28.1.11

ABSOLUT 'WILD TEA'


ONLY A SELECT GROUP OF VODKA COMPANIES OFFER THE IMMENSE SELECTION OF FLAVORS AS DOES ABSOLUT. THE ICONIC SWEDISH DISTILLER OFFERS DOZENS OF DIFFERENT FLAVORS RANGING FROM MANGO AND CITRON TO VANILLA AND PEPPER, AND NOW HAS ADDED ONE MORE CREATION TO THE PORTFOLIO: ABSOLUT WILD TEA. THE LATEST ABSOLUT FLAVOR IS INFUSED WITH THE FLAVORS OF TEA, ELDERFLOWER, RED APPLES AND CITRUS, AND HAS BEEN FORMULATED TO MIX WELL WITH A RANGE OF SWEET AND SOUR INGREDIENTS. ABSOLUT RECOMMENDS USING IT IN A GIMLET WITH LIME JUICE AND SIMPLE SYRUP, IN A COSMOPOLITAN WITH CRANBERRY JUICE AND ORANGE LIQUEUR, OR IN A MOJITO WITH LIME JUICE, SIMPLE SYRUP, MUDDLES MINT LEAVES AND A SPLASH OF SODA. ABSOLUT WILD TEA IS MAKING ITS DEBUT ACROSS THE UNITED STATES WITH DEDICATED LAUNCH EVENTS IN CHICAGO, MIAMI, NEW YORK AND LOS ANGELES OVER THE NEXT MONTH, AND WILL BE AVAILABLE NATIONWIDE WITH AN ESTIMATED PRICE OF $29.99.

SOTHEBY'S SELLS TITIAN PAINTING FOR RECORD $16 MILLION


TODAY AT SOTHEBY'S SALE OF IMPORTANT OLD MASTER PAINTINGS IN NEW YORK, A NEW AUCTION RECORD WAS ESTABLISHED FOR THE RENAISSANCE MASTER TITIAN WHEN HIS A SACRA CONVERSAZIONE: THE MADONNA AND CHILD WITH SAINTS LUKE AND CATHERINE OF ALEXANDRIA SOLD FOR A RECORD $16,822,500 TO A EUROPEAN PRIVATE COLLECTOR. THE PRICE EXCEEDED THE PREVIOUS RECORD OF $13.6 MILLION, WHICH HAD HELD FOR 20 YEARS. A SACRA CONVERSAZIONE IS ONE OF ONLY A HANDFUL OF MULTI-FIGURE COMPOSITIONS BY TITIAN THAT REMAIN IN PRIVATE HANDS, AND IS THE MOST IMPORTANT TO APPEAR AT AUCTION IN DECADES. THE MORNING SESSION ENDED WITH AN OUTSTANDING TOTAL OF $78.6 MILLION, WHICH IS ABOVE THE SESSION'S HIGH ESTIMATE OF $74 MILLION. IN ADDITION TO THE TITIAN, A NUMBER OF REMARKABLE AND RECORD PRICES HAVE ALSO BEEN ACHIEVED: CLAUDE-JOSEPH VERNET'S MONUMENTAL CANVAS, GRAND VIEW OF THE SEA SHORE ENRICHED WITH BUILDINGS, SHIPPING AND FIGURES, WAS SOUGHT AFTER BY MORE THAN SIX BIDDERS BEFORE SELLING FOR $7,026,500, A NEW RECORD FOR THE ARTIST AT AUCTION. ADAM AND EVE, PREVIOUSLY UNKNOWN MANNERIST WORK BY JOACHIM ANTHONISZ WTEWAEL, INSPIRED HEATED COMPETITION DRIVING THE FINAL SALE TO $6,242,500, MORE THAN FIVE TIME THE HIGH ESTIMATE OF $1.8 MILLION. AND PERINO DEL VAGA'S THE HOLY FAMILY WITH THE INFANT SAINT JOHN THE BAPTIST WAS SOUGHT AFTER BY AT LEAST FIVE DIFFERENT BIDDERS, FINALLY SELLING TO THE METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART, NEW YORK, FOR $2,098,500.

