KEITH HARING ARTWORK DONATED TO LOS ANGELES GAY & LESBIAN CENTER

A COMPLETE SERIES OF 10 SILKSCREENS BY ICONIC GAY ARTIST KEITH HARING HAS BEEN DONATED TO A GAY AND LESBIAN CENTER IN LOS ANGELES BY TYLER CASSITY, CO-OWNER OF THE HOLLYWOOD FOREVER CEMETERY. THE APOCALYPSE SERIES IN ON EXHIBIT IN THE ADVOCATE & GOCHIS GALLERIES UNTIL 30.MARCH. 'HARING'S WORK IS SO ICONIC; WE'RE HONORED TO RECEIVE AND EXHIBIT THIS SERIES', SAID JON IMPARATO, DIRECTOR OF THE CENTER'S CULTURAL ARTS PROGRAM. 'IT'S RARE TO HAVE A COMPLETE HARING SERIES TOGETHER LIKE THIS; WE'RE THRILLED THAT PEOPLE WILL HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO SEE ALL 10 SILKSCREENS IN OUR GALLERIES.' IT'S FITTING THAT A SERIES CREATED BY HARING, WHO ESTABLISHED A FOUNDATION TO SUPPORT AIDS ORGANIZATIONS AND CHILDREN'S PROGRAMS, HAS BEEN DONATED TO THE CENTER, A LEADER IN HIV CARE AS WELL AS SERVICES FOR LGBT YOUTH. 'I HOPE AND BELIEVE KEITH HARING WOULD BE PLEASED THAT HIS PASSIONATE VISION HAS FOUND A HOME AT THE CENTER', CASSITY SAID. THE LA GAY & LESBIAN CENTER PROVIDES A BROAD ARRAY OF SERVICES FOR THE LESBIAN, GAY, BISEXUAL AND TRANSGENDERED COMMUNITY, WELCOMING NEARLY A QUARTER MILLION CLIENT VISITS FROM ETHNICALLY DIVERSE YOUTH AND ADULTS EACH YEAR. THROUGH ITS JEFFREY GOODMAN SPECIAL CARE CLINIC AND ON-SITE PHARMACY, THE CENTER OFFERS FREE AND LOW-COST HEALTH, MENTAL HEALTH, HIV/AIDS MEDICAL CARE AND HIV/STD TESTING AND PREVENTION. THE CENTER ALSO OFFERS LEGAL, SOCIAL, CULTURAL AND EDUCATIONAL SERVICES, WITH UNIQUE PROGRAMS FOR SENIORS, FAMILIES AND YOUTH, INCLUDING A 24-BED TRANSITIONAL LIVING PROGRAM FOR HOMELESS YOUTH.

CHAUMET LE GRAND FRISSON

LUXURY JEWELER CHAUMET HAS RECENTLY RELEASED A STUNNING NEW COLLECTION FOR THE SUMMER NAMED LE GRAND FRISSON OR 'THE BIG SHIVER' AFTER THE GEOMETRIC SHAPES. THE COLLECTION FEATURES EARRINGS, RINGS, PENDANTS AND A CHOKER NECKLACE ALL IN ECLECTIC GEOMETRIC SHAPES, SET WITH BRIGHTLY COLOURED VIOLET SAPPHIRES, TSAVORITES, GARNETS AND TANZANITE MIXED WITH WHITE GOLD WITH DIAMONDS.

