VIVIENNE WESTWOOD DESIGNS FOR CHIVAS REGAL

ICONIC BRITISH FASHION DESIGNER VIVIENNE WESTWOOD IS THE LATEST TO CREATE A SPECIAL PACKAGING FOR CHIVAS REGAL'S 18 YEAR SCOTCH BOTTLE. THE LAST LIMITED EDITION WAS DESIGNED BY CHRISTIAN LACROIX AND THE DESIGN WAS MORE TRADITIONAL. THE SPECIAL LIMITED EDITION CHIVAS REGAL 18 WILL SELL FOR AROUND £150, AND WILL BE AVAILABLE FOR CHRISTMAS 2010 AND INTO THE NEW YEAR.

BAINBRIDGES SELLS FAMILY VASE FOR RECORD £53 MILLION

IT WAS JUST AN OLD CHINESE VASE THAT HAD BEEN IN THE FAMILY FOR OVER 80 YEARS. IT TURNED OUT TO BE MUCH MORE. WHEN THE INTRICATELY PAINTED 18th CENTURY PIECE WENT ON THE THE BLOCK AT BAINBRIDGES, A SMALL SUBURBAN LONDON AUCTION HOUSE, IT SOLD FOR A RECORD £53 MILLION THURSDAY, SCOOPED UP BY A CHINESE COLLECTOR. 'HOW DO YOU ANTICIPATE THE CHINESE MARKET?', ASKED THE SHOCKED AUCTIONEER, PETER BAINBRIDGE. 'IT'S TOTALLY ON FIRE.' THE SALE PRICE WAS MORE THAN 40 TIMES THE PRE-SALE ESTIMATE AND A RECORD FOR A CHINESE WORK OF ART, AN OUTCOME BAINBRIDGE CALLED 'A FAIRY TALE' FOR TEH FAMILY WHO OWNED THE VASE. THE SELLERS, WHO WISHED TO REMAIN ANONYMOUS, ARE THE SISTER AND NEPHEW OF A DECEASED ELDERLY WOMAN IN THE WEST LONDON SUBURB OF PINNER. THE VASE HAD BEEN IN THE FAMILY AT LEAST SINCE THE 1930s, THOUGH THEY DON'T KNOW HOW IT WAS ACQUIRED. MANY CHINESE ARTIFACTS SURFACED IN BRITAIN IN THE 19th CENTURY, HAVING BEEN LOOTED FROM BEIJING'S SUMMER PALACE WHEN IT WAS SACKED BY BRITISH AND FRENCH TROOPS AT THE END OF THE SECOND OPIUM WAR IN 1860. PAINTED SKY BLUE AND IMPERIAL YELLOW AND ADORNED WITH MEDALLIONS DEPICTING LEAPING GOLDFISH, THE 16 INCH CASE DATES FROM THE QING DYNASTY, A TIME WHEN CHINESE PORCELAIN-MAKING WAS AT ITS PINNACLE. MADE FOR THE PERSONAL COLLECTION OF EMPEROR QAINLONG AND BEARING THE IMPERIAL SEAL, EXPERTS SAID IT WAS AN EXCEPTIONAL PIECE. STILL, NO ONE EXPECTED WHAT HAPPENED WHEN THE DELICATE ENAMELED VASE WENT ON THE BLOCK. BAINBRIDGE SAID THE ATMOSPHERE WAS 'ELECTRIC', WHEN THE HAMMER CAME DOWN ON THE WINNING BID HE STRUCK IT SO HARD THE GAVEL BROKE. 'THERE WAS A SILENCE THAT WRAPPED ITSELF AROUND THE SALE AS THE FIGURE GREW SLOWLY BUT SURELY UP TO THE SKY', SAID BAINBRIDGE, WHO SPECIALIZES IN HOUSE CLEARANCE SALES, AND WHOSE PREVIOUS RECORD SOLD FOR £100,00. THE VASE, BOUGHT BY A CHINESE BIDDER ON BEHALF OF AN UNDISCLOSED BUYER, BEAT THE PREVIOUS RECORD FOR CHINESE ART, A 45 FOOT LONG 11th CENTURY SCROLL ELABORATELY DECORATED WITH CALLIGRAPHY SOLD FOR ALMOST £45 MILLION IN BEIJING IN JUNE. WHILE THE VASE SOLD THURSDAY IS NOT EXTREMELY OLD, IT DATES FROM AROUND 1740, IT COMES FROM A PERIOD WHOSE WORKS ARE COVETED BY CHINESE COLLECTORS.