BONHAMS TO SELL HENRY SCCOTT TUKE'S SLEEPING SAILOR


A BEAUTIFUL PAINTING BY THE PROLIFIC BRITISH MARITIME AND FIGURATIVE PAINTER, HENRY SCOTT TUKE(1858-1929), ENTITLED SLEEPING SAILOR, IS TO BE SOLD AT BONHAMS, NEW BOND STREET, LONDON, AS PART OF THE MARINE SALE ON 22.MARCH. INITIALLY SOLD FOR £15 TO ARTHUR TAYLOR, IT HAS NOW ATTRACTED A PRE-SALE ESTIMATE OF £30,000 – 50,000. SLEEPING SAILOR WAS PAINTED ON BOARD A DERELICT FRENCH BARQUE, MAZATLAN, WHICH TUKE USED AS A TEMPORARY FLOATING STUDIO DURING THE SUMMER OF 1905. HIS MODEL, SHOWN POSING ON THE BOOM, WAS CALLED HARRY CLEAVE. IN AN EXCERPT FROM HIS DIARY ON 16.MAY.1905, TUKE WRITES: 'ANOTHER BRILLIANT DAY. HARRY ON THE MIZZEN MAST.' BORN IN YORK IN 1858, HENRY SCOTT TUKE AND HIS FAMILY MOVED TO FALMOUTH IN 1859. LATER, HE MOVED TO NEWLYN, CORNWALL, WHERE HE BECAME PART OF THE NEWLYN SCHOOL OF PAINTERS. HE IS BEST-KNOWN FOR HIS PICTURES OF NUDE BOYS AND YOUNG MEN. SLEEPING SAILOR WAS EXHIBITED AT FALMOUTH ART GALLERY IN 1905.

27.1.11

FLOATING WALKWAY PLANNED FOR LONDON


A MILE LONG FLOATING WALKWAY ON LONDON'S RIVER THAMES IS BEING PLANNED IN THE HEART OF THE CAPITAL, ALLOWING VIEWS OF THE CITY'S HIDDEN ALLEYS, WHARVES AND LANDMARKS DATING BACK TO MEDIEVAL TIMES. THE PONTOON, KNOWN AS THE 'LONDON RIVER PARK', WILL CONNECT BLACKFRIARS BRIDGE, ON THE WESTERN EDGE OF THE ANCIENT CITY, AND THE TOWER OF LONDON. SUSPENDED A FEW FEET ABOVE THE WATER ON THE NORTH BANK, THE WALK WILL BE INTERSPERSED WITH FIVE GLASS-ENCASED PAVILIONS HOUSING A MUSEUM, A CINEMA, A CONCERT HALL AND AN ECO-PARK AMONGST OTHER ATTRACTIONS. SWIMMING POOLS ARE CENTRAL TO DRAWINGS OF ONE FUTURISTIC-LOOKING ENCLOSURE. THE 'PROMENADE', TO BE BUILT IN TIME FOR THE OLYMPIC GAMES AND THE QUEEN'S DIAMOND JUBILEE IN 2012, IF FUNDING IS FOUND, WON THE MAYOR OF LONDON'S AWARD FOR PLANNING EXCELLENCE LAST WEEK. THE MAYOR WHO HAS CHAMPIONED THE REJUVENATION OF THE RIVER AS A TRANSPORT ARTERY AND TOURIST ATTRACTION SAID IT WILL ALLOW THE PUBLIC TO 'WANDER THROUGH THE MEANDERING BACKSTREETS OF THE ANCIENT CITY.' A SPOKESPERSON FOR ARCHITECTS GENSLER, WHO DREW UP THE PLANS, SAID THE SCHEME WAS STILL AT A CONCEPTUAL STAGE BUT THAT TALKS ARE TAKING PLACE WITH A NUMBER OF INVESTORS TO FUND THE $40 MILLION PROJECT. THE ELEGANT STRUCTURE ALLOWS VISITORS TO HOP ON AND OFF THE WALKWAY VIA GANGWAYS ALLOWING THEM TO EXPLORE LANDMARKS, ALLEYS AND DISUSED WHARVES CLOSE TO THE SHORE. MANY OF THE CRAMPED COBBLED STREETS, WITH NAMES LIKE 'STEW LANE' AND 'BROKEN WHARF' HAVE BECOME DIFFICULT TO ACCESS AS THE CITY GREW EXPONENTIALLY OVER THE CENTURIES AND ARE WAY OFF THE USUAL TOURIST ROUTES. THE PONTOON RUNS PAST PROTECTED ANCIENT SITES LIKE QUEENHITHE DOCK, ONE OF THE EARLIEST OF LONDON'S HARBORS THAT DATES BACK TO SAXON AND POSSIBLY ROMAN TIMES. THE WALK WILL ALSO GIVE UNIQUE VANTAGES OF OLD BILLINGSGATE FISH MARKET, THE CENTER OF THE CITY'S FISH TRADE IN THE 16th AND 17th CENTURIES, AND CUSTOM HOUSE, A SITE FIRST USED BY LONDON'S CUSTOMS SERVICE IN 1275. AN ADVANTAGE OF THE DESIGN IS THAT IT CAN BE MOVED AND REASSEMBLED IN ANOTHER PART OF THE CITY AND THE 'PODS' GIVEN NEW THEMES TO SUIT DIFFERENT OCCASIONS.

