CHRISTIE'S TO SELL NEWLY DISCOVERED ROTHKO PAINTING

CHRISTIE'S ANNOUNCES THE AUCTION OF A PREVIOUSLY UNDOCUMENTED MASTERPIECE BY THE GREAT ABSTRACT EXPRESSIONIST MARK ROTHKO, TO BE OFFERED AS THE HIGHLIGHT OF THE POST-WAR AND CONTEMPORARY ART EVENING SALE AT CHRISTIE'S NEW YORK ON 11.MAY. THE BOLDLY COLOURED 1961 PAINTING UNTITLED #17 COMES TO AUCTION WITH AN ESTIMATE OF $18,000,000-$20,000,000. THE PRESENT OWNER OF UNTITLED #17 ACQUIRED THE WORK DIRECTLY FROM ROTHKO, AND THE WORK HAS REMAINED IN PRIVATE HANDS SINCE 1965. IT IS ONE OF ONLY 10 PAINTINGS THAT HAVE COME TO LIGHT SINCE THE ROTHKO CATALOGUE RAISONNE WAS PUBLISHED IN 1998. THE DISCOVERED WORK WILL BE INCLUDED IN THE SUPPLEMENT TO THE CATALOGUE RAINSONNE. DAVID ANFAM, AUTHOR OF THE CATALOGUE RAINSONNE, MARK ROTHKO THE WORKS ON CANVAS, HAS WRITTEN A TEXT ON THE PAINTING AND HAS NOTED: 'RECENTLY COME TO LIGHT AFTER AN EXTENDED PERIOD IN PRIVATE HANDS, UNTITLED #17 FITS SQUARELY AMONG THE 22 HITHERTO DOCUMENT OILS ON CANVAS FROM 1961. LARGE, CLASSIC CANVASES THAT MANAGED TO ELUDE MY CATALOGUE RAINSONNE ARE UNCOMMON, AND MOST WELCOME. AT ITS PUBLICATION IN 1998, I COMPARE THE CATALOGUE RAINSONNE PROJECT TO A SORT OF HOMECOMING, FOR A FAMILY OF WORKS THAT HAD BEEN SCATTERED AROUND THE WORLD BY TIME AND CIRCUMSTANCE INTO PUBLIC, PRIVATE AND EVEN FORGOTTEN PLACES. ABSENT FROM MY PAGES THEN, THE REDISCOVERY OF UNTITLED NO.17 ADDS ANOTHER INDELIBLE PRESENCE TO THE GREAT ROTHKO CANON.' ONE OF THE PRE-EMINENT ARTISTS IDENTIFIED WITH ABSTRACT EXPRESSIONISM, ROTHKO EVOLVED HIS CLASSIC STYLE AT THE END OF THE 1940s, CREATING LARGE-SCALE CANVASES IN WHICH FORM AND COLOUR ARE ONE. ALTHOUGH OTHERS HAVE DESCRIBED THESE WORKS IN PURELY FORMAL TERMS, ROTHKO SPOKE OF THEM AS 'INTIMATE AND INTENSE', AND SAID THEY WERE MEANT TO BE EXPERIENCED AT CLOSE QUARTERS, SO THAT THE VIEWER GETS THE FEELING OF BEING 'WITHIN THE PICTURE', PARTICIPATING IN ITS HUMAN 'POIGNANCY'. UNTITLED #17 WAS PAINTED AT THE END OF THE DECADE ROTHKO'S CLASSIC WORK, WHEN HE RECEIVED THE MAJOR COMMISSIONS FOR THE FOUR SEASONS RESTAURANT, THE HOLYOKE CENTER AT HARVARD AND THE DE MENIL CHAPEL IN HOUSTON THAT ALTERED THE DIRECTION OF HIS OF HIS ART.

CHRISTIE'S TO SELL ELIZABETH TAYLOR'S COLLECTION

ELIZABETH TAYLOR'S RENOWNED COLLECTION OF JEWELRY, WORKS OF ART, CLOTHING AND MEMORABILIA WILL BE SOLD AT A SERIES OF AUCTIONS, CHRISTIE'S RECENTLY ANNOUNCED. 'CHRISTIE'S WILL BE SELLING THE HISTORIC COLLECTION OF ELIZABETH TAYLOR', WHO DIED LAST MONTH IN LOS ANGELES AGED 79, THE AUCTION HOUSE SAID IN A STATEMENT. TAYLOR'S POSSESSIONS WILL BE SOLD IN A SERIES OF SALES, DETAILS AND THE TIMING OF THE SALES WILL BE ANNOUNCED AT A LATER DATE, IT SAID. STEPHEN LASH, CHAIRMAN EMERITUS OF CHRISTIE'S AMERICAS, AND MARC PORTER, CHAIRMAN OF CHRISTIE'S AMERICAS WORKED WITH TAYLOR AND HER FAMILY 'OVER THE PAST TWO DECADES, AND ARE MOST HONORED TO HAVE BEEN ENTRUSTED WITH COLLECTION OF THIS WORLD RENOWNED FILM LEGEND, HUMANITARIAN AND TASTE MAKER', SAID THE STATEMENT. TAYLOR, KNOWN FOR HER BEAUTY, LOVE OF DIAMONDS, EIGHT MARRIAGES AND WORK AS AN AIDS ACTIVIST, DIED OF CONGESTIVE HEART FAILURE IN LOS ANGELES ON 23.MARCH AND WAS BURIED THE FOLLOWING DAY. CHRISTIE'S STATEMENT REGARDING THE SALE OF ELIZABETH TAYLOR'S COLLECTION IS AS FOLLOWS:

'STEPHEN LASH, CHAIRMAN EMERITUS OF CHRISTIE'S AMERICAS, AND MARC PORTER, CHAIRMAN OF CHRISTIE'S AMERICAS, TODAY CONFIRMED THAT CHRISTIE'S WILL BE SELLING THE HISTORIC COLLECTION OF ELIZABETH TAYLOR, INCLUDING HER COLLECTION OF JEWELRY, WORKS OF ART, FASHION AND MEMORABILIA, IN A SERIES OF SALES THAT WILL BE ANNOUNCED LATER THIS SEASON. FURTHER DETAILS WILL BE AVAILABLE AT THAT TIME. MESSRS. LASH AND PORTER AND THEIR COLLEAGUES WORKED WITH ELIZABETH TAYLOR AND HER FAMILY OVER THAT PAST TWO DECADES AND ARE MOST HONORED TO HAVE BEEN ENTRUSTED WITH THE COLLECTION OF THIS WORLD RENOWNED FILM LEGEND, HUMANITARIAN AND TASTE MAKER.'

