Christie's

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She Got a Raffle Ticket as a Gift, Now Owns a Picasso

Italian woman wins $1.1M painting in charity raffle

(Newser) - An Italian woman is the new owner of a century-old painting by Pablo Picasso, worth $1.1 million—but she didn't buy it. The unidentified woman won 1921's "Nature Morte"—a small oil painting depicting a glass of absinthe and a newspaper on a table—in...

Own a Chunk of the Moon—for a Price

Big rock up for sale at Christie's for $2.5M

(Newser) - Rich space enthusiasts who can't get a seat on a rocket now can settle for having space come to them. Christie's has a chunk of the moon for sale, and it's valued at $2.5 million, reports Reuters . The lunar meteorite (designated formally as NWA 12691) weighs...

Rare Portrait of Mozart at 13 Could Bring $1M

Christie's to auction the 1770 painting this month

(Newser) - A 1770 portrait of a young Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart will be sold at auction this month, and Christie's has set a guide price of as much as $1.3 million. The Austrian composer sat for the portrait while traveling in Italy with his father when he was 13, CNN...

Someone Just Paid $31M for This Wristwatch

The Patek Philippe auctioned by Christie's is the most expensive wristwatch ever sold

(Newser) - Someone is about to have a very well-adorned wrist. Christie's held its charity Only Watch auction in Geneva on Saturday to help raise money for research on Duchenne muscular dystrophy, an every-other-year event that features dozens of luxury timepieces, and a one-of-a-kind Patek Philippe earned the title of most...

Egypt's Outrage Couldn't Stop This $6M Sale

Christie's holds auction of 3,000-year-old King Tut bust despite Egypt's claims it was stolen

(Newser) - "Egyptian history is not for sale" is what signs carried by protesters read outside of Christie's in London. But apparently it was, as a controversial auction of a King Tut bust was carried out Thursday, fetching nearly $6 million, Reuters reports. At issue regarding the 3,000-year-old, 11-inch-high...

Christie's Thinks This Is Worth $5M. Egypt Thinks It's Stolen

A tussle over a Tutankhamun statue

(Newser) - Last Monday Christie's let the world know that it planned to auction an Egyptian brown quartzite head of King Tut as the god of sun and air, Amun. It expected it to go for more than $5 million in the July 4 sale. Egyptian officials are now trying to...

Einstein's 'God Letter' Expected to Fetch 7 Figures at Auction

1954 note declares religion as 'superstitition'

(Newser) - "The word God is for me nothing but the expression of and product of human weaknesses." Even now, more than 60 years later, Albert Einstein's words carry some shock value—which is why auction house Christie's expects to nab up to $1.5 million with the...

He Bought the Painting for $180K. It Just Sold for $92M

Seattle Art Museum won't get Edward Hopper's 'Chop Suey' after all

(Newser) - When the gavel came down, an anonymous bidder was out $92 million and the art world was up in confidence. The scene unfolded Tuesday at Christie's in New York as work from the estate of late Seattle-area luxury-travel executive Barney Ebsworth was sold, per the Wall Street Journal . In...

Unusual Stephen Hawking Memorabilia Up for Auction

His wheelchair can be yours

(Newser) - Stephen Hawking was a cosmic visionary, a figure of inspiration, and a global celebrity. His unique status is reflected in an upcoming auction of some of the late physicist's possessions: It includes complex scientific papers, one of the world's most iconic wheelchairs, and a script from one of...

Hockney &#39;Masterpiece&#39; May Make History
Hockney Painting
May Make History

Hockney Painting May Make History

1972 work poised to become priciest artwork by a living artist sold at auction

(Newser) - In May, British painter David Hockney more than doubled his previous auction record with the $28.5 million sale of 1990's "Pacific Coast Highway and Santa Monica," per the BBC . Now, one of his most recognizable paintings could fetch nearly three times as much, reports CNN . In...