26.1.11

HALEWOOD INTERNATIONAL PRINCE WILLIAM CHAMPAGNE


HALEWOOD INTERNATIONAL HAS OWNED THE PRINCE WILLIAM CHAMPAGNE BRAND FOR DECADES BUT NOW, WITH THE ROYAL WEDDING COMING, THE BRAND IS LOOKING TO CASH IN. THE BRAND IS RELEASING A LIMITED EDITION COMMEMORATIVE LABEL, USING THE 'PRINCE WILLIAM' AND 'ROYAL WEDDING' TRADEMARKS. THE CHAMPAGNE IS EXPECTED TO RETAIL FOR AROUND £25 AND IS EXPECTED TO SELL WELL IN ENGLAND IN ADVANCE OF THE WEDDING OF PRINCE WILLIAM AND CATHERINE MIDDLETON ON 29.APRIL.

SOTHEBY'S TO SELL AI WEIWEI'S SUNFLOWER SEEDS


CHINESE ARTIST AI WEIWEI GENERATED HEADLINES AROUND THE WORLD WHEN HE INSTALLED 100 MILLION CERAMIC SUNFLOWERS IN THE TATE MUSEUM IN LONDON. THE EXHIBIT, WHICH STARTED LAST OCTOBER, INITIALLY WAS OPEN TO FOR GUESTS TO FROLIC THROUGH THE SEEDS. SHORTLY AFTER IT OPENED HEALTH CONCERNS ABOUT DUST LED THE MUSEUM TO RESTRICT ACCESS TO THE EXHIBIT. BUT IF YOU WANT TO RUN YOUR HANDS THROUGH THE SEEDS, YOU WILL SOON BE ABLE TO BUY A 100-KILOGRAM PILE OF SEEDS AT SOTHEBY'S IN LONDON ON 15.FEBRUARY. THE FIRST PILE OF SEEDS CARRIES AN ESTIMATE OF £80,000 to £120,000. EACH PORCELAIN SUNFLOWER SEED WAS INDIVIDUALLY HAND MADE AND PAINTED BY SPECIALISTS WORKING IN SMALL-SCALE WORKSHOPS IN THE CHINESE CITY OF JINGDESHEN. THE SOTHEBY'S LISTING SUGGESTS THAT THE PIECE CAN BE INSTALLED EITHER IN A MOUND OR SMOOTHED OUT INTO A CARPET-LIKE EXPERIENCE. THERE WILL BE A TOTAL OF TEN LOTS SOLD FROM THE WORK.