CHRISTIE'S TO SELL WARHOL SELF-PORTRAIT

AN ANDY WARHOL SELF-PORTRAIT PURCHASED IN 1963 FOR $1,600 ON AN INSTALLMENT PLAN IS POISED TO FETCH $30 MILLION OR MORE WHEN IT GOES ON THE AUCTION BLOCK AT CHRISTIE'S IN MAY. 'SELF-PORTRAIT', A FOUR-PANEL ACRYLIC SILKSCREEN DEPICTING THE POP ARTIST WEARING A TRENCH COAT AND SUNGLASSES, IS BEING SOLD BY THE FAMILY OF DETROIT COLLECTOR FLORENCE BARRON. BARRON FIRST COMMISSIONED WARHOL TO PAINT HER PORTRAIT, BUT CHANGED HER MIND AND SUGGESTED THE YOUNG ARTIST DEPICT HIMSELF, TELLING HIM, 'NOBODY KNOWS ME...THEY WANT TO SEE YOU'. THE RESULT WAS WARHOL'S FIRST SELF PORTRAIT, FOUR IMAGES TAKEN IN A COIN-OPERATED PHOTO-BOOTH RENDERED IN HUES OF BLUE. 'MY MOTHER DIDN'T LOOK AT COLLECTING IN TERMS OF 'IS THIS IMPORTANT OT NOT IMPORTANT', GUY BARRON TOLD REUTERS. SHE LOOKED AT IT FROM THE STANDPOINT OF WHAT RESONATED WITH HER, AND OF 'I WANT TO LIVE WITH IT', IT WAS NOT DONE AS SOME PEOPLE DO TODAY, AS WALL POWER.' THE PORTRAIT GRACED THE LIVING ROOM WALL OF THE FAMILY HOME IN DETROIT. IT ALSO WENT ON PUBLIC DISPLAY, SERVING AS THE COVER IMAGE FOR CATALOGS FROM MAJOR WARHOL EXHIBITIONS AND RETROSPECTIVES AT THE MUSEUM OF MODERN ART IN NEW YORK AND THE GUGGENHEIM MUSEUM IN BILBAO, SPAIN. BRETT GORVY, CHRISTIE'S INTERNATIONAL CO-HEAD AND DEPUTY CHAIRMAN FOR POST-WAR AND CONTEMPORARY ART, SAID THE WORK MARKED THE BEGINNING OF WARHOL'S OWN STARDOM. 'WITH DARK GLASSES AN OBLIVIOUS GAZE, WARHOL WAS AHEAD OF HIS TIME IN CREATING A NEW ARCHETYPE OF GLAMOR', GORVY SAID. 'THE PAINTING IS REMARKABLE NOT ONLY FOR ITS VISUAL IMPACT AND THE INTRODUCTION OF THE PHOTO-BOOTH GENRE, BUT FOR MARKING A KEY MOMENT IN THE HISTORY OF ART, WHEN WARHOL TAKES HIS PLACE IN THE PANTHEON OF CELEBRITY ALONGSIDE MARILYN, ELIZABETH AND ELVIS.' BARRON, WHOSE FAMILY INCLUDES TWO MARRIED SONS AND SEVERAL GRANDCHILDREN, SAID THEY WERE AUCTIONING THE WORK BECAUSE 'DIVIDING IS NOT POSSIBLE, SO SELLING MAKES THE MOST SENSE.' THE RECORD FOR A WARHOL SELF-PORTRAIT IS $32.6 MILLION SET LAST MAY AT SOTHEBY'S IN NEW YORK. THE RECORD PRICE FOR ANY WARHOL SOLD AT AUCTION IS 'GREEN CAR CRASH (GREEN BURNING CAR I)' WHICH CHRISTIE'S SOLD FOR $71.7 IN 2007.

CHRISTIE'S TO SELL STUBBS PAINTING FOR ESTIMATED £20 MILLION

CHRISTIE'S WILL OFFER A GEORGE STUBBS HORSE PAINTING FOR SALE IN LONDON ON 5.JULY AND EXPECTS IT TO MAKE MORE THAN £20 MILLION, POTENTIALLY PUTTING IT IN THE OLD MASTERS AUCTION ELITE. 'GIMCRACK ON NEWMARKET HEATH, WITH A TRAINER, A STABLE-LAD, AND A JOCKEY' WAS PAINTED BY STUBBS, RENOWNED FOR HIS ANATOMICALLY PRECISE PORTRAYALS OF HORSES, IN 1765, AND IS DESCRIBED BY THE AUCTIONEER AS 'A TRUE MASTERPIECE'. IT DEPICTS GIMCRACK, ONE OF THE MOST ADMIRED 18th CENTURY RACEHORSES WHICH WON 28 OF HIS 36 RACES AND FINISHED UNPLACED ONLY ONCE. THE PAINTING SHOWS GIMCRACK TWICE, IN THE BACKGROUND WINNING A 'TRIAL' AND IN THE FOREGROUND WITH HIS TRAINER AND JOCKEY, A STABLE LAD RUBBING HIM DOWN. SHOULD THE PAINTING EXCEED PRE-SALE EXPECTATIONS, IT WOULD PLACE STUBBS AMONG THE MOST VALUABLE OLD MASTER PAINTERS IN AUCTION HISTORY, ACCORDING TO CHRISTIE'S. THE MOST EXPENSIVE OLD MASTER PAINTING AT AUCTION REMAINS 'THE MASSACRE OF THE INNOCENTS' BY PETER PAUL RUBENS WHICH FETCHED £49.5 AT SOTHEBY'S IN 2002. THAT IS FOLLOWED BY TWO WORKS BY J.M.W. TURNER, A PAINTING BY PONTORMO AND IN FIFTH PLACE, REMBRANDT'S 'PORTRAIT OF A MAN WITH ARMS AKIMBO' WHICH SOLD FOR £20.2 MILLION AT CHRISTIE'S IN 2009.

