UNITED STATES SELLS ITS LONDON EMBASSY TO QATAR INVESTMENT GROUP

THE US STATE DEPARTMENT HAS ENTERED INTO AN AGREEMENT TO SELL THE US CHANCERY IN LONDON, LOCATED IN GROSVENOR SQUARE. THE SALE IS TO QATARI DIAR REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT COMPANY WHICH HAS ITS HEADQUARTERS IN DOHA, QATAR. THE AGREEMENT WAS SIGNED FOR THE UNITED STATES BY THE US AMBASSADOR TO THE UNITED KINGDOM, LOUIS B SUSMAN. THE WELL KNOWN HISTORIC US HERITAGE BUILDING IN LONDON WAS ORIGINALLY DESIGNED BY THE MODERNIST ARCHITECT EERO SAARINEN. WITH THE SIGNING OF THE CONTRACT THE UNITED STATES TAKES ANOTHER STEP TOWARDS RELOCATING TO A NEW STATE OF THE ART EMBASSY WHICH WILL ENHANCE THE URBAN FABRIC OF LONDON AND DEMONSTRATE EXCEPTIONAL AMERICAN ARCHITECTURE. THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE NEW EMBASSY IN THE NINE ELMS AREA OF WANDSWORTH WILL PROVIDE A MODERN, OPEN AND SECURE AMERICAN DIPLOMACY DIPLOMATIC FACILITY IN LONDON. IN EARLY 2010, THE STATE DEPARTMENT WILL ANNOUNCE A WINNER OF THE DESIGN COMPETITION FOR THE NEW US EMBASSY. ACTUAL GROUNDBREAKING WILL DEPEND ON MANY FACTORS, BUT IT IS HOPED THAT CONSTRUCTION WILL BEGIN IN 2012 OR 2013 WITH THE PROJECT COMPLETED BY 2016 OR 2017. THE UNITED STATES WILL CONTINUE TO OCCUPY THE CHANCERY IN GROSVENOR SQUARE UNTIL THE RELOCATION IS COMPLETE.

£82,000 DIAMOND AND RUBY CHRISTMAS TREE ORNAMENT

A STUNNING ONE OF A KIND £82,000 CHRISTMAS TREE DECORATION HAS BEEN RECENTLY UNVEILED IN A TINY ENGLISH VILLAGE JEWELERS. THE ORNAMENT IS MADE OF 18 CARAT WHITE GOLD AND IS SET WITH OVER ONE AND HALF THOUSAND THOUSAND SPARKLING DIAMONDS. IT IS SURROUNDED BY TWO INCREDIBLE RINGS FEATURING 188 RED RUBIES AND TOOK OVER A YEAR TO DESIGN AND CREATE. THE AMAZING CREATION WAS DREAMT UP BY MARK HUSSEY, THE OWNER OF A 30 YEAR OLD BUSINESS IN TITCHFIELD, HAMPSHIRE, HALLMARK JEWELERS. HE SAID: "IT WAS NEVER ABOUT THE VALUE OF THE BAUBLE, WE JUST WANTED TO DO SOMETHING SPECIAL FOR CHRISTMAS. IT WAS MORE ABOUT MAKING SOMETHING UNIQUE, BUT AS WE RESEARCHED OTHER AMAZING BAUBLES WE DISCOVERED THE MOST EXPENSIVE ONE WAS £26,874. WE THOUGHT, WHY NOT SEE IF WE CAN BEAT IT, BUT WE WERE BOWLED OVER WHEN IT WAS VALUED AT £82,000. IT WOULD BE ABSOLUTELY FANTASTIC IF WE COULD FIND THE RIGHT PERSON TO BUY IT. BUT IF I'M HONEST, IF IT'S STILL HERE ON CHRISTMAS EVE I'D LOVE TO PUT IT ON OUR CHRISTMAS TREE." THE CHRISTMAS ORNAMENT FEATURES A SNOWFLAKE-CUT PATTERN AMONG A HALLMARKED 18 CARAT WHITE GOLD SPHERE WHICH HAS BEEN HAND PAVE SET WITH 1,578 BRILLIANT CUT DIAMONDS. THREE ONE CARAT DIAMONDS ADORN THE CENTER BAND OF THE DECORATION, WHICH IS ORBITED BY TWO RUBY ENCRUSTED RINGS. IT COMES IN A HANDMADE WOODEN BOX COMPLETE WITH A STAND AND HAS BEEN INDEPENDENTLY VALUED BY THE NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF GOLDSMITHS.

