Liars and Thieves in Jumpsuits

Warhol art made headlines again this week when The New York Times reported that another piece sold in 2000 for more than $3 million might be a fake. The seller is being sued by a one-time Warhol assistant who claims that not only did he make the piece after Warhol was deceased, but that he never sold the piece and is its rightful owner. Court papers call the seller, who was an artist and friend of the late Andy Warhol, a “liar” and “a consummate fraudster.”

In other art legal news, the Associated Press reports that a French citizen living in Florida was recently indicted for conspiring to sell stolen paintings for $4.7 million. In August 2007, Impressionist and Baroque-era masterpieces were taken from the Musée des Beaux-Arts in Nice, France, by armed robbers in jumpsuits and were recovered earlier this month. Undercover French and U.S. law enforcement caught the fraudulent art dealer in a sting operation that included meetings in Miami, Barcelona and other locations.

Home Accoutrements that Accost

What happens when a family heirloom owns you? An article in The New York Times Home and Garden section, “The Tyranny of the Heirloom,” explains how inherited furniture can lead to the shrink’s couch when prized antiques or paintings become guilt-ridden burdens.

20 Million Olympic Collectibles

A bed that belonged to Houston Rockets’ 7’6” star center Yao Ming is just one of 20 million souvenir collectibles for sale by the Beijing Equity Exchange and Beijing Olympics organizers in anticipation of the Summer Olympics. The Wall Street Journal blogs section reports that more than 100 categories of items are listed on the Beijing Equity Exchange Web site, including “chairs, tea tables, ironing boards, trash cans, shower stools and 16,000 single mattresses (may be purchased individually).” All bids are welcome, but there’s a catch. The auction is only listed in Chinese.