CHRISTIE'S TO SELL RARE GALCONDA DIAMOND EAR-PENDANTS

A PAIR OF SPECTACULAR EAR-PENDANTS FEATURING THE WORLD'S RAREST DIAMONDS FROM THE LEGENDARY GOLCONDA MINES WILL BE OFFERED AT CHRISTIE'S HONG KONG MAGNIFICENT JEWELS SALE, WHICH WILL BE HELD ON 31.MAY AT THE HONG KONG CONVENTION & EXHIBITION CENTRE. THE IMPERIAL CUSHIONS, A PAIR OF D POTENTIALLY FLAWLESS GOLCONDA TYPE IIa DIAMONDS EAR-PENDANTS, IS ESTIMATED AT $7-$10 MILLION. THE OCCURRENCE OF SUCH A PAIR OF GALCONDA GEMSTONES, WITH A LIMPIDITY THAT IS PARTICULAR TO THE WORLD'S FINEST TYPE IIa DIAMONDS, IA A NATURAL MARVEL. AT 23.49 AND 23.11 CARATS EACH, THE PAIR IS OF EXCEPTIONAL CALIBER PROPORTIONS. WITH TYPE IIa DIAMONDS BEING LESS THAN 2% OF THE WORLD'S PRODUCTION, THE SUPERBLY MATCHED PAIR OF THE IMPERIAL CUSHIONS IS A UNIQUE EXAMPLE OF MAGNIFICENCE AND RARITY. WHILE THE PRESENT DIAMONDS DO NOT ACTUALLY COME WITH AN IMPERIAL PROVENANCE, THE QUALITY, WORKMANSHIP, SIZE, AND RARITY ARE CERTAINLY OF A CALIBER WORTHY OF A ROYAL COLLECTION.

CHRISTIE'S TO SELL WORLD'S LARGEST PEARL

AUCTION HOUSE CHRISTIE'S WILL PUT ONE OF THE WORLD'S LARGEST PEARLS ON THE BLOCK AT ITS DUBAI SPRING JEWELRY SALE ON 19.APRIL IN A NOSTALGIC REMINDER OF THE EMIRATE'S PEARL DIVING PAST. THE AUCTION HOUSE IS SHOWCASING AN ARRAY OF PEARLS, DIAMONDS, FINE GEMS AND GOLD JEWELRY AHEAD OF THE SALE. PEARLS ARE ESPECIALLY UNIQUE TO DUBAI, AS PEARL HUNTING WAS A MAJOR SOURCE OF INCOME A CENTURY AGO IN THE PORT CITY. CHRISTIE'S, WHO HAVE BEEN HOLDING REGULAR AUCTIONS IN THE MIDDLE EAST SINCE 2006, SAW REGIONAL SALES REACH $51 MILLION LAST YEAR, UP FROM RECESSION LOWS OF $18-20 MILLION IN 2009. THE STUNNING PEARL IS DROP-SHAPED IN A SILVER AND GRAY SHADE AT ALMOST 60 CARATS. ONE OF TEH LARGEST NATURAL SALTWATER PEARLS RECORDED TO DATE, IT IS MOUNTED AS A PENDENT ON A DIAMOND-STUDDED CHAIN NECKLACE. CHRISTIE'S HAS ESTIMATED IT AT UP TO $250,000. 'THIS PART OF THE WORLD LIKES THINGS THAT ARE UNIQUE AND RARE', SAID DAVID WARREN, HEAD OF CHRISTIE'S MIDDLE EAST JEWELRY DEPARTMENT. CLOSE TO ONE HUNDRED JEWELRY LOTS, ESTIMATED AT A TOTAL $5-$6.5 MILLION, WILL BE AVAILABLE AT THE AUCTION NEXT MONTH. ITEMS RANGE FROM AN ELEPHANT-SHAPED GEM RING WORTH $4,000-$6,000 TO A DIAMOND FLOWER NECKLACE WHICH CONVERTS INTO A TIARA WITH MATCHING EARRINGS WORTH $450,000-$550,000.

LICHTENSTEIN DRAWING ACQUIRED FOR $10 EXPECTED TO SELL FOR $1 MILLION

THE INVITATION TO A 1960s 'HAPPENING' WAS INTRIGUING: PAY $10 TO ENTER A LOTTERY FOR THE CHANCE TO GET A KEY TO A PENN STATION LOCKER CONTAINING AN ORIGINAL ARTWORK. FOR ONE NEW YORKER WHO ATTENDED THE 1965 EVENT, THE KEY REVEALED A ROY LICHTENSTEIN DRAWING THAT CHRISTIE'S AUCTION HOUSE ESTIMATES WILL FETCH AROUND $1 MILLION AT ITS 11.MAY AUCTION. 'KISS V' IS A STUDY FOR ONE OF LICHTENSTEIN'S MAJOR PAINTINGS OF THE SAME NAME, WHICH IS IN A PRIVATE COLLECTION AND BELONGS TO HIS DREAM-GIRL SERIES CREATED BETWEEN 1961 AND 1965. MEASURING 6 INCHES BY 6 INCHES, THE STUDY IS A COMIC BOOK-INSPIRED CLOSE-UP OF A MAN AND WOMAN, EXECUTED IN GRAPHITE AND WAX CRAYON. THE ARTIST, WHO DIED IN 1997, WAS FAMOUS FOR HIS CARTOON-INSPIRED STYLE THAT HELPED LAUNCH, ALONG WITH ANDY WARHOL, JASPER JOHN AND OTHERS, THE POP ART MOVEMENT. 'HAPPENINGS', SPONTANEOUS AND FUN ARTS AND PERFORMANCE EVENTS, SPRUNG UP ALL AROUND THE CITY DURING THE HEADY DAYS OF THE 1960s. THE MARCH 1965 ONE WAS ORGANIZED BY A GROUP OF EMERGING POP ARTISTS. IT INVITED PARTICIPANTS TO COME TO THE HOTEL CHELSEA, HOME TO NUMEROUS LEGENDARY WRITERS AND ARTISTS, TO ENTER INTO THE $10 LOTTERY FOR A KEY TO ABOUT 20 LOCKERS AT THE OLD PENN STATION, WHICH WAS THEN BEING TORN DOWN. THIRTEEN ARTISTS PARTICIPATED IN THE ARTIST'S KEY CLUB EVENT. BESIDES LICHTENSTEIN, THEY INCLUDED WARHOL, CHRISTO AND ARMAN. 'IT WAS A LARGE PARTY FOR ARTIST AND PEOPLE WHO WERE PART OF THE HIP DOWNTOWN GROUP HAVING FUN', SAID CHRISTIE'S POSTWAR AND CONTEMPORARY ART EXPERT BRETT GORVY. LATER, HE SAID, THE GROUP PARTIED AT A RESTAURANT ON THE PROCEEDS FROM THE EVENT. PARTICIPANTS DID NOT KNOWN WHICH KEY OPENED WHICH LOCKER. AND NOT EVERYONE WAS AS LUCKY AS THE WOMAN WHO CLAIMED THE LICHTENSTEIN DRAWING. 'ONE ARTIST PUT UP A GROUP OF VERY PUNGENT CHEESES' FOR HIS CONCEPTIONAL PIECE AND ANOTHER 'HAD SPICES AND HERBS AS HIS ART WORK' SAID GORVY. IN 1965, THE LICHTENSTEIN DRAWING WOULD PROBABLY HAVE BEEN VALUED AT ABOUT $50. THE CURRENT OWNER, WHO DECLINED TO BE IDENTIFIED, DECIDED TO SELL IT BECAUSE SHE HAD IT RECENTLY APPRAISED AND WAS SHOCKED TO FIND OUT HOW MUCH IT WAS WORTH. GORVY SAID LICHTENSTEIN'S 'CRYING GIRL', A DRAWING OF SIMILAR SIZE AND FROM THE SAME SERIES, SOLD AT CHRISTIE'S ON 2007 FOR $1.7 MILLION. HE SAID HE EXPECTED 'KISS V' TO SURPASS ITS PRE-SALE ESTIMATE OF $800,000 TO $1.2 MILLION BECAUSE OF ITS UNIQUE PROVENANCE. THE AUCTION RECORD OF LICHTENSTEIN IS $42.6 MILLION FOR HIS 'OH...ALRIGHT', A COMIC BOOK IMAGE OF A FORLORN WOMAN CLUTCHING A TELEPHONE. IT SOLD AT CHRISTIE'S IN NOVEMBER.