AL HIRSCHFELD'S CHAIR AND TABLE TO BE DONATED LINCOLN CENTER


SHOW-BIZ CARICATURIST AL HIRSCHFELD IMMORTALIZED THE WORLD OF THEATER WITH HIS FLUID INK AND PEN PORTRAITS WHILE SEATED IN A BARBERSHOP CHAIR BEHIND A WORN CENTURY-OLD DRAFTING TABLE IN THE FORTH-FLOOR STUDIO OF HIS MANHATTAN TOWN HOUSE. NOW, EIGHT YEARS AFTER THE CELEBRATED ARTIST'S DEATH, HIS WIDOW IS DONATING THE STURDY TOOLS OF HIS TRADE TO THE LIBRARY FOR THE PREFORMING ARTS AT LINCOLN CENTER. 'IT TOOK EIGHT MEN TO GET THE CHAIR DOWN' THE FOUR FLIGHTS OF STAIRS, LOUISE HIRSCHFELD CULLMAN, A THEATER HISTORIAN WHO MARRIED HIRSCHFELD IN 1996, SAID IN AN INTERVIEW TUESDAY. I THOUGHT THIS LIBRARY WAS THE RIGHT PLACE FOR HIS WORK' SHE SAID. 'HE LIVED MOST OF HIS LIFE IN NEW YORK. HIS MAIN FOCUS WAS NEW YORK CITY AND THE THEATER...HIS PERSONAL VISION AND STYLE WAS SOMETHING I FELT BELONGED IN NEW YORK.' THE ARTIFACTS WERE SCHEDULED TO BE UNVEILED AT A RECEPTION AT THE LIBRARY TUESDAY NIGHT. HIRSCHFELD MADE VIRTUALLY ALL OF HIS DRAWINGS WHILE HE WAS ENSCONCED IN HIS CHAIR AT THE OLD DESK WITH HIS SUBJECTS SEATED ON A SOFA ACROSS FROM HIM. HIRSCHFELD, WHO CAPTURED THE APPEARANCE AND PERSONALITY OF THEATER PEOPLE FOR MORE THAN HALF A CENTURY WITH A DISTINCT LINEAR CALLIGRAPHIC STYLE, DIED IN 2003 AT THE AGE OF 99. HIS WIDOW, WHO HAS REMARRIED, HAS RECALLED HOW WYNTON MARSALIS ARRIVED AT THE HOUSE TO HAVE HIS PORTRAIT DRAWN, 'BLOWING HIS TRUMPET ALL THE WAY UPSTAIRS'. ANOTHER TIME, MICHAEL TILSON THOMAS, WALKING PAST THE GRAND PIANO FOR HIS SITTING, STOPPED TO TICKLE THE IVORIES WITH GEORGE GERSHWIN'S 'RHAPSODY IN BLUE'. AMONG THE MOST NOTABLE FIGURES TO POSE FOR HIS PORTRAIT IN THE STUDIO WAS NICHOLAS CAGE, SHE SAID. THE TWO ARTIFACTS WILL BE DISPLAYED IN THE LOBBY OF THE PERFORMING ARTS LIBRARY. 'THE CHAIR WAS LIKE HIS THRONE', IT'S HEIGHT ALLOWING HIM TO 'LOOK DOWN AT HIS STUDIO', HIRSCHFELD CULLMAN SAID. IT CAME FROM A BARBERSHOP IN THE CHRYSLER BUILDING IN 1993, REPLACING ANOTHER BARBER CHAIR THAT HAD FALLEN APART FROM WEAR. THE DRAFTING TABLE IS FROM THE EARLY 1900s AND 'HAD MANY LITTLE DRAWERS FOR HIS PEN STUBS AND PENCILS, AND A VARIETY OF BEAUTIFUL BRUSHES WHICH HE NEVER USED, BUT THEY WERE SO THEATRICAL LOOKING', HIS WIDOW SAID. HIRSCHFELD TOOK HIS DAILY AFTERNOON TEA AT THE DESK AND CHAIR, NAPPED IN IT, READ IN IT AND DID HIS FINANCES IN IT, SHE SAID. THE AL HIRSCHFELD FOUNDATION ALSO WILL BE DONATING A VARIETY OF HIRSCHFELD LETTERS, PHOTOGRAPHS, MEMORABILIA AND OTHER ITEMS OF INTEREST TO THE LIBRARY OVER THE NEXT FEW MONTHS, SAID HIRSCHFELD CULLMAN, WHO IS THE FOUNDATION'S PRESIDENT. AMONG THE LETTERS WILL BE ONE FROM HIS DAUGHTER, NINA, WHOSE NAME HE ALWAYS EMBEDDED IN THE LINES OF HIS DRAWINGS.