PRADA UNVEILS NEW 706-PAGE "PRADA" BOOK

ITALIAN FASHION LABEL PRADA, KNOWN FOR ITS ORIGINALITY THAT MAKES IT THE FASHION POWERHOUSE AMONG THE MOST INFLUENTIAL FASHION HOUSES, HAS RECENTLY UNVEILED A STUNNING NEW 706 PAGE TOME THAT CAPS 30 YEARS OF INNOVATIONS AND EXPERIMENTS IN FASHION, ART, ARCHITECTURE, CINEMA AND COMMUNICATIONS. THE BOOK TITLED "PRADA" WAS PUBLISHED BY PRADA PROGETTO ARTE TO ILLUSTRATE ALL THE ASPECTS THROUGH WHICH IT EXPRESSES ITSELF. PRADA, WHICH HAS GONE BEYOND SUCCESS IN THE FASHION WORLD, IS SELLING THE BOOK IN PRADA BOUTIQUES WORLDWIDE, IN SELECTED BOOKSTORES AND ON prada.com/pradabook FOR AN ESTIMATED $150.

RUSCHA PRINT 'STANDARD STATION' SELLS FOR RECORD AMOUNT AT AUCTION

ED RUSCHA SEEMS TO BE HAVING A GREAT YEAR. LONDON'S HAYWARD GALLERY FETED HIM IN A MASSIVE RETROSPECTIVE, THE PHILANTHROPIC GROUP AMERICANS FOR THE ARTS AWARDED HI ITS ARTISTIC EXCELLENCE AWARD, AND NOW BIDDERS HAVE SET A NEW RECORD PRICE FOR HIS PRINTS AT AUCTION. BUYERS COMPETED VIGOROUSLY RECENTLY AT BONHAMS AND BUTTERFIELDS, PUSHING THE PRICE OF THE ARTIST'S STANDARD STATION (E.5) (1966) WELL ABOVE ITS $30-40,000 ESTIMATE TO AN ASTOUNDING $170,000. IT IS THE HIGHEST PRICE EVER RECORDED FOR ONE OF THE ARTIST'S PRINTS ON THE AUCTION BLOCK. THE PREVIOUS HIGHPOINT FOR A RUSCHA PRINT WAS SET IN 2007, WHEN AN EDITION OF HIS HOLLYWOOD PRINT WENT FOR $133,000. PERHAPS MOST REMARKABLE ABOUT THE PRICE IS THE FACT THAT THE WORK, WHICH DEPICTS A RED GASOLINE STATION (ONE OF RUSCHA'S MOST ICONIC IMAGES) AGAINST A GRADIENT BACKGROUND OF ORANGE AND GRAY, IS NUMBERED 33 OF A FAIRLY SIZABLE EDITION OF 50. AFTER THE TRIUMPHANT EVENING, IT WILL BE INTERESTING TO SEE IF COLLECTORS DECIDE TO CASH IN OTHER RUSCHA PRINTS OR HOLD ONTO THEM.