CHRISTIE'S TO SELL MONET'S 'LES PEUPLIERS'

A PRISTINE MONET MASTERPIECE FROM THE ARTIST'S CELEBRATED 'POPLARS' SERIES WILL BE FEATURED AT CHRISTIE'S IN MAY, WHEN IT IS EXPECTED TO SELL FOR AS MUCH AS $30 MILLION, THE AUCTION HOUSE SAID RECENTLY. 'LES PEUPLIERS', THE LARGEST FROM MONET'S FAMED PAINTINGS DEPICTING POPLAR TREES EXECUTED DURING HIS YEARS IN GIVERNY, IS BEING SOLD BY AN ASIAN COLLECTOR WHO PURCHASED IT AT AUCTION IN 2000 FOR JUST OVER $7 MILLION. AFTER A PRECIPITOUS DECLINE FOLLOWING THE FINANCIAL CRISIS THAT HIT IN LATE 2008, THE ART MARKET CAME ROARING BACK LAST YEAR WITH WORKS BREAKING THE $100 MILLION MARK, ARTISTS' RECORDS BEING BROKEN AND AUCTION HOUSES RAKING IN CASH ONCE AGAIN. 'THE APPEARANCE OF THIS MASTERPIECE QUALITY WORKS MARKS THE FIRST TIME IN OVER A DECADE THAT A MAJOR 1890s SERIES PAINTING HAS COME TO AUCTION', SAID CONOR JORDON, CHRISTIE'S HEAD OF IMPRESSIONIST AND MODERN ART. 'WE ANTICIPATE GREAT ENTHUSIASM FROM MANY COLLECTORS, DEALERS AND MUSEUM DIRECTORS WHO HAVE BEEN EAGER FOR A QUINTESSENTIAL MONET SCENE SUCH AS THIS', JORDON ADDED. PRICES FOR TOP QUALITY WORKS BY MONET HAVE SOARED IN RECENT SEASONS, CHRISTIE'S NOTED. THE AUCTION RECORD FOR A MONET IS $80.4 MILLION SET IN MAY 2008 BY 'LE BASSIN AUX NYMPHEAS' FROM THE ARTIST'S RENOWNED WATERLILIES SERIES, WHICH WAS ABOUT TWICE THE PRE-SALE ESTIMATE. THE MAJORITY OF THE 24 WORKS FROM THE POPLARS SERIES HANG IN MAJOR ART MUSEUMS INCLUDING LONDON'S TATE GALLERY, THE PHILADELPHIA MUSEUM OF ART AND BOSTON'S MUSEUM OF FINE ARTS. 'LES PEUPLIERS' WILL BE SOLD IN NEW YORK ON 4.MAY AFTER TOURING IN MOSCOW AND LONDON IN APRIL. MONET PAINTED 'LES PEUPLIERS' DURING THE SUMMER OF 1891 AFTER STRIKING A DEAL WITH A WOOD CUTTER NOT TO CUT DOWN A STAND OF POPLAR TREES ON THE RIVER NEAR HIS HOME UNTIL HE COULD FINISH PAINTING THEM.

CHRISTIE'S TO SELL 10.09 CARAT FANCY VIVID DIAMOND

PERHAPS NO GREATER PHENOMENON HAS ELECTRIFIED THE GLOBAL JEWELRY MARKET IN THE PAST FEW YEARS THAN THE SKYROCKETING PRICES ACHIEVED FOR LARGE PINK DIAMONDS AT AUCTION. IN THE LAST 15 MONTHS, FOUR PINK DIAMONDS HAVE FETCHED MORE THAN 41 MILLION PER CARAT AT AUCTION, CHRISTIE'S LEADING THE WAY WITH THE VIVID PINK, A 5 CARAT CUSHION-CUT DIAMOND THAT SOLD FOR MORE THAN $2.1 MILLION PER CARAT AT CHRISTIE'S HONG KONG IN DECEMBER 2009, A RECORD PRICE PER CARAT FOR ANY DIAMOND SOLD AT AUCTION. NOW, CHRISTIE'S IS PLEASED TO ANNOUNCE IT WILL OFFER A 10.09 CARAT FANCY VIVID PURPLISH-PINK DIAMOND AS THE HIGHLIGHT OF ITS 12.APRIL MAGNIFICENT JEWELS SALE IN NEW YORK. THE EXCEPTIONAL DIAMOND, WITH ITS HIGHLY DESIRABLE CUSHION CUT, IS ESTIMATED AT $12-15 MILLION. 'COLLECTOR DEMAND FOR LARGE COLOURED DIAMONDS HAS NEVER BEEN STRONGER, ESPECIALLY WHERE PINK DIAMONDS OF THIS SIZE AND QUALITY ARE CONCERNED. FEWER THAN 10% OF ALL PINK DIAMONDS MINED WEIGH MORE THAN 0.20 CARATS, AND EVEN FEWER EXHIBIT THE EXCEPTIONAL COLOUR SATURATION AND BRILLIANCE OF THIS EXCEPTIONAL GEM. IN ALL MY YEARS AT CHRISTIE'S, I HAVE NEVER SEEN SUCH A VIVID COLOUR IN A STONE OF THIS SIZE', SAID RAHUL KADAKIA, HEAD OF JEWELRY AT CHRISTIE'S NEW YORK. 'AT CHRISTIE'S NEW YORK THIS PAST DECEMBER, JEWELRY COLLECTORS COMPETED FOR A 6.89 CARAT FANCY VIVID PURPLISH-PINK DIAMOND, WHICH ULTIMATELY SOLD FOR $6.9 MILLION OF $1 MILLION PER CARAT. THIS LARGER STONE, WITH ITS RICHER, DEEPER HUE OF PINK AND ELECTRIFYING PURPLE TONE IS POSITIONED TO BECOME ONE OF THIS SEASON'S TOP SELLING DIAMONDS.'