25.1.11

WORLD'S HIGHEST RESTAURANT OPENS


THE HIGHEST RESTAURANT IN THE WORLD OPENED ITS DOORS IN DUBAI 23.JANUARY, PROMISING 'THE WORLD'S BEST DINING OUT EXPERIENCE'. OCCUPYING THE 122rd FLOOR OF DUBAI'S ENORMOUS BURJI KHALIFA TOWER, AT.MOSPHERE IS THE LATEST RECORD-BREAKER FROM THE EMIRATE, WHICH DOESN'T SEEM TO HAVE LOST ANY OF ITS CONFIDENCE FOLLOWING LAST YEAR'S ECONOMIC DOWN-TURN. GUESTS CAN DINE ON FRESH PRODUCE, WHILE ADMIRING A VIEW MORE AKIN TO THAT FROM AN AIRPLANE WINDOW THAN A GOURMET RESTAURANT, SOME 442 METERS FROM THE GROUND FLOOR LOBBY. AT THE TOP OF A 57-SECOND ELEVATOR RIDE, THE STUNNING NEW RESTAURANT IS DIVIDED INTO TWO UNIQUE LEVELS, A TOP-NOTCH GRILL WHICH OFFERS GRILLED, BROILED OR BAKED OPTIONS, AND THE AT.MOSPHERE LOUNGE WHICH 'SERVES AS AN IDEAL STOPOVER FOR A LIGHT LUNCH OR EVEN AN AFTERNOON TEA.' HOUSE SPECIALITIES RECOMMENDED BY AT.MOSPHERE'S EXECUTIVE CHEF DWAYN CHEER INCLUDE FOIE GRAS AND BEEF TARTARE, BUT DON'T THINK THAT'S ALL YOU'LL BE HAVING. THERE'S REPORTEDLY A MINIMUM SPEND OF €90 PER PERSON IN THE RESTAURANT AND €40 IN THE LOUNGE AREA. DUBAI OPENED THE BURJ KHALIFA, THE WORLD'S TALLEST BUILDING, EARLY LAST YEAR, ONLY TO CLOSE IT AGAIN AFTER A MONTH BECAUSE OF A PROBLEM WITH THE ELEVATORS. WHEN IT REOPENED IN APRIL, BUZZ AMONG THE INITIAL GUESTS WAS SPLIT BETWEEN THE VIEWS FROM THE 124th FLOOR OBSERVATION AND THE PROSPECT OF A NIGHT IN THE WORLD'S FIRST ARMANI HOTEL, WHICH OPENED ITS DOORS WITH MUCH FANFARE 27.APRIL.2010. WITH THE NEW RESTAURANT, DUBAI HOPES TO PROVE THAT DESPITE ITS RECENT FINANCIAL TROUBLES, IT STILL CAN OFFER UNPARALLELED LUXURY TO THOSE WHO CAN AFFORD IT.

MEADOWS MUSEUM PRESENTS 'THE LOST MANUSCRIPTS FROM THE SISTINE CHAPEL'


RARE, LAVISHLY-ILLUSTRATED MANUSCRIPTS FROM THE SISTINE CHAPEL THAT WERE RESCUED FROM NAPOLEON'S ARMY, ONLY TO FALL UNDER THE RADAR SCREEN OF ART HISTORY FOR TWO CENTURIES, HAVE RECENTLY GONE ON DISPLAY IN DALLAS. THE EXHIBIT AT SOUTHERN METHODIST UNIVERSITY'S MEADOWS MUSEUM, WHICH RUNS UNTIL 23.APRIL, IS THE ONLY CHANCE FOR THE US PUBLIC TO SEE THE STUNNING, HAND-MADE CODICES OR MANUSCRIPTS. 'THE LOST MANUSCRIPTS FROM THE SISTINE CHAPEL: AN EPIC JOURNEY FROM ROME TO TOLEDO' FEATURES 40 CODICES THAT RANGE IN DATE FROM THE 11th TO THE 18th CENTURY. THESE WERE IN THE SACRISTY OF THE SISTINE CHAPEL SO THESE WERE THE MOST PRIVATE BOOKS READ BY THE POPES AND CARDINALS AT VERY SPECIAL CEREMONIES. THERE ARE SOME CODICES HERE THAT MICHELANGELO WOULD HAVE HEARD OR READ FROM', SAID MEADOWS DIRECTOR MARK ROGLAN. ASIDE FROM THEIR ARTISTIC VALUE, THE WRITINGS IN THE CODICES ARE LITURGICAL TREASURE TROVES WHICH INCLUDE BLESSINGS, MISSALS AND PREPARATIONS FOR MASSES. THEIR JOURNEY TO DALLAS HAS BEEN IMPROBABLE. THEY WERE LOOTED AT THE END OF THE 18th CENTURY FROM THE VATICAN BY NAPOLEON'S RAMPAGING ARMIES AND MANY WERE SLICED AND DICED AND SOLD IN FRAGMENTS. BUT THE HEROIC EFFORTS OF THE ARCHBISHOP OF TOLEDO ENABLED MANY OF THEM TO BE RESCUED, THOUGH OVER THE YEARS THEY WERE LARGELY FORGOTTEN. THEIR REDISCOVERY OCCURRED IN 1997 WHEN ART HISTORIAN ELENA DE LAURENTIIS, OF THE UNIVERSITY OF GENOA, STUMBLED UPON A PHOTOGRAPH OF ONE OF THE CODICES IN AN ARCHIVE AND RECOGNIZED ITS SIGNIFICANCE. THE MANUSCRIPTS ARE EYE-CATCHING, WITH THEIR ELEGANT HAND-WRITTEN SCRIPT, STUNNING IMAGES AND BEAUTIFUL BINDINGS. ONE ARRESTING AND COLOURFUL ILLUSTRATION FROM THE LATE 15th CENTURY IN INK, PIGMENT AND GOLD ON VELLUM DEPICTS THE CRUCIFIXION, A COMMON MOTIF.