GEOFFREY PARKER $7.5 MILLION POKER SET

GEOFFREY PARKER, LONDON-BASED MAKER OF THE FINEST GAMES ON THE GLOBE, IS OFFERING THE WORLD'S MOST EXPENSIVE POKER SET FOR $7.5 MILLION. THE BESPOKE SET FOR THE ULTIMATE HIGH STAKES GAME COMES HOUSED IN A GENUINE ALLIGATOR SKIN CASE FINISHED IN THE COLOUR OF THE CLIENT'S CHOICE, FITTED WITH 18 CARAT WHITE GOLD COMBINATION LOCKS AND HARDWARE. THE CASE' SUEDE LINING FEATURES AN 18 CARAT AND DIAMOND FRAME TO HOLD 384 18 CARAT WHITE GOLD CHIPS, EACH INLAID ON BOTH SIDES IN SHAGREEN EMBOSSED WITH ITS VALUE, WHICH CAN BE IN ANY CURRENCY AND DENOMINATION THE CLIENT DESIRES. THE EDGE OF EACH CHIP IS SET WITH PRECIOUS STONES, WHITE DIAMONDS FOR THE WHITE CHIPS, SAPPHIRES FOR THE BLUE, RUBIES FOR THE RED, EMERALDS FOR THE GREEN AND CLACK DIAMONDS FOR THE BLACK. THE DEALER BUTTON WILL BE A LARGER 18 CARAT WHITE GOLD 'CHIP' SET WITH TWO ROWS OF DIAMONDS TO THE EDGE. THE SET WILL FEATURE AN ESTIMATED 22,364 STONES IN ALL, TOTALING 1,012 CARATS. FINALLY THERE ARE FOUR PLATINUM-PLATED DECKS OF POKER CARDS.

SABATINO NORTH AMERICA TO OPEN STORE IN BOSTON

BOSTON'S ICONIC LUXURY SHOPPING DESTINATION, NEWBURY STREET WILL HAVE A STUNNING NEW TREAT COME 24.MARCH. SABATINO NORTH AMERICA, THE LARGEST IMPORTER AND MANUFACTURER OF GOURMET TRUFFLE PRODUCTS IN THE US IS OPENING THEIR FLAGSHIP RETAIL STORE, SABATINO & CO ROMA. THE STORE WILL INTRODUCE A WIDE RANGE OF UNIQUE PRODUCTS INCLUDING GOURMET FOODS AND CONDIMENTS, COOKBOOKS AND HOME ACCESSORIES TO ADD A EUROPEAN TOUCH TO YOUR LIFE.
FOR MORE INFORMATION VISIT www.sabatinoandco.com

BONHAMS TO SELL RARE BOOK OF EARLY POEMS BY WILLIAM BLAKE

A PREVIOUSLY UNKNOWN COPY OF A VERY RARE BOOK OF EARLY POEMS BY WILLIAM BLAKE IS UP FOR AUCTION AT THE BOOKS, MAPS, MANUSCRIPTS AND HISTORICAL PHOTOGRAPHS SALE AT BONHAMS IN LONDON ON 22.MARCH. IT IS ESTIMATED AT BETWEEN £60,000-80,000. THE POEMS IN POETICAL SKETCHES WERE WRITTEN BETWEEN 1768 AND 1777 WHEN BLAKE WAS IN HIS TEENS. IN 1783, A GROUP OF HIS FRIENDS BANDED TOGETHER AND PAID FOR THEM TO BE PRINTED IN A SLIM 70 PAGE VOLUME. APPROXIMATELY 50 COPIES WERE PRINTED BUT THE WHEREABOUTS OF ONLY 20 ARE KNOWN SO THE DISCOVERY OF THIS COPY, ONE OF A VERY FEW IN PRIVATE HANDS, IS HIGHLY SIGNIFICANT. BLAKE WAS GIVEN THE PRINT RUN TO SELL OR GIVE AWAY BUT HE SEEMS NOT TO HAVE BEEN VERY ACTIVE IN PROMOTING THEM BECAUSE SEVERAL COPIES WERE FOUND AMONG HIS POSSESSIONS WHEN HE DIED. HIS FRIENDS, WHO INCLUDED THE SCULPTOR JOHN FLAXMAN, WERE KEEN TO SPREAD THE WORD OF BLAKE'S TALENT AND GAVE SOME VOLUMES AWAY ON HIS BEHALF BUT THE COPY FOR AUCTION WAS ACTUALLY GIVEN BY BLAKE HIMSELF. IT CARRIES HIS INSCRIPTION AND HIS ADDRESS NEAR LEICESTER FIELDS (PRESENT DAY LEICESTER SQUARE) WHERE HE LIVED FROM 1782 UNTIL JULY 1784, SO HE MUST HAVE GIVEN THE COPY AWAY FAIRLY SOON AFTER IT WAS PRINTED. THE IDENTITY OF THE RECIPIENT IS NOT KNOWN. THE BOOK ITSELF WAS LITTERED WITH ERRORS, SOME OF WHICH BLAKE CORRECTED BEFORE HANDING COPIES OUT. ALTHOUGH IT NEVER WENT INTO COMMERCIAL PUBLICATION DURING BLAKE'S LIFETIME, THE BOOK, WHICH INCLUDES WORKS SUCH AS 'MAD SONG' AND 'TO THE EVENING STAR' IS SEEN AS A SIGNIFICANT PART OF HIS OUTPUT, ANTICIPATING THE STYLE OF HIS MATURE WORK AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF HIS SYMBOLIC LANGUAGE.

