Sotheby's is set to auction off private collection of notebooks, autographs and memorabilia of iconic singer Jacques Brel. Brel, who died thirty years ago, isn't a household name here in the U.S. but is still much beloved in Europe and especially in Paris where the auction will take place on October 8. The sale consists of 94 lots, the top item being a notebook that Brel used to jot down the draft lyrics of his masterpiece Amsterdam which is estimated to sell for between 50,000 and 70,000 euros.
The latest condo auction opportunity takes us to Charlotte, North Carolina. The Abbot is auctioning off 14 brand new condos starting with a minimum bid of $269,000 for condos valued around $500.000. The tri-level condos are located in Charlotte's South End. Each condo has a loft-style interior with the ground floor offering a live or work space with its own ½ bath, the second floor offers the main living quarters while the third floor has two bedrooms each with a full bath. Amenities include outdoor balconies, walk-in closets and modern kitchens. The majority of the auctions are sealed bid ending on October 30 but there is one furnished unit selling by online auction with a minimum bid of $329,000.
Usually to purchase the jewels of a Getty you'd need some pretty deep pockets. But Ann Getty's collection doesn't just include precious gemstones, she also has a large collection of costume pieces, some of which are being auctioned over the weekend by Doyle New York. The collection includes pieces by Chanel, Miriam Haskell, Kenneth Jay Lane and others. And because they are costume pieces you'll be spending several hundred dollars for most pieces. The rhinestone necklace shown above is one of the pricier pieces. It was made in France in the 1950s and is estimated to sell for $750-$1,000.
Possibly the finest example extant of Jaguar's famed E-Type, aka the "automotive sex symbol of the '60s," will be auctioned off by Bonhams at The Larz Anderson Auto Museum in Brookline, Mass. today. Estimated at $120,000 - $150,000, making it one of the most expensive E-Types ever offered at auction, this 1967 roadster finished in the classic combination of British Racing Green with tan leather interior has captured several Best of Show and class wins and 100 point scores, from Amelia Island to the Pittsburgh Vintage Grand Prix.
First unveiled at the Geneva Motor Show in 1961, the E-Type's legendary power to attract the opposite sex was phrased best by American motoring writer Henry Manney III, who dubbed it "The greatest crumpet-catcher known to man." 1967 was the last year before Federally-mandated regulations tampered with the E-Type's perfection, increasing this example's desirability. In one ownership for 16 years, this model was exquisitely restored down to the last nut and bolt, taking an estimated 3000 hours of restoration time and at a cost of over $200,000; in other words, let your conscience rest easy while bidding - it's also a good deal.
Ukranian billionaire Viktor Pinchuk has revealed he was a major buyer at Damien Hirst's record-breaking $200 million Sotheby's sale last month, but has declined to say exactly what he purchased. Pinchuk, who's worth an estimated $5 billion, has his own museum in Kiev, the first private institution of its kind in the former Soviet Union, which already houses works by Hirst, Jeff Koons and Vuitton collaborator Takashi Murakami. He says he plans to display his new Hirst acquisitions at the Pinchuk Center in the spring.
"Victor Pinchuk is having a great impact on the [art] market," Simon de Pury, chairman of auction house Phillips de Pury & Co., who credits him with starting the oligarch art collecting trend, tells Bloomberg. "The contemporary art market in both Ukraine and Russia has really taken off in the past two years, and I expect this growth to continue." Earlier this year Pinchuk paid a record $150 million for a house in London, the world's most expensive at the time.
Banksy, the British graffiti artist who remains semi-anonymous, had five of his works at a Lyon and Turnbull auction in London over the weekend. None of them sold.
Part of the problem stemmed from Banksy's refusal to claim the work as his own. Banksy has a history of stating that street art should remain in its places of origin, and this group of pieces had been moved. In the past the controversial artist's work has earned double the expected auction price.
Playboy is auctioning off some of their historic archive of art commissioned for the magazine on October 15. The auction, called "Playboy: The Art of Beauty" will take place at Heritage Auction Galleries in Dallas, and online. There will be 17 pieces up for sale including drawings and photographs which focus on a celebration of beautiful women. The pieces by 11 artists include two by Alberto Vargas, one from LeRoy Neiman, two works by Patrick Nagel and a set of four comics by "Little Annie Fanny" artists Harvey Kurtzman and Will Elder. The pieces date from 1956 to 1985 and are priced more modestly than some other art you might find at fall sales, the highest being an estimate of up to $60,000 for a Vargas blonde. You can check out the entire auction at the Heritage Auction site (nsfw).
The fallout from the big spenders that were part of Lehman Brothers continues. Blogging Stocks leads us to an article in the Wall Street Journal on the art sales of chairman and CEO Dick Fuld. Fuld and his wife Kathy have been avid collectors of modern art for years. Now some of their collection will be sold at Christie's as part of their modern art sale on November 12, during the New York fall auction season.
The piece above "Study for Agony I" by Arshile Gorky is one of 16 postwar drawings owned by the Fulds that have been consigned. It is estimated at $2.8 million. The estimated total is between $15 and $20 million and the WSJ reports that the sale is guaranteed meaning that the Fulds will receive money whether the pieces sell during the auction or not.