CHRISTIE'S TO SELL LOWRY PAINTING FOR ESTIMATED £3.5 MILLION

HAVING NOT BEEN SEEN IN PUBLIC FOR ALMOST 20 YEARS, THE FOOTBALL MATCH, BY LAURENCE STEPHEN LOWRY, R.A. WILL BE OFFERED AT AUCTION ON 26.MAY IN CHRISTIE'S SALE OF 20th CENTURY BRITISH ART. AN EXCEPTIONALLY RARE DEPICTION OF ONE OF BRITAIN'S MOST POPULAR SPORTS, FOOTBALL, BY ONE OF THE COUNTRY'S MOST ICONIC BRITISH ARTISTS, THE PAINTING IS A MODERN MASTERPIECE. THE PROPERTY OF A PRIVATE COLLECTOR, THE FOOTBALL MATCH HAS AN ESTIMATE OF £3.5 MILLION TO £4 MILLION, SETTING A NEW BENCHMARK FOR THE ARTIST'S WORK AT AUCTION. REFLECTING THE INTERNATIONAL APPEAL OF LOWRY, THE FOOTBALL MATCH, WHICH WAS PAINTED IN 1949 AT THE HIGH POINT OF THE ARTIST'S CAREER, TOURED TO LONDON, AMERICA AND PARIS BEFORE ENTERING A PRIVATE COLLECTION IN 1950, WHERE IT REMAINED FOR OVER 40 YEARS. THE LARGE FORMAT CANVAS, MEASURING 28 x 36 INCHES, IS IN EXCELLENT ORIGINAL CONDITION. IT PROVIDES COLLECTORS, INSTITUTIONS AND DEALERS WITH A VERY RARE OPPORTUNITY AS IT COMBINES THE ARTIST'S HIGHLY SOUGHT AFTER INDUSTRIAL LANDSCAPE, PEPPERED WITH ROOFTOPS; CHIMNEYS FULL OF BILLOWING SMOKE; HOUSES AND STREETS SCENES WITH INCIDENTAL DOMESTIC MOMENTS, AND TEAMS THIS WITH MAGNETICALLY PULLING THE VIEWER OVER THE ROOFTOPS, THROUGH THE DEEP CROWDS GATHERED ON THE SIDE-LINES, THROUGH THE GOALPOST AND INTO THE MIDST OF THE FOOTBALL MATCH ITSELF, AND THEN BEYOND. LOWRY WAS A KEEN FOOTBALL SUPPORTER HIMSELF, HIS TEAM WAS MANCHESTER CITY. HE EXPLORED THE SUBJECT OF GOING TO, OR BEING AT A FOOTBALL MATCH, SEVERAL TIMES, BUT NO OTHER WORK PROVIDES THE ENGAGING PANORAMIC BIRDS-EYE VIEW DEEP IN TO THE ACTION ON THE PITCH, THROUGH SUCH EXTENSIVE CROWDS, WITH THE GREATER, HIGHLY DETAILED CONTEXT OF THE HOMES AND FACTORIES, FLANKING ALL FOUR SIDES OF THE PITCH, WHICH ARE CENTRAL TO THE LIVELIHOOD OF THE SUPPORTERS DEPICTED.

CHRISTIE'S SELLS WARHOL SELF-PORTRAIT FOR $17 MILLION

A SELF-PORTRAIT BY ANDY WARHOL HAS SOLD FOR $17 MILLION, DOUBLE ITS PRE-SALE ESTIMATE. CHRISTIE'S LONDON SAYS THE WORK HAS BEEN IN A PRIVATE COLLECTION SINCE 1974. IT IS ONE OF A SERIES OF 11 SELF-PORTRAITS WARHOL CREATED. THE IMAGE OF RED AND WHITE SILKSCREEN INK ON CANVAS SHOWS THE ARTIST WITH HIS HAND TO HIS MOUTH. IT WAS EXECUTED IN 1967, AT THE HEIGHT OF HIS CAREER AS THE MOST IMPORTANT FIGURE IN AMERICAN POP ART. CHRISTIE'S SAYS THE PORTRAIT WAS BOUGHT BY AN ANONYMOUS BIDDER IN ITS LONDON AUCTION ROOM WEDNESDAY. THE IMAGE OF WARHOL WITH HIS TO HIS MOUTH IS ONE OF THE MOST REPRESENTATIVE AND ICONIC IMAGES OF THE ARTIST. WARHOL FIRST USED THE IMAGE FOR A GROUP OF WORKS IN 1966 PAINTED IN A MUCH SMALLER, LIFE-SIZE SCALE. THE FOLLOWING YEAR HE USED THE SAME IMAGE IN PRODUCING 11 MONUMENTAL WORKS IN A LARGE-SCALE FORMAT OF SIX FOOT SQUARE, OF WHICH THE PRESENT EXAMPLE IS ONE. SIX WORKS FROM THE SERIES WERE EXHIBITED IN THE AMERICAN PAVILION AT THE 1967 INTERNATIONAL AND UNIVERSAL EXPOSITION IN MONTREAL WHICH WAS VISITED BY TENS OF MILLIONS OF PEOPLE, AND WHICH SAW THE PORTRAITS DOMINATE AN EXHIBITION INCLUDING WORKS BY JASPER JOHNS, ROY LICHTENSTEIN, BARNETT NEWMAN AND ROBERT RAUSCHENBERG. BY 1967 WARHOL HAD REACHED A POINT IN HIS CAREER WHEN HE WAS INTERNATIONALLY RECOGNIZED AS THE MOST IMPORTANT AND CONTROVERSIAL FIGURE IN AMERICAN POP ART . THE PRESENT SERIES OF SELF-PORTRAITS REPRESENT THE HIGH POINT OF HIS CAREER WHEN HE HAS ACHIEVED GREAT WEALTH AND FAME, AND WHEN AS A CELEBRITY HE BRASHLY AND CONFIDENTLY PRESENTED HIS OWN IMAGE IN A TRULY MONUMENTAL FASHION TO A GLOBAL AUDIENCE OF MILLION.