MUSEUM OF FINE ARTS BOSTON TO OPEN NEW ART OF THE AMERICAS WING

WHEN DECORATING HIS HOME SOME YEARS AGO, FINANCIER HENRY KRAVIS SOLD A PAINTING BY JOHN SINGER SARGENT TO THE MUSEUM OF FINE ARTS IN BOSTON. THE PAINTING, 'CHARLES STEWART SIXTH MARQUESS OF LONDONERRY, CARRYING THE GREAT SWORD OF THE STATE AT THE CORONATION OF KING EDWARD VII AUGUST 1902, AND MR WC BEAUMONT, HIS PAGE ON THAT OCCASION', IS ONE OF THOUSANDS OF WORKS THAT WILL NOW BE DISPLAYED AT THE MUSEUM'S NEW ART OF THE AMERICAS WING, WHICH OPENS TO THE PUBLIC ON 20.NOVEMBER. 'THIS IS THE KIND OF SARGENT THAT IS A REAL OPPORTUNITY FOR THE MUSEUM BECAUSE IT IS NOT THE KIND OF SARGENT THAT IS POPULAR IN COMMERCIAL TERMS', MUSEUM DIRECTOR MALCOLM ROGERS TOLD A NEWS CONFERENCE ON FRIDAY TO LAUNCH THE NEW EXHIBITION HALL. HANGING CLOSE TO THE 'LORD LONDONDERRY' PAINTING IS SARGENT'S IMMENSELY POPULAR PAINTING 'THE DAUGHTERS OF EDWARD DARLEY BOIT'. SARGENT IS ONE OF HUNDREDS OF AMERICAN ARTISTS REPRESENTED IN THE ART OF THE AMERICAS WING, INCLUDING JOHN SINGLETON COPLEY AND HIS FAMOUS PORTRAIT OF AMERICAN PATRIOT PAUL REVERE, FROM 1768. THE EXPANSION, WHICH INCREASES THE MUSEUM'S SQUARE FOOTAGE BY 28%, WAS 10 YEARS IN THE MAKING AND REPRESENTS THE BIGGEST INITIATIVE IN THE WORLD FOCUSED ON AMERICAN ART AND CULTURE, ROGERS SAID. THE $504 MILLION PROJECT INVOLVED $345 MILLION FOR THE BUILDING AND $159 MILLION FOR ENDOWMENT OF PROGRAMS, POSITIONS AND ANNUAL OPERATIONS. FUND RAISING WAS COMPLETED SHORTLY BEFORE THE FINANCIAL MARKET CRISIS OF LATE 2008. THE FOUR-FLOOR BUILDING CONTAINS 53 GALLERIES THAT INCLUDE WORKS OF ART FROM THE NORTH, CENTRAL AND SOUTH AMERICA SPANNING THREE MILLENNIA, MORE THAN DOUBLING THE NUMBER PREVIOUSLY ON VIEW. THEY INCLUDE PAINTINGS, FURNITURE, SCULPTURE, MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS, TEXTILES, FASHION AND JEWELRY. THE NEW WING ALLOWS NUMEROUS MASTERPIECES TO BE DISPLAYED THAT HAVE BEEN IN STORAGE FOR DECADES DUE TO THE LACK OF LARGE-SCALE EXHIBITION SPACE. ONE OF THOSE PIECES IN THOMAS SULLY'S 1819 PAINTING 'THE PASSAGE OF THE DELAWARE', DEPICTING GEORGE WASHINGTON LEADING HIS TROOPS ACROSS THE DELAWARE RIVER TO SURPRISE BRITISH FORCES; AND JOHN SINGLETON COPLEY'S 'GEORGE IV WHEN PRINCE OF WALES' FROM 1809. THE NEW WING AND ADJACENT GLASS-ENCLOSED RUTH AND CARL J SHAPIRO FAMILY COURTYARD, WAS DESIGNED BY THE LONDON-BASED FIRM FOSTER & PARTNERS.
FOR MORE INFORMATION VISIT www.mfa.org