Fuld's net worth has fallen along with Lehman's stock prices but his savvy collector wife might be bringing him a nice profit. Kathy Fuld is a a longtime collector and Museum of Modern Art trustee with an eye for the undervalued pieces. A piece the couple is selling Willem de Kooning's 'Woman' is estimated to bring in up to $4 million at Christie's in November and sold for half that in 2001.
Don't feel too sorry for the Fulds they still have enough art to fill their homes which include a Greenwich, Connecticut mansion, a Park Avenue co-op and a Sun Valley, Idaho vacation home.
Sotheby's will feature a rare masterpiece by the Norwegian Symbolist Edvard Munch at its Impressionist and Modern Art auction in early November. The 1894 piece, Vampire, is expected to fetch at least $35 million in its debut at auction. In May, Munch's Girls on a Bridge sold for $30 million, and Vampire is the only piece in Munch's series The Frieze of Life of the early 1890s, including The Scream, that is not in a museum. (See these pieces and a few more in the gallery.)
After being on loan to the Met for 10 years, the piece will be shown at Sotheby's London and Moscow through October before returning to New York.
The flashy piece shown above is a sapphire-and-diamond brooch worn by singer Elton John and now up for auction. Sir Elton wore the 1930s Art Deco piece in his 1988 music video "I Don't Wanna Go on With You Like That." A photograph of him wearing this clip during the filming of the video accompanies this lot. The piece will be auctioned at Bonhams in London on Thursday, September 25 and is estimated to sell for £12,000 - 15,000.
Former Antiquorum chairman Osvaldo Patrizzi has struck out on his own with a new auction house specializing in vintage watches. His first sale has been announced for November 18 at the Hotel Richemond in Geneva. He's starting out with some impressive pieces, the top one being the Breguet No. 2807 shown above. It is an 18-karat gold and enamel astronomical, equation-of-time pocket watch. The watch is one of an edition of three created by Breguet and is the earliest of the three and the only one known to still be in its original condition. Sold to General Yermoloff in 1817, it is expected to sell between $1,400,000 and $1,850,000. Also on the block will be several other rare Breguets, a Vacheron Constantin extra flat minute repeater and a Patek Philippe Ref. 1518.
If you've ever thought about having property in Montana, you can snap up a condo for pretty reasonable prices during an online auction. Deer Creek At Whitefish which is located near Glacier National Park, is selling off 14 units by online auction. Minimum bids are starting as low as $99,000 for a two-bedroom unit. The two-bedroom unit is the only one selling by open auction and is the only one that is fully furnished. The rest are being sold via sealed bid from now until October 23. All units are more than one floor: two three-bedroom units have $140,000 starting bids, four three-bedroom units have $150,000 starting bids, and seven two-bedroom units have $160,000 starting bids. The complex includes a clubhouse with a fitness center, spas, a fireplace, a wet bar and a pool table and homeowner fees are $115 per month. Twenty-nine units have been constructed as Phase One, The project originally called for 168 units at the site of the former Par 3 on 93 golf course but was later pared down.
On Monday, a famous 800-year-old Belgian castle will be auctioned off by court order to the highest bidder, and it looks as if someone could snag a real bargain. The 13th century Corroy-le-Château located just south of Brussels and surrounded by a moat, was built by nobleman William of Brabant and remains one of Europe's most perfectly-preserved medieval strongholds. The current owners, descendants of Brabant's, have been fighting over the property for years and have now been ordered to sell it with a Monday deadline. The highest bid so far is for a measly $3 million, the International Herald Tribunereports, though it is probably worth ten times that much. However, if no other bidders come forward in time, the 16,000-sq.ft. fortress on 50+ acres will be sold for that amount.
You may not look like Gisele Bundchen but if you have the money you can own her jewelry. The Brazilian bombshell who is much beloved on our pages, is selling a six carat diamond pendant estimated at $120,000 to $150,000 as well as a 3.35 carat Sabbadini yellow diamond ring estimated at $15,000 to $20,000 as part of the Christie's Jewels: The New York Sale auction on October 15. Gisele hasn't revealed who bought the pieces for her but I'm guessing it wasn't her current quarterback squeeze Tom Brady and rumors abound over whether her ex-boyfriend Leonardo DiCaprio was the mystery purchaser. A portion of proceeds from the auction will go to the Diamond Empowerment Fund.
A rare and beautiful 1964 Porsche 904 GTS sports racing coupé (above), one of only 100 made, is expected to fetch up to $1 million during Bonhams' sale at the Goodwood Revival in West Sussex, England on Friday. The car, veteran of several important and historic competitions, is from the collection of renowned French racecar driver Bernard Consten and has won concours d'élegance honors.
Also on offer during the Goodwood Revival, billed as the world's most popular historic motor race meeting, is Consten's equally alluring 1965 Alfa Romeo TZ1, est. at $430,000 - $500,000; a 1970 Aston Martin DB6 Mk2 Volante convertible, est. $450,000 - $540,000; a 1973 Ferrari Dino 246GT Berlinetta, est. $115,000 - $135,000; a 1970 Maserati Ghibli 4.7-Litre coupe, est. $50,000 - $60,000; and more. See the gallery for pix.
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Banksy
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_thumbnail.jpg "Girls on a Bridge, 1902")
_thumbnail.jpg "Lady from the Sea, 1896")
_thumbnail.jpg "Ashes, 1894")
_thumbnail.jpg "Death in the Sickroom, 1895")
_thumbnail.jpg "The Scream, 1893")