CHRISTIE'S FAILS TO SELL GAUGUIN PAINTING

A PAINTING BY PAUL GAUGUIN, BILLED AS THE TOP LOT AT CHRISTIE'S AUCTION OF MODERN AND IMPRESSIONIST WORKS IN LONDON, FAILED TO FIND A BUYER ON WEDNESDAY. THE TRIBUTE TO THE ARTIST'S FRIEND VINCENT VAN GOGH, IN THE FORM OF A STILL LIFE WITH SUNFLOWERS CALLED 'NATURE MORTE A L'ESPERANCE', HAD BEEN EXPECTED TO FETCH UP TO $16 MILLION. OVERALL, THE AUCTION RAISED $99.6 MILLION, ACCORDING THE AUCTION HOUSE'S WEBSITE, TOWARD THE LOWER END OF THE EXPECTED $130.4 MILLION. THE TOP LOT OF THE NIGHT WAS PIERRE BONNARD'S 'TERRASSE A VERNON' WHICH SOLD FOR $11.6 MILLION, WELL ABOVE EXPECTATIONS OF $6.4 MILLION.

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.

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.

CHRISTIE'S SELL DENNIS HOPPER'S WARHOL PAINTING FOR $302,500

THE ANDY WARHOL PORTRAIT OF MAO ZEDONG THAT ACTOR DENNIS HOPPER SHOT TWO BULLETS THROUGH SOLD FOR $302,500 AT CHRISTIE'S ON TUESDAY, MORE THAN 10 TIMES ITS HIGH ESTIMATE. THE 1972 SCREEN PRINT FROM HOPPER'S ART COLLECTION IS DONE IN HUES OF MOSTLY BLUES AND GREENS, INCLUDING A DEEP BLUE FACE OF MAO, THE FOUNDER OF THE MODERN COMMUNIST STATE. IT HAD BEEN ESTIMATED TO SELL FOR $20,000 TO $30,000 AT THE TWO-DAY AUCTION OF HUNDREDS OF WORKS FROM THE ACTOR'S COLLECTION AND PERSONAL MEMORABILIA FROM HIS CALIFORNIA HOME. MAO WAS AMONG WARHOL'S ICONIC SUBJECTS. HOPPER'S PAINTING WAS UNIQUE BECAUSE IT INCLUDED BULLET HOLES FIRED AFTER THE NOTORIOUSLY WILD ACTOR GOT SPOOKED AND 'MISTOOK THE PORTRAIT ON HIS WALL FOR MAO HIMSELF AND SHOT AT IT', ACCORDING TO CHRISTIE'S. HOPPER, WHO DIED OF CANCER LAST YEAR, LATER SHOWED WARHOL THE BULLET HOLES, AND THE PAIR AGREED TO CONSIDER THE WORK A COLLABORATION. WARHOL DREW CIRCLES AROUND THE HOLES, LABELING THE ONE OVER MAO'S RIGHT SHOULDER 'WARNING SHOT' AND THE ONE AT HIS LEFT EYELID 'BULLET HOLE'. ANOTHER ICONIC WARHOL SCREEN-PRINT FROM 1967 OF MARILYN MONROE FETCHED $206,500, OR ABOUT FOUR TIMES THE PRE-SALE ESTIMATE. MUCH OF HOPPER'S MOST VALUABLE ART WAS SOLD IN NOVEMBER DURING CHRISTIE'S CONTEMPORARY AND POST-WAR AUCTION, RAISING MORE THAN $10 MILLION FOR THE ESTATE.

CHRISTIE'S TO SELL DENIS HOPPER COLLECTION NEXT WEEK

DENIS HOPPER SHOT TWO BULLET HOLES THROUGH AN ANDY WARHOL PORTRAIT OF MAO ZEDONG, BUT INSTEAD OF EARNING THE WRATH OF THE ARTIST, WARHOL CALLED THE 'EASY RIDER' STAR A COLLABORATOR. WARHOL'S 'MAO' IS AMONG 300 WORKS OF FINE ART AND MEMORABILIA OWNED BY THE LATE ACTOR-DIRECTOR OF THE 1969 COUNTERCULTURE FILM UP FOR AUCTION AT CHRISTIE'S NEXT WEEK. THE 1972 COLOURED SCREEN-PRINT IS EXPECTED TO BRING $20,000 TO $30,000. MOST OF THE ITEMS ADORNED THE ACTOR'S VENICE BEACH, CALIFORNIA, HOME. HOPPER, WHO WAS TWICE NOMINATED FOR OSCARS AND EARNED A STAR LAST YEAR ON THE HOLLYWOOD WALK OF FAME, DIED OF PROSTATE CANCER AT HIS HOME IN MAY. HE WAS 74. HOPPER WAS ALREADY STRICKEN WITH CANCER WHEN HE ATTENDED THE CEREMONY FOR THE UNVEILING OF HIS COMMEMORATIVE STAR. THE FRAMED PLAQUE OF THE STAR THAT HE RECEIVED AS A MEMENTO OF THE EVENT IS BEING SOLD NEXT WEEK FOR AN ESTIMATED $1,000 TO $1,500. HOPPER BEGAN COLLECTING IN THE 1960s AFTER THE VENERABLE ACTOR, VINCENT PRICE, HIMSELF AN AVID COLLECTOR OF IMPRESSIONIST ART, TOLD HIM: 'YOU NEED TO COLLECT, THIS IS WHERE YOU NEED TO PUT YOUR MONEY', SAID CATHY ELKIES, CHRISTIE'S DIRECTOR OF ICONIC COLLECTIONS. 'THIS REALLY WAS HIS CALLING.' HOPPER, A PHOTOGRAPHER AND PAINTER HIMSELF, BECAME IMMERSED IN THE WEST COAST ARTIST SCENE AND POP ART MOVEMENT, BECOMING CLOSE FRIENDS WITH WARHOL, ROY LICHTENSTEIN AND MANY OTHER ARTISTS HE COLLECTED. WHILE ECLECTIC, 'THERE IS SOME DEPTH OF CERTAIN ARTISTS' AMONG THE FINE ART WORKS IN THE COLLECTION, INCLUDING THOSE OF WALLACE BERMAN, BRUCE CONNER AND GEORGE HERMS. CONNER'S 'PICNIC ON THE GRASS' AND WARHOL'S 'MAO' ARE THE HIGHEST PRICED ITEMS IN THE SALE. 'PICNIC ON THE GRASS' ALSO IS EXPECTED TO BRING BETWEEN $20,000 TO $30,000. THE SHOOTING INCIDENT INVOLVING 'MAO' OCCURRED SOMETIME IN THE EARLY 1970s AT HOPPER'S LOS ANGELES HOME, SAID ALEX HITZ, A FAMILY FRIEND AND A TRUSTEE OF THE ESTATE. 'ONE NIGHT IN THE SHADOWS, DENNIS, OUT OF THE CORNER OF HIS EYE, SAW THE MAO AND HE WAS SO SPOOKED BY IT THAT HE GOT UP AND SHOT AT IT, TWICE, PUTTING TWO BULLET HOLES IN IT', HITZ TOLD THE ASSOCIATED PRESS IN A TELEPHONE INTERVIEW FROM LOS ANGELES. 'ANDY SAW IT, LOVED IT AND ANNOTATED THOSE HOLES' LABELING THEM 'WARNING SHOT' AND 'BULLET HOLE.' HOPPER'S FOUR CHILDREN ARE SELLING THE COLLECTION BECAUSE 'IT WAS DENNIS' WISH TO SELL EVERYTHING. ELKIES SAID HOPPER'S VENICE BEACH HOUSE WAS FILLED 'LITERALLY FROM FLOOR TO CEILING WITH ART, AND REALISTICALLY THEY (THE CHILDREN) COULDN'T TAKE THAT ON.' CHRISTIE'S OFFERED 30 WORKS FROM THE HOPPER COLLECTION IN NOVEMBER WHEN A 1987 JEAN-MICHAEL BASQUIAT MIXED MEDIA WORK, 'UNTITLED', SOLD FOR $5.8 MILLION.