MAJOR EXHIBITION OF CARAVAGGIO TO BE PRESENTED IN MILAN

VITTORIO SGARBI RETURNS TO MILAN TO PRESENT A MAJOR NEW EXHIBITION THAT ILLUSTRATES THE BIRTH OF THE GENIUS CARAVAGGIO. RECONSTRUCTING HIS ARTISTIC TRAINING, FROM SIMONE PETERZANO TO THE VENETO AND LOMBARD MASTERS, THIS FASCINATING SHOW EXAMINES THE PRECURSORS AND CONTEMPORARIES OF MICHELANGELO MERISI (1571-1610), HIGHLIGHTING THE WORKS THAT THE ARTIST WOULD ACTUALLY HAVE SEEN AND WHAT HE WOULD HAVE WITNESSED IN THE ARTISTIC CLIMATE THAT DOMINATED THE AREA FROM VENICE TO MILAN BEFORE HE MOVED TO ROME, WHICH ACCORDING TO THE MOST RECENT STUDIES WAS LIKELY TO HAVE BEEN AROUND 1595-96. CURATED BY VITTORIO SGARBI, THE EXHIBITION 'THE EYES OF CARAVAGGIO. HIS FORMATIVE YEARS BETWEEN VENICE AND MILAN' IS PRODUCED AND ORGANIZED BY ARTHEMISIA GROUP IN COLLABORATION WITH THE MUSEO DIOCESANO DI MILANO, PROMOTED BY REGIONE LOMBARDIA AND STAGED THANKS TO THE VITAL SUPPORT OF BANCO POPOLARE DI MILANO AND TERNA. THE EXHIBITION GATHERS AROUND SIXTY MASTERPIECES BY THE GREATEST PAINTERS OF THE DAY, WHICH ARE EXHIBITED IN THE MUSEO DIOCESANO FROM 11.MARCH TO 3.JULY. WORKS BY GIORGIONE, TITIAN, TINTORETTO, LORENZO LOTTO, JACOPO DA BASSANO, MORETTO DA BRESCIA, GIOVAN BATTISTA MORONI, GEROLAMO SAVOLDO, VINCENZO AND ANTONIO CAMPI, AND MANY MORE, SOME OF WHICH HAVE NEVER BEEN EXHIBITED BEFORE, DOCUMENT THE FORMATION OF A GROUNDBREAKING AESTHETIC AND AN INNOVATIVE CONCEPTION OF THE HUMAN FIGURE AND ITS RELATIONSHIP WITH SPACE AND LIGHT, WHICH WAS FUNDAMENTAL TO THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE YOUNG MERISI. NATURALLY CARAVAGGIO HIMSELF COULD NOT BE LEFT OUT, AND THE EXHIBITION INCLUDES SOME EXTREMELY SIGNIFICANT WORKS. ONE OF THESE IS THE SO-CALLED 'MURTOLA MEDUSA', THE FIRST VERSION IF THE FAMOUS SHIELD IN THE UFFIZI GALLERIES, WHICH TAKES ITS NAME FROM THE POET WHO WROTE A POEM ABOUT IT IN 1600. THE EXHIBITION ALSO INCLUDES TWO OTHER SEMINAL MASTERPIECES BY CARAVAGGIO: THE OUTSTANDING 'REST ON THE FLIGHT INTO EGYPT', FROM THE DORIA PAMPHILJ COLLECTION IN ROME, AND 'THE FLAGELLATION OF CHRIST', IN ALL ITS HARROWING AND SENSUAL BEAUTY, FROM THE MUSEO DI CAPODIMONTE IN NAPLES, IN MILAN FOR THE FIRST TIME SINCE 1951. DIVIDED INTO SIX SECTION, THE EXHIBITION ILLUSTRATES THE ARTISTIC CONTEXT OF CARAVAGGIO's EARLY YEARS AS AN ARTIST.