CHRISTIE'S TO SELL RARE WARHOL SELF-PORTRAIT


A RARE ANDY WARHOL SELF PORTRAIT IN STARK WHITE AND RED, WHICH HAD BEEN IN [PRIVATE HANDS FOR OVER 30 YEARS, WILL GO ON SALE AT CHRISTIE'S IN LONDON NEXT MONTH, ANCHORING THE AUCTIONEER'S POST WAR AND CONTEMPORARY ART OFFERING. THE UNUSUALLY LARGE CANVAS, 6 FEET BY 6 FEET FEATURES THE PENSIVE ARTIST STARRING STRAIGHT AT THE VIEWER BUT WITH HALF HIS FACE SWALLOWED IN A SHADOW OF BLOOD RED PAINT. ONE OF 11 SELF PORTRAITS IN THE 1967 SERIES, IT IS THE ONLY ONE RESTRICTED TO TWO COLOURS. CHRISTIE'S ESTIMATES A GAVEL PRICE OF £3 TO £5 MILLION FOR THE PAINTING. 'THIS IS ONE OF THE MISSING PIECES OF THE HOLY GRAIL', SAID AMY CAPPELLAZZO, CHRISTIE'S CO-HEAD OF CONTEMPORARY AND POST WAR ART. IT WAS PUT UP FOR SALE BY THE ESTATE OF THE PAINTING'S PURCHASER, WHO IS NOW DECEASED, SHE ADDED. WARHOL WAS AT THE HEIGHT OF CELEBRITY WHEN HE FIRST EXHIBITED THE PAINTING ALONG WITH 10 OTHER PORTRAITS AT THE MONTREAL, CANADA 1967 WORLD'S FAIR, KNOWN AS EXPO 67. THE SELF-PORTRAIT DISAPPEARED FROM VIEW AFTER IT WAS OUGHT IN 1974 FROM WARHOL'S MAIN DEALER, LEO CASTELLI. THE WARHOL IS PART OF CHRISTIE'S POST-WAR AND CONTEMPORARY ART AUCTION ON 16-17.FEBRUARY IN LONDON, COMPRISED OF 64 WORKS AND ESTIMATED AT A TOTAL OF £66.4 MILLION.