CHRISTIE'S TO SELL FABERGE SNUFF-BOX

CHRISTIE'S UPCOMING RUSSIAN WORKS OF ART SALE ON 29.NOVEMBER WILL BE LED BY AN IMPORTANT JEWELED VARI-COLOURED GOLD AND GUILLOCHE ENAMELED IMPERIAL PRESENTATION SNUFF-BOX, MARKED FABERGE, WITH THE WORKMSTER'S MARK OF HENRIK WIGSTROM. IT WAS PRESENTED TO THE TURKISH DIPLOMAT, TURKHAN PASHA, IN DECEMBER 1913 ON BEHALF OF EMPEROR NICHOLAS II PROBABLY TO COMMEMORATE THE END OF HIS FIVE YEAR AMBASSADORSHIP IN ST PETERSBURG. IN 1919 THE SNUFF-BOX CHANGED HANDS FOR THE LAST TIME, WHEN IT WAS ACQUIRED BY THE FAMILY OF THE PRESENT OWNER. IT WILL BE OFFERED WITH AN ESTIMATE OF £400,000-600,000. THE FIRM OF FABERGE WAS AWARDED THE TITLE OF COURT JEWELER IN 1884 AND BECAME ONE OF THE MAIN SUPPLIERS TO THE CABINET OF HIS IMPERIAL MAJESTY. ONLY 54 PRESENTATION SNUFF-BOXES SET WITH A MINIATURE OF NICHOLAS II WERE EVER PRESENTED BY THE EMPEROR. OF THESE, ONLY 19 WERE EXECUTED BY FABERGE, MAKING THESE BOXES EVEN RARER THAN THE FIFTY KNOWN IMPERIAL EASTER EGGS. THE PRESENT IMPERIAL PRESENTATION SNUFF-BOX WAS PURCHASED FROM FABERGE ON 16.MAY.1909 AT A COST OF 2,500 RUBLES AND WAS ENTERED IN THE LEDGERS OF THE CABINET OF HIS IMPERIAL MAJESTY. IN 1911, A PORTRAIT MINIATURE BY VASILII ZUEV WAS SET ON THE COVER. THE SNUFF-BOX WAS LATER PRESENTED ON BEHALF OF EMPEROR NICHOLAS II TURKHAN PASHA ON 12.DECEMBER.1913. IN RUSSIA, THE PRACTICE OF AWARDING JEWELED SNUFF-BOXES CAME IN ITS OWN DURING THE REIGNS OF THE EMPRESS ELIZABETH AND CATHERINE THE GREAT, WHEN SNUFF TAKING DEVELOPED INTO AN ELABORATE SOCIAL RITUAL, L'ART DE PRISER, AND GAVE RISE TO THE NEW ART FORM OF LUXURIOUS SNUFF-BOXES, FOR WHICH THERE WAS A TREMENDOUS DEMAND. THE CUSTOM ENDURED IN RUSSIA LONG AFTER THE FASHION FOR SNUFF TAKING HAD PASSED. A JEWELED PRESENTATION SNUFF-BOX WAS THE MOST FREQUENTLY AWARDED PORTRAIT GIFT DURING THE REIGN OF NICHOLAS II AND WAS AN IMPERIAL AWARD BESTOWED UPON BOTH DESERVING RUSSIAN NATIONALS AS WELL AS FOREIGN DIGNITARIES. NICHOLAS II PRESENTED A TOTAL OF 54 SNUFF-BOXES WITH HIS MINIATURE PORTRAIT, 20 OF THESE TO PROMINENT RUSSIANS AND 34 TO FOREIGN DIGNITARIES.

CHRISTIE'S SELLS LICHTENSTEIN PAINTING FOR RECORD $42,642,500

CHRISTIE'S MADE HISTORY YESTERDAY BY SELLING A POP ART MASTERPIECE FROM ROY LICHTENSTEIN AT ITS MAJOR EVENING SALE OF POST-WAR & CONTEMPORARY ART. THE HIGHLY ANTICIPATED MASTERPIECE 'OHHH...ALRIGHT...', 1964, BY ROY LICHTENSTEIN REALIZED $42,642,500, ESTABLISHING A NEW WORLD AUCTION RECORD FOR THE ARTIST. THE WORK SOLD TO AN ANONYMOUS BIDDER ON THE PHONE. THE PREVIOUS RECORD FOR A WORK BY LICHTENSTEIN WAS $16,256,000, ACHIEVED FOR IN THE CAR, 1963, AT CHRISTIE'S NEW YORK IN NOVEMBER 2005. 'OHHH...ALRIGHT...' CHARACTERIZES THE LICHTENSTEIN'S CAPTIVATION AND INSPIRATION WITH TECHNIQUES OF COMMERCIAL PRINTING AND REPRODUCTION ARTICULATED IN HIS SIGNATURE BEN-DAY DOTS. AS WITH ALL OF LICHTENSTEIN'S ICONIC IMAGES, 'OHHH...ALRIGHT...' IS AT ONCE STRIKING AND SUBTLY AND HUMOROUS. THE STUNNING BLUE-EYED, FLAME HAIRED BEAUTY FORMS PART OF THE ICONIC CAST OF DREAM-GIRLS PAINTED BETWEEN 1961-1965 THAT SAW LICHTENSTEIN ATTAIN INTERNATIONAL PROMINENCE AS ONE OF AMERICA'S MOST EXCITING AND CONTROVERSIAL ARTISTS.