DUCHESS OF CORNWALL VISITS CANADIAN NAVAL VESSEL HMCS HAIDA

THE DUCHESS OF CORNWALL HAD A CRASH COURSE IN SEA WARFARE RECENTLY . . . AND LOOKED LESS THAN IMPRESSED WITH THE EXPERIENCE. AS PART OF THEIR OFFICIAL VISIT TO CANADA, PRINCE CHARLES AND CAMILA HAD THE CHANCE TO FIRE A NAVAL GUN ON THE HMCS HAIDA. IN AN UNSUCCESSFUL ATTEMPT AT MULTI-TASKING THE DUCHESS TRIED TO COVER HERE EARS AND FLINCH AWAY FROM THE SOUND WHILE PULLING THE TRIGGER OF THE DESTROYER'S GUN, BUT SHE DISSOLVED INTO A FIT OF GIGGLES AS SHE TRIED TO PROTECT HERSELF FROM THE EAR-SPLITTING SOUND. SHE WAS SEEN LAUGHING AS THE PRINCE OF WALES HAD A GO AT FIRING THE GUN ON WHAT IS KNOWN AS 'THE FIGHTINGEST SHIP IN THE ROYAL CANADIAN NAVY'. DESPITE HER DISTASTE AT THE SOUND SHE LOOKED LIKE SHE WAS HAVING FUN ON HER FIRST OFFICIAL TRIP TO CANADA. PRINCE CHARLES, HOWEVER, LOOKED LESS THAN IMPRESSED AT THE FUSS HIS WIFE WAS MAKING. THEIR GUN-TOTING ON THE SHIP, WHICH IS NOW USED AS A NAVAL MUSEUM AND SEA CADET TRADING VESSEL, IS JUST ONE OF THE MANY OFFICIAL ENGAGEMENTS THE ROYAL COUPLE HAVE PLANNED AS PART OF THEIR TEN-DAY TOUR OF CANADA. THEY ALSO CALLED IN AT DUNDURN CASTLE, THE 72 ROOM HOME OF CAMILLA'S ANCESTOR SIR ALLAN MACNAB BUILT IN HAMILTON NEAR TORONTO. SIR ALLAN BECAME PRIME MINISTER OF THE UNITED PROVINCE OF CANADA IN 1854. ALTHOUGH IT IS CAMILLA'S FIRST OFFICIAL VISIT TO THE COUNTRY OF HER ANCESTORS, IT IS PRINCE CHARLES' 15th VISIT. THE COUPLE HAVE ALREADY VISITED NEWFOUNDLAND AND LABRADOR AND HAVE MANY MORE ENGAGEMENTS BEFORE THEY LEAVE ON 12.NOVEMBER.

GUY FAWKES DAY . . . REMEMBER THE FIFTH OF NOVEMBER

GUY FAWKES' DAY, A LITTLE BIT OF HISTORY . . .
IN 1605, GUY (GUIDO) FAWKES AND A GROUP OF CONSPIRATORS, PLANNED TO BLOW UP THE HOUSES OF PARLIAMENT IN A BID TO KILL KING JAMES VI AND THE MEMBERS OF PARLIAMENT WHO WERE MAKING LIFE DIFFICULT FOR THE CATHOLICS. IN ALL THERE WERE 13 CONSPIRITORS IN THE GUNPOWDER PLOT -- THEIR NAMES WERE ROBERT CATESBY, THOMAS WINTOUR, JACK WRIGHT, ROBERT KEYES, THOMAS BATES, JOHN GRANT, AMBROSE ROOKWOOD, FRANCIS TRESHAM, AND EVERARD DIGBY. ALTHOUGH ROBERT CATESBY WAS THE LEADER, GUY FAWKES BECAME THE MOST WELL KNOWN MEMBER OF THE GUNPOWDER PLOT AS IT WAS HE WHO WAS CAUGHT UNDER THE HOUSE OF LORDS WITH 36 BARRELS OF GUNPOWDER. FOR TWO DAYS FAWKES WAS THE ONLY SUSPECT AND HIS NAME BECAME SYNONYMOUS WITH THE 'POWDER TREASON'. SHORTLY AFTERWARDS, THE REST OF THE PLOTTERS WERE EITHER CAUGHT OR GAVE THEMSELVES UP.
FOR OVER 400 YEARS, PEOPLE HAVE BURNED BONFIRES ON 5.NOVEMBER TO MARK THE FAILED GUNPOWDER PLOT. INITIALLY, THE PEOPLE OF LONDON, LIT BONFIRES TO GIVE THANKS FOR THE FACT THAT THEIR KING HAD BEEN SAVED AND SOON AFTER, EFFIGIES WERE BEING PLACED ON THE FIRES AND FIREWORKS ADDED TO THE CELEBRATION.


