Christie's

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Art Auction Houses Predict 25% Bump

Sotheby's and Christie's prepare for booming auction season—they hope

(Newser) - The New York art auction season begins today, and Sotheby’s and Christie’s say they believe the art market’s 5-year boom will continue, forecasting $1.8 billion in sales, reports the Financial Times. The prediction of a 25% boost over last year flies in the face of financial-market...

Give Peace a Bid: Lennon Lyrics Go to Auction

Hand-written memento expected to fetch at least $400K at Christie's sale

(Newser) - John Lennon’s handwritten lyrics to 1960s mantra "Give Peace a Chance" are going up for auction, reports Reuters. A Canadian woman, then 16, acquired them after sneaking into the famous Montreal "Bed-In" staged by Lennon and Yoko Ono in 1969—with Lennon predicting, “One day they...

Spring Art Auctions Surrounded by Crash Talk
Spring Art Auctions Surrounded by Crash Talk
analysis

Spring Art Auctions Surrounded by Crash Talk

Writers keep predicting implosion, but it might never come

(Newser) - It's auction season again in the art world, and Sotheby's and Christie's have put record estimates on dozens of paintings. Despite warnings in the media of an imminent crash, prices of fine art seem to be impervious to the global economic downturn. It's enough to make one writer at Slate ...

Carla Nude Pic Fetches $91K at Christie's

1993 portrait of Sarko's wife goes for 20 times expected price

(Newser) - Sarkozy isn't the only one who gets to see his wife in the buff: a collector paid $91,000 for a photograph of a naked Carla Bruni at Christie's today. The auction house expected Michel Comte's 1993 portrait of the French first lady to sell for no more than $4,...

Papa’s Got a Brand New … Jumpsuit?

James Brown's estate selling everything in August auction

(Newser) - Estate sales are always a mixed bag, but the James Brown auction at Christie’s in August will be something special, TMZ.com reports. Sure, fans will be able to snag coveted items like a Grammy or keyboard, but the Godfather’s socks, underwear and canceled checks? Say it loud:...

Nude Photo of Sarkozy's Wife Up for Auction

Ex-supermodel's B&W image expected to fetch at least $3K

(Newser) - A black-and-white photograph of Carla Bruni will go up for sale at an auction next month, Reuters reports. Christie’s expects the portrait of Nicolas Sarkozy's bride to attract a final bid of $3,000 to $4,000, and the auction house's announcement of the sale on the...

Art Funds Looking Far East
 Art Funds Looking Far East 

Art Funds Looking Far East

As West's growth slows, managers aim to buy, and sell, in China, Middle East, India

(Newser) - With major economies slowing and the US dollar near historic lows, art investment funds are looking to move away from the slowing Western art market, Bloomberg reports. Funds are sinking millions into works from China, India, and the Middle East. One leading fund has met its target for contemporary Chinese...

Contemporary Art Scores for Auction Houses

Sales swelled 36% in 2007; some fear houses too invested in the new

(Newser) - Contemporary art has been very good to Sotheby’s, fueling a 46% boost in sales for the world’s second-largest auctioneer this year over last, Bloomberg says. A crop of new collectors from the US, Russia and Asia brought new records for artists like Francis Bacon and Jeff Koons, for...

Art Market Sails Over Turmoil
Art Market Sails Over Turmoil

Art Market Sails Over Turmoil

Weak dollar, overseas buyers help keep prices high

(Newser) - US financial markets were in chaos this year, but the art market certainly wasn't. The expanding ranks of the super-rich, the weak dollar, and emerging connoisseurs from Russia, China, India, and the Middle East kept auction houses in fine form, the AP reports, with postwar and contemporary works—including a...

1926 Whiskey Fetches $54K
1926 Whiskey Fetches $54K

1926 Whiskey Fetches $54K

1926 whiskey goes for $54K

(Newser) - The crown jewel of New York's first liquor auction since Prohibition brought in $54,000 at Christie's yesterday. The 1926 bottle of whiskey went to an anonymous bidder, the New York Daily News reports, but was "worth the price," said a contender for the bottle. But it wasn't...

Rockwell Santa Painting Sells for $2.17M

Prices for magazine cover originals may be heading north

(Newser) - Straddling the line between art, illustration, and extravagant Christmas gift, Norman Rockwell's "Extra Good Boys and Girls" raked in $2.17 million at a Christie's auction this week. The painting, originally a 1939 Saturday Evening Post cover, didn't hit the $2.5 million to $3.5 million estimate, but...

Art Market Defies Crash Fears With Record Sale

Christie's contemporary evening shatters 16 records

(Newser) - So much for a correction: at last night's sale of modern and contemporary art at Christie's in New York, 16 artists achieved record prices and 61 out of 66 lots sold. Dealers were in shock as collectors continued to snatch up works at astronomical prices. Even a lesser work such...

Matisse Pulls Impressive $33.6M
Matisse Pulls Impressive $33.6M

Matisse Pulls Impressive $33.6M

Art world breathes easier after first night of stellar sales

(Newser) - A nervous New York art world breathed a sigh of relief on the first night of the fall auctions yesterday when a Matisse painting fetched a whopping $33.6 million, far above its high estimate. Collectors and dealers are watching November's sales at Sotheby's and Christie's with anxiety, reports the...

$72M Sale Shatters Warhol Record
$72M Sale Shatters Warhol Record

$72M Sale Shatters Warhol Record

Auction madness continues as contemporary-art market sizzles

(Newser) - An Andy Warhol painting sold for $71.7 million last night at Christie's, more than quadrupling the previous record price for a work by the pop artist. The price for "Green Car Crash (Green Burning Car I)," part of Warhol's "Death and Disaster" series, more than doubled...

Rothko Fetches $73 Million
Rothko Fetches $73 Million

Rothko Fetches $73 Million

Record price for seminal modern work marks trend in art purchases

(Newser) - Sotheby’s sold a Mark Rothko painting last night for $72.84 million, a record price for a piece of art created after World War II and a signal of a new boom in the market. Seller David Rockefeller bought the 7-foot-tall "White Center (Yellow, Pink and Lavender),"...

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