24.1.11

SOTHEBY'S PRESENTS PABLO PICASSO'S LA LECTURE BEFORE AUCTION


A SENSUAL 1932 PORTRAIT BY PABLO PICASSO OF HIS YOUNG MISTRESS MARIE-THERESE WALTER WHICH CAPTURES HIS ROMANTIC OBSESSION WITH HER WENT ON DISPLAY RECENTLY AT SOTHEBY'S IN PARIS, AHEAD OF ITS AUCTION NEXT MONTH. IT WAS THE FIRST PUBLIC SHOWING IN EUROPE IN SOME 80 YEARS OF 'LA LECTURE', OR 'READING', AN EROTIC AND BRIGHTLY COLOURED DEPICTION OF THE VOLUPTUOUS MARIE-THERESE SLEEPING NUDE IN AN ARMCHAIR, HER HEAD THROWN BACK AND AN OPEN BOOK IN HER LAP. PAINTED IN BRIGHT YELLOW, GREEN AND RED OILS AT THE HEIGHT OF WHAT ART EXPERTS CALL PICASSO'S 'LOVESTRUCK' PERIOD, IT WILL BE THE STAR OFFERING AT AN UPCOMING SALE OF IMPRESSIONIST AND MODERN ART BY SOTHEBY'S LONDON. EXPERTS SAY THE PAINTING COULD FETCH BETWEEN $19-29 MILLION AFTER ANOTHER PICASSO PORTRAIT OF MARIE-THERESE, 'NUDE, GREEN LEAVES AND BUST', WAS SOLD BY CHRISTIE'S, NEW YORK, FOR $106 MILLION IN 2010, AN ALL TIME RECORD FOR AN ART AUCTION. 'IN THE EARLY 1930s HE WAS VERY LYRICALLY IN LOVE AND REFLECTED THAT IN THESE GORGEOUS COLOURS, AND LOVELY COMPOSITION', PHILIP HOOK, DIRECTOR OF IMPRESSIONIST AND MODERN PICTURE DEPARTMENT AT SOTHEBY'S IN LONDON TOLD REUTERS IN A RECENT INTERVIEW. 'THIS PERIOD IS JUST ABOUT THE MOST DESIRABLE OF ALL PICASSO'S PERIODS, CERTAINLY IN MARKET TERMS', HE SAID. MARIE-THERESE WAS ONE OF A SERIES OF LOVERS AND MUSES WHO INSPIRED PICASSO THROUGHOUT HIS PROLIFIC EIGHT-DECADE CAREER. SHE FIRST CAUGHT HIS EYE IN 1927, AGED JUST 17, AS SHE WAS COMING OUT OF THE PARIS METRO ON HER BACK FROM A SHOPPING TRIP. PICASSO, IN HIS MID-FORTIES, WAS IMMEDIATELY SMITTEN. MARIE-THERESE LATER SAID HE TOOK HER BY THE ARM AND SAID: 'I AM PICASSO. YOU AND I ARE GOING TO GREAT THINGS TOGETHER.' ALTHOUGH STILL MARRIED TO HIS FIRST WIFE, RUSSIAN DANCER OLGA KHOKHLOVA, PICASSO BEGAN A COVERT AFFAIR WITH MARIE-THERESE, WHO LATER GAVE BIRTH TO THEIR DAUGHTER, MAYA OR MARIA DE LA CONCEPCION.

CHRISTIAN DIOR COUTURIER PARFUMEUR COLLECTION


CHRISTIAN DIOR HAS RECENTLY RELEASED TEN DISTINCT FRAGRANCES AS PART OF THEIR COUTURIER PARFUMEUR COLLECTION INSPIRED BY THE LIFE OF CHRISTIEAN DIOR. THE FRAGRANCES ARE NAMED AMBRE NUIT, EUA NOIRE, BOIS D'ARGENT, NEW LOOK 1947, MITZAH, GRTANVILLE, MILLY-LA-FORET, COLOGNE ROYALE, VETIVER AND LEATHER OUD. EACH OF THE NEW FRAGRANCES ARE MADE OF THE MOST EXCLUSIVE PERFUME INGREDIENTS AVAILABLE. THE COLLECTION WAS CREATED BY FRANCOIS DEMACHY WHO WAS CONSIDERED ONE OF THE BEST PARFUMEURS IN THE WORLD. CRISTIAN DIOR COUTURIER PARFUMEUR COLLECTION IS AVAILABLE EXCLUSIVELY FROM CHRISTIAN DIOR BOUTIQUES WORLDWIDE.