REMEMBER, REMEMBER THE FIFTH OF NOVEMBER,
THE GUNPOWDER TREASON AND PLOT,
I KNOW OF NO REASON
WHY THE GUNPOWDER TREASON
SHOULD EVER BE FORGOT.
GUY FAWKES, GUY FAWKES, T'WAS HIS INTENT
TO BLOW UP KING AND PARLI'MENT.
THREE-SCORE BARRELS OF POWDER BELOW
TO PROVE OLD ENGLAND'S OVERTHROW;
BY GOD'S PROVIDENCE HE WAS CATCH'D
WITH A DARK LANTERN AND BURNING MATCH.
HOLLOA BOYS, HOLLOA BOYS, LET THE BELLS RING.
HOLLOA BOYS, HOLLA BOYS, GOD SAVE THE KING!

CROCKER ART MUSEUM ANNOUNCES MAJOR EXPANSION TO OPEN IN 2010

ON 10.OCTOBER THE CROCKER ART MUSEUM, SACRAMENTO, CA, THE FIRST ART MUSEUM ESTABLISHED IN THE WESTERN UNITED STATES, UNVEILED A NEW 125,000 SQUARE FOOT BUILDING DESIGNED BY GWATHMEY SIEGEL & ASSOCIATES ARCHITECTS, THAT WILL MORE THAN TRIPLE THE MUSEUM'S CURRENT SIZE. THE NEW BUILDING WILL COMPLEMENT THE MUSEUM'S HISTORIC STRUCTURES AND EXPAND THE CROCKER ART MUSEUM'S ABILITY TO ORIGINATE AND PRESENT TRAVELING EXHIBITIONS AND EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS, EXHIBIT SIGNIFICANTLY MORE OF ITS GROWING COLLECTION, AND ENHANCE ITS ROLE AS A CULTURAL RESOURCE FOR CALIFORNIA AND THE STATE'S MANY VISITORS. THE PROJECT'S CAPITAL CAMPAIGN HAS ELICITED UNPRECEDENTED SUPPORT, WITH MORE THAN $90 MILLION RAISED TO DATE TOWARDS A $100 MILLION GOAL.
THE CROCKER ART MUSEUM, WHICH BECAME A PUBLIC INSTITUTION IN 1885, WILL MARK ITS 125th ANNIVERSARY IN 2010. THE MUSEUM'S HOLDINGS AND PROGRAMS HAVE BURGEONED AS THE POPULATION OF SACRAMENTO HAS INCREASED AND DIVERSIFIED. TODAY, THE MUSEUM HOUSES CONTEMPORARY PAINTINGS, SCULPTURE AND MULTI-MEDIA WORKS, A COMPREHENSIVE COLLECTION OF CALIFORNIA ART DATING FROM THE GOLD RUSH TO THE PRESENT DAY, EXCEPTIONAL HOLDINGS OF MASTER DRAWINGS, DUTCH AND FLEMISH PAINTINGS FROM THE 16th AND 17th CENTURIES, 19th CENTURY CENTRAL AND NORTHERN EUROPEAN PAINTINGS, ONE OF THE LARGEST AND MOST COMPREHENSIVE INTERNATIONAL CERAMICS COLLECTIONS IN THE UNITED STATES, AND A RAPIDLY GROWING COLLECTION OF ASIAN ART. THE CROCKER CONTINUES TO BUILD ITS PROGRAMS AND STRENGTHEN ITS COLLECTIONS IN NEW AND EXISTING AREAS IN ANTICIPATION OF THE INCREASED CAPACITIES ITS NEW BUILDING WILL PROVIDE.
FOR MORE INFORMATION VISIT www.crockerartmuseum.org