Economist Rates Art by Numbers

Paris art dealer's collection hidden since 1939

(NEWSER) - A stash of 20th-century artworks hidden for generations because of war and legal wrangling is finally seeing the light of day. The 140 artworks, including works by Picasso, Derain, and Renoir, had been placed in a Paris bank vault by influential art dealer Ambroise Vollard's assistant after Vollard's death in 1939. The Jewish assistant died at the hands of the Nazis and the stash wasn't uncovered until the bank unsealed the vault in 1979 after storage fees went unpaid for 40 years. More»

Pablo Picasso's 'The Actor' is hardly the first expensive accident

(NEWSER) - The art student who tripped and tore a hole in a Picasso painting is probably fairly embarrassed—but will, perhaps, feel better knowing others can sympathize. The Independent lists nine other art catastrophes, some accidental and some not:

• Cy Twombly: A woman kissed one of his paintings, leaving it smeared with lipstick—she said she was “just trying to warm up” the white canvas.
• Qing vase: A Cambridge museum visitor slipped down the stairs, possibly thanks to an untied shoelace, and smashed a set of 300-year-old vases.

Founder of bankrupt dairy conglomerate stashed them away

(AP) - Italian tax police seized works by Van Gogh, Picasso, Cezanne, and other giants of art in a crackdown on assets hidden by the disgraced founder of the collapsed dairy company Parmalat. Authorities estimated the 19 masterpieces stashed away in attics and basements were valued at $150 million. At least one, and possibly the whole batch, were about to be sold by Calisto Tanzi on the black market, say investigators. More»

Studio, burial ground private up til now

(NEWSER) - This summer, art fiends can visit Pablo Picasso’s final resting place for the first time—a château where “he devoted himself completely to his art,” the Telegraph reports. Picasso discovered Château de Vauvenargues in the foothills of France’s Mont Sainte-Victoire, a mountain made famous by Paul Cézanne. Visitors will see Picasso’s studio, untouched since he last used it, and objects including a dresser and mandolin that appear in his paintings. More»

$61.3M result fails to reach low estimate

(NEWSER) - The art market failed to recover from its recent slump last night, as Sotheby's held a disappointing New York sale that saw works by Picasso and Giacometti go unsold. The small auction of 36 lots brought in just $61.3 million—well below the low estimate of $81.5 million. But a black-and-white grid painting by Piet Mondrian beat expectations, selling for three times its low estimate at $9.2 million. More»