23.1.11

CHRISTIE'S SELLS 18th CENTURY MAHOGANY BUREAU TABLE FOR $5.7 MILLION


AN 18th CENTURY MAHOGANY BUREAU TABLE CARVED BY NEWPORT'S MOST CELEBRATED CABINETMAKER SOLD FOR A STUNNING $5.7 MILLION AT CHRISTIE'S NEW YORK ON WEDNESDAY MORNING, PLACING IT AMONG THE HIGHEST AUCTION PIECES EVER REALIZED FOR AN ITEM OF AMERICAN FURNITURE. OFFERED AT $700,000-900,000, THE TABLE WAS PURSUED BY MULTIPLE BIDDERS, WHO RAPIDLY DROVE THE PRICE TO THE $3 MILLION THRESHOLD. FROM THERE ON TWO DEDICATED BIDDERS IN THE SALESROOM BATTLED BACK AND FORTH FOR THE HANDSOMELY CARVED TABLE BEFORE A HUSHED AUDIENCE OF CLIENTS AND ON-LOOKERS, UNTIL AUCTIONEER JOHN HAYS DROPPED THE GAVEL AT $5 MILLION, WITH PREMIUM. THE FINAL PRICE REALIZED WAS $5,682,500. THE TABLE, KNOWN AS THE CATHERINE GODDARD CHIPPENDALE BLOCK-AND-SHELL CARVED AND FIGURED MAHOGANY BUREAU TABLE, IS ATTRIBUTED TO THE NEWPORT, RHODE ISLAND CABINETMAKER JOHN GODDARD (1724-1785). MASTERFULLY DESIGNED AND CRAFTED, THE TABLE IS AN OUTSTANDING EXAMPLE OF THE CELEBRATED NEWPORT STYLE OF BLOCK-AND-SHELL CARVING. GODDARD WAS WIDELY RECOGNIZED AS ONE OF EARLY AMERICA'S MOST TALENTED CABINET-MAKERS AND HIS CREATIONS WERE SOUGHT AFTER BY THE PORT CITY'S MOST WELL TO DO MERCHANTS. A HANDWRITTEN LABEL IN THE TOP DRAWER OF THE TABLE INDICATES THAT GODDARD MADE THE KNEE-HOLE BUREAU CIRCA 1765 EXPRESSLY FOR HIS DAUGHTER, CATHERINE GODDARD, AND MAY HAVE GIVEN IT TO HER AS A WEDDING PRESENT. THE TABLE REMAINED WITHIN HIS DAUGHTER'S FAMILY THROUGH SEVERAL GENERATIONS OF DESCENDANTS UNTIL IT WAS SOLD BY THE CABINETMAKER'S GREAT-GREAT GRANDDAUGHTER MARY BRIGG (WEAVER) CASE IN THE EARLY 1900s. THE TABLE LAST SOLD AT AUCTION IN JANUARY 2005 FOR $940,000.

'SNIFF' CANDLES FOR DOGS


SCENTED CANDLES ARE DE RIGUEUR FOR VALENTINE'S DAY GIFTING BUT WHAT IF YOUR VALENTINE'S WALKS ON FOUR LEGS? SNIFF IS A NEW SCENTED CANDLE THAT USES HOLISTIC AROMAS TO BENEFIT MAN'S BEST FRIEND. AFTER ALL, DOGS CAN IDENTIFY SMELLS SOMEWHERE BETWEEN 1,000 TO 10,000 TIMES BETTER THAN THEIR HUMAN FRIENDS. THE ORGANIC DOG-FRIENDLY CANDLES INCLUDES SCENTS LIKE 'A DAY IN THE HAMPTONS' (A SUNNY SUMMER DAY SCENT WITH ROSEMARY, BASIL AND SPEARMINT); 'SPLENDOR IN THE GRASS' (GREEN PASTURES WITH TOMATO LEAVES AND CEDARWOOD); 'FIELD OF DREAMS' (SOOTHING LAVENDER, VETIVER AND SANDALWOOD); 'FRIENDS TO THE RESCUE' (A MIX OF LEMONGRASS, EUCALYPTUS AND GRAPEFRUIT HELD TOGETHER BY GERANIUM,, CYPRUS AND GINGER WITH A FINISH OF MONGOSTEEN TO KEEP PESTS AWAY) AND 'FART & AWAY' ( A MIX OF FLORAL YLANG YLANG, TUBEROSE, WHITE TEA, MYRTLE AND FENNEL FOR THE SMELLY DOG). SALES THROUGH FEBRUARY SUPPORT THE MIAMI-DADE ANIMAL SERVICES FOUNDATION, A FOUNDATION DEDICATED TO ENDING THE UNWANTED PET POPULATION WITH SPAY/NEUTER PROGRAMS IN MIAMI. CANDLES SELL FOR $32 EACH.