Buyer Wants $800K After Learning of Painting's Messy Past

Alain Dreyfus says Christie's should have figured out it had been stolen by the Nazis

(Newser) - The buyer of a painting reportedly stolen by Nazis wants some $800,000 from Christie's auction house, which he claims "didn't do enough work" to clear the provenance of Alfred Sisley's "First Day of Spring in Moret." French art dealer Alain Dreyfus says he...

Mogul&#39;s Picasso Is Damaged. Again
$70M Picasso Damaged
Before Auction

$70M Picasso Damaged Before Auction

Owner Steve Wynn has been down this road before

(Newser) - Pricey mistake: A Picasso worth an estimated $70 million had to be yanked from an auction at Christie's this week because it sustained damage as workers were preparing it. It's not clear how bad the damage is to Le Marin , or The Sailor, or even how the damage...

This da Vinci Painting Just Obliterated Art-Sale Records

Sells for $450M at Christie's

(Newser) - A painting of Christ by the Renaissance master Leonardo da Vinci sold for a record $450 million at auction on Wednesday, obliterating previous records. The painting, called "Salvator Mundi" (Italian for "Savior of the World"), is one of fewer than 20 paintings by Leonardo known to exist...

Here's How Much Giant 163-Carat Diamond Went for at Auction

$33.7M for largest D-flawless diamond ever auctioned off

(Newser) - The largest-ever D-flawless diamond to be put up for auction, mounted in a diamond and emerald necklace, has sold for $33.7 million at Christie's in Geneva, including buyer's fees. The white, matchbox-size "Creation 1" diamond from Swiss jeweler de Grisogono weighs a whopping 163 carats, the...

Fewer Than 20 da Vinci Paintings Survive. A New Fate for One

The 'Salvator Mundi' will hit the block at Christie's on Nov. 15

(Newser) - A painting will hit the block at Christie's in New York on Nov. 15, and it's tough to say what's more interesting: that it could fetch $100 million, or the story behind it. As the Wall Street Journal reports, getting to nine figures would be an auction...

Christie's Forced to Reveal Name of $14.5M Bidder

Turkey filed lawsuit claiming 5,000-year-old idol was looted from country

(Newser) - A famous auction house must give up the name of the buyer who tried to pay $14.5 million for a rare idol the Turkish government claims was illegally taken from the country, a judge ruled Wednesday. According to Christie's , the 9-inch Guennol Stargazer comes from the Chalcolithic period...

This Picasso Has Smashed a Huge Record

'Women of Algiers' fetches nearly $180M, most expensive work sold at auction

(Newser) - The world record price for a work of art sold at auction went up by nearly $40 million when Pablo Picasso's Women of Algiers (Version O) sold for an amazing $179.4 million last night. The 1955 painting—described by the BBC as a "vibrant, cubist depiction of...

Bye-Bye, 'American Pie': Manuscript Sold for $1.2M

Don McLean manuscript and notes scooped up at Christie's auction

(Newser) - Singer-songwriter Don McLean's original manuscript and notes to "American Pie" have been sold at auction for $1.2 million. McLean offered the wistful anthem that asks, "Do you recall what was revealed the day the music died?" at Christie's today; the 16 pages included the original...

James Watson's DNA Nobel Sells for $4.1M

$4.8M if you count the premium paid to Christie's

(Newser) - James Watson will collect $4.1 million for the Nobel medal he received in 1962 for unraveling the structure of DNA. The anonymous buyer will actually have to shell out $4.8 million counting the premium that goes to Christie's auction house, reports the New York Times . The newspaper...

One of World's Priciest Violins Was Hidden in Heiress's Closet

Bidding has begun for Stradivarius owned by Huguette Clark

(Newser) - Funny what turns up in the closet of reclusive, deceased heiress: In this case, one of the world's most expensive musical instruments. Christie's has begun accepting sealed bids for a 1731 Stradivarius violin that had been in a closet of Huguette Clark for about 25 years, reports NBC...

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