A LA VIEILLE RUSSIE TO EXHIBIT AT TEFAF MAASTRICHT 2011

A LA VIEILLE RUSSIE, THE NEW YORK ART AND ANTIQUES GALLERY THAT COUNTS AMONG THE WORLD'S LEADERS IN ANTIQUE JEWELRY AND RUSSIAN WORKS OF ART, WILL EXHIBIT EXQUISITE ITEMS BY FABERGE, AS WELL AS A VERY RARE ENGLISH NECKLACE, AT THE TEFAF MAASTRICHT 2011, THE EUROPEAN FINE ART FAIR THAT OPENS ON 18.MARCH. AMONG THE HIGHLIGHTS ARE TWO ELEGANT ENAMEL FABERGE FRAMES, AS WELL AS A FRENCH 18th CENTURY LACQUER BOX, AND A VICTORIAN GARNET AND DIAMOND NECKLACE AND EARRINGS. OTHER HIGHLIGHTS INCLUDE A GREAT COLLECTION OF RUSSIAN CLOISONNE ENAMEL, FEATURING SIGNIFICANT COMMEMORATIVE PIECES. 'WE ALWAYS BRING TOP REPRESENTATIVE EXAMPLES OF WHAT WE SELL IN THE GALLERY IN NEW YORK, WITH A FOCUS ON EUROPEAN ANTIQUE JEWELRY, SNUFF BOXES AND OBJECTS DE VERTU, AND OF COURSE FABERGE', SAID MARK SCHAFFER, A PARTNER IN A LA VIEILLE RUSSIE (ALVR) ALVR's STAND IS COMPLETELY RE-DESIGNED AND UPDATED, MEANT TO BE A JEWEL-LIKE MICROCOSM OF ITS NEW YORK SPACE. IN FACT, THIS YEAR IS ITS 17th EXHIBITING AT TEFAF, MAKING IT ONE OF THE LONGEST EXHIBITING US DEALERS AT THE FAIR. IN THE 160 YEARS SINCE ITS FOUNDING ALVR HAS BOUGHT A SOLD COUNTLESS FABERGE PIECES, INCLUDING MANY IMPERIAL EASTER EGGS. ALVR WAS KEY IN CREATING SOME OF THE LEADING FABERGE COLLECTIONS, INCLUDING THE FORBES MAGAZINE COLLECTION, NOW PARTIALLY OWNED BY VICTOR VEKSELBERG. OTHER CLIENTS INCLUDED GRAND DUCHESSES KSENIA AND OLGA, SISTERS OF NICHOLAS II, AND THE DUKE AND DUCHESS OF WINDSOR, AND KING FAROUK. WORKS FROM THE GALLERY ARE LOANED TO MUSEUMS AROUND THE WORLD AND EXHIBITED REGULARLY.