Stories related to: Christie's

The art market has again defied the economic downturn, with Christie's and Sotheby's bringing in more than $1 billion combined during the past two weeks' London sales—a 19% rise from last year. But those numbers disguise the erratic nature of the market, writes the Wall Street Journal . While new collectors from Russia and the Middle East are paying top dollar for works by established modern masters, younger artists went bust. More »

Fans of fictional mob boss Tony Soprano shelled out nearly $200,000 for the outfits he wore on his hit TV series, including a set of "blood-spattered" threads, reports E! Online. Top grossing was the suit and undershirt Tony wore when Uncle Junior shot him in season 6, which fetched $44,000. The money will go to the Wounded Warriors charity for soldiers injured in Iraq and Afghanistan. More »

One of Monet’s rare waterlily paintings sold at Christie’s in London tonight for more than $80 million, a record price for the artist, the New York Times reports. At least six buyers competed for Le Bassin aux Nympheas , a 1919 work from a series of paintings considered among Monet’s most important. An anonymous buyer won the painting with a high bid of $80.4 million. More »

Anybody who ever wanted to dress like New Jersey's most famous fictional mobster could soon find an offer they can't refuse, reports E! Online. James Gandolfini is auctioning off 24 costumes he wore as mob boss Tony Soprano—including the blood-spattered ensemble the character wore when he was shot. All proceeds from the sale next month will go to the Wounded Warrior Project, which aids injured Iraq and Afghanistan vets. More »

Christie's auction of contemporary art in New York belied an economic downturn, the Times reports, with paintings, sculpture, and even a house fetching handsome prices. Two works drew particular attention: a portrait of a 280-pound nude woman by Lucian Freud, which sold for $33.6 million, and a house in Palm Springs by Richard Neutra, which fetched $16.8 million. More »

Grunge is passé, but the market for its collectibles isn’t, reports Portfolio . Nostalgia plays a big role in determining what's hot, and prices on items of baby boomer vintage, even from the likes of the Fab Four, are starting to drop. Meanwhile, the demand for Gen X artifacts—skateboards, Star Wars figurines, old video games—is on the rise.  More »

A Monet painting sold at Christie’s tonight for $41.4 million, a record price for the artist, the New York Times reports. Three bidders competed for the 1873 impressionist painting “The Railroad Bridge at Argenteuil,” which Christie’s estimated would go for $35 million. The high bid of $37 million pushed the final price, which includes auction house commissions, above $40 million, providing further evidence that the economic downturn has yet to dent the art world. More »

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 lassitude and nervousness among collectors and dealers. Prices jumped 18% in 2007. More »

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 will be worth something.” More »

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 wonder: Are observers of the art market rooting for a collapse? More »

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 $4,000, AFP reports. Brigitte Bardot, however, was the auction's big winner: Richard Avedon's photograph of the French star fetched $181,000. More »

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: His estate is broke. More »

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 eve of a state visit to the UK isn't sitting well with the subject, the Daily Mail reports. More »

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 art and is aiming to expand into older works. More »

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 a total take of $5.33 billion. But some dealers fear the craze could be headed for a crash. More »

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 $71 million Warhol—leading the way. More »

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 the only big-ticket item on the list. More »

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 Christie's was still jolly, Reuters reports. More »

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 as Andy Warhol's Liz , put up for sale by Hugh Grant and expected to bust, went for $23.5 million. More »

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 New York Times , but Christie's modern and impressionist sale broke several records, hitting new highs for Matisse, Cézanne, Signac and Pissarro. More »