CHRISTIE'S TO SELL RARE DEPICTION OF 'LOST' PALACE

CHRISTIE'S ANNOUNCED RECENTLY THAT THEY WILL BE OFFERING AN EXCEPTIONALLY RARE AND BEAUTIFUL DEPICTION OF THE 'LOST' PALACE OF NONSUCH AT THE AUCTION OF OLD MASTERS AND 19th CENTURY ART ON 7.DECEMBER. COMMISSIONED BY KING HENRY VIII IN ORDER TO OUTSHINE THE GREAT PALACES BUILT BY HIS RIVAL KING FRANCOIS I OF FRANCE, THE BUILDING OF NONSUCH PALACE BEGAN IN 1538 AND TOOK 8 YEARS TO COMPLETE. IT STOOD FOR LESS THAN 150 YEARS HAVING FALLEN INTO DESPAIR IN THE 1680s. THE EARLIEST AND MOST IMPORTANT CONTEMPORARY DEPICTION OF BRITAIN'S MOST AMBITIOUS RENAISSANCE COMMISSION, THE PRESENT DRAWING IS AN EXTREMELY VALUABLE RECORD OF THE 'LOST PALACE AND HAS BEN SEEN IN PUBLIC ONLY TWICE BEFORE; AT SUTTON PLACE IN 1983 AND AT THE NATIONAL GALLERY, WASHINGTON, IN 1986. DESCRIBED AS 'THE ONLY SURVIVING IMPRESSION OF WHAT NONSUCH REALLY LOOKED LIKE', IT IS EXPECTED TO REALIZE £800,000 TO £1,200,000. THE STUNNING WATERCOLOUR WAS EXECUTED BY JORIS HOEFNAGEL WHO PROVIDED THE ILLUSTRATIONS FOR CIVITATES ORBIS TERRARUM, AN EXTREMELY IMPORTANT RECORD OF ALL MOST IMPORTANT BUILDINGS AND CITYSCAPES IN EUROPE FIRST PUBLISHED IN 1572. ALMOST ALL OF THE 546 DRAWINGS MADE FOR THE BOOK ARE NOW IN PUBLIC COLLECTIONS, WITH THE MAJORITY, MORE THAN 60, IN THE NATIONAL MUSEUM IN VIENNA. HOEFNAGEL EXECUTED THE PRESENT WORK IN SITU AT NONSUCH AND USED IT TO CREATE A LATER, LESS DETAILED DEPICTION THAT WAS USED FOR THE ENGRAVING. THE LATER VERSION IS NOW IN THE BRITISH MUSEUM. THE PRESENT WORK WAS ACQUIRED IN THE MID-19th CENTURY BY SIR ALFRED MORRISON OF FONTHILL, ONE OF THE MOST CELEBRATED BRITISH COLLECTORS OF THE LATE 19th CENTURY, AND HAS SINCE PASSED BY DESCENT.
THE CONSTRUCTION OF NONSUCH BEGAN ON 23.APRIL.1538, THE THIRTIETH ANNIVERSARY OF HENRY VIIIs ACCESSION TO THE THRONE, ON THE SITE OF TE VILLAGE OF CUDDINGTON, NEAR EWELL, SURRY. THE PALACE'S PRIMARY FUNCTION WAS TO SERVE AS A HUNTING LODGE; MORE IMPORTANTLY IT WAS CONCEIVED AS A VISUAL EXPRESSION OF TUDOR SUPREMACY BOTH TEMPORAL AND SPIRITUAL, A CELEBRATION OF THE BIRTH OF HENRY'S FIRST LEGITIMATE SON (THE FUTURE EDWARD VI) ON 12.OCTOBER.1537 AND, IN FLATTENING THE PARISH CHURCH OF CUDDINGTON, IT LITERALLY DEMONSTRATED HENRY'S NEW DOMINANCE AS HEAD OF THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND. MOST IMPORTANTLY, IT WAS PROOF THAT HENRY WAS EQUAL TO THE ARCHITECTURAL ACHIEVEMENTS OF FRANCOIS I OF FRANCE. IT WAS NAMED 'NONSUCH' AS NO OTHER PALACE COULD EQUAL ITS MAGNIFICENCE. STILL INCOMPLETE WHEN HENRY VIII DIED IN 1547, NONSUCH WAS SOLD TO HENRY FITZALAN EARL OF ARUNDEL, BY MARY I IN 1557. IT RETURNED TO ROYAL HANDS IN 1592, WHEN ARUNDEL'S HEIR LORD LUMLEY GAVE IT TO ELIZABETH I IN SETTLEMENT OF A DEBT. IT WAS EVENTUALLY GRANTED BY CHARLES II TO BARBARA VILLIERS, COUNTESS OF CASTLEMAINE, IN 1670, WHEN SHE WAS CREATED BARONESS OF NONSUCH, COUNTESS OF SOUTHAMPTON AND DUCHESS OF CLEVELAND. IN LATE 1682 SHE TOOK THE STEP OF BEGINNING TO DISMANTLE THE INNER COURT, AS MERELY THE FIRST STAGE OF AN ORDERED DEMOLITION WHICH ENABLED HER TO SELL THE RAW MATERIALS FOR MONEY WITH WHICH TO PAY OFF HER GAMBLING DEBTS. BY 1690 THE PALACE WAS ALL BUT GONE, AND FOR ALMOST FOUR HUNDRED YEARS ITS FABULOUS APPEARANCE WAS ONLY KNOWN THROUGH WRITTEN RECORDS AND THE FEW KNOWN VISUAL REPRESENTATIONS.

CHRISTIE'S SELLS MATISSE SCULPTURE FOR RECORD $48 MILLION

A 6 FOOT HENRI MATISSE BRONZE OF A NUDE WOMAN SEEN FROM BEHIND HAS BEEN SOLD FOR OVER $48 MILLION IN NEW YORK CITY, A RECORD AUCTION PRICE FOR THE ARTIST'S WORK. CHRISTIE'S SAYS 'BACK IV' WAS PURCHASED WEDNESDAY BY GAGOSIAN GALLERY INC. THE PRICE INCLUDED THE BUYER'S PREMIUM. IT HAD BEEN ESTIMATED TO BRING $25 TO $35 MILLION. MATISSE CREATED A SERIES OF FOUR OF THE BRONZE RELIEFS, WHAT SOME CONSIDER HIS MOST AMBITIOUS SCULPTURAL WORK. HE WORKED ON THEM BETWEEN 1908 AND 1931. THE SINGULAR MOTIF OF THE WORKS IS A WOMAN LEANING AGAINST A WALL. SHE'S SEEN FROM BEHIND. MAJOR MUSEUMS HAVE COMPLETE SETS, INCLUDING NEW YORK'S MUSEUM OF MODERN ART. CHRISTIE'S SAID IT WAS THE FIRST TIME THAT ONE OF THE COLOSSAL BRONZES WAS BROUGHT TO AUCTION.