BONHAMS TO SELL PRESENTATION GONE WITH THE WIND SCRIPT

BONHAMS & BUTTERFIELDS' ENTERTAINMENT MEMORABILIA AUCTION ON 13.DECEMBER IN LOS ANGELES WILL FEATURE A WIDE VARIETY OF ITEMS RELATED TO HOLLYWOOD, ROCK 'N ROLL AND ANIMATION ART, INCLUDING HATTIE MCDANIEL'S PERSONALLY-OWNED 'PRESENTATION COPY' SCRIPT FROM 'GONE WITH THE WIND'. GIFTED TO MCDANIEL BY THE MOVIE'S PRODUCE, DAVID O SELZNICK, AFTER FILMING WAS COMPLETE ON THE 1939 CLASSIC, HE INSCRIBED THE INSIDE: 'FOR MCDANIEL,/ WHO CONTRIBUTED / SO GREATLY! / WITH GRATITUDE / AND ADMIRATION, / DAVID O SELZNICK / XMAS, 1939.' ESTIMATED TO BRING $10,000 TO $15,000, THE SCRIPT IS AN IMPORTANT PIECE OF HOLLYWOOD HISTORY AS MCDANIEL WON A 'BEST ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE' OSCAR FOR HER PORTRAYAL OF 'MAMMY' IN THE FILM, THE FIRST AFRICAN AMERICAN TO BE NOMINATED FOR AND TO WIN AN ACADEMY AWARD.

ART FUND COMMISSIONS PHOTOGRAPHIC REPLICA OF ASHWELLTHORPE TRIPTYCH

A FULL SIZE PHOTOGRAPHIC REPLICA OF THE CELEBRATED ASHEWELLTHROPE TRIPTYCH HAS BEEN COMMISSIONED BY THE NORFOLK BRANCH OF THE ART FUND FOR ALL SAINTS CHURCH IN ASHWELLTHORPE, SOUTH NORFOLK. BACK IN 1983, THE ART FUND HELPED NORWICH CASTLE MUSEUM TO BUY A MAGNIFICENT FLEMISH ALTARPIECE, THE ASHWELLTHORPE TRIPTYCH, DEPICTING THE SEVEN SORROWS OF THE VIRGIN MARY. COMMISSIONED BY THE KNYVETT FAMILY OF ASHWELLTHORPE IN AROUND 1520, IT IS THE EARLIEST KNOWN PAINTING COMMISSIONED BY A NORFOLK FAMILY FROM A FLEMISH ARTIST. FAT FORWARD TO 2010 AND A FULL SIZE PHOTOGRAPHIC REPLICA OF THE CELEBRATED TRIPTYCH. THE WORK, WHICH THE ART FUND GAVE £500 TOWARDS, WILL BE ON DISPLAY AT THE NORWICH CATHEDRAL BETWEEN 6-29.DECEMBER BEFORE HEADING TO ITS PERMANENT HOME AT THE CHURCH IN ASHWELLTHORPE, WHERE IT WILL BE DEDICATED BY THE BISHOP OF NORWICH AT A SPECIAL SERVICE ON 6.FEBRUARY.2011. MARY YULE, A VOLUNTEER WITH THE NORFOLK BRANCH OF THE ART FUND, SPENT AN HOUR ON THE FOURTH PLINTH IN LONDON'S TRAFALGAR SQUARE LAST YEAR AS PART OF ANTONY GORMLEY'S ONE & OTHER PROJECT, IN ORDER TO FUNDRAISE FOR THE COPY OF THE TRIPTYCH. SHE SAID: 'IT WAS AN UNFORGETTABLE EXPERIENCE GOING ONTO THE FOURTH PLINTH TO RAISE FUNDS TO CREATE THIS WONDERFUL REPLICA, AND THRILLING THAT IT NOW EXISTS. IT IS A GREAT HONOR THAT IT IS BEING SHOWN IN THE BEAUTIFUL SURROUNDINGS OF NORWICH CATHEDRAL BEFORE IT GOES HOME TO ALL SAINTS CHURCH, ASHWELLTHORPE.'

METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART TO PRESENT MCQUEEN EXHIBITION

THE SPRING 2011 EXHIBITION ORGANIZED BY THE COSTUME INSTITUTE OF THE METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART WILL BE ALEXANDER MCQUEEN: SAVAGE BEAUTY, IT WAS ANNOUNCED BY THE MUSEUM TODAY. THE EXHIBITION, ON VIEW FROM 4.MAY THROUGH 31.JULY2011, WILL CELEBRATE THE LATE MCQUEEN'S EXTRAORDINARY CONTRIBUTIONS TO FASHION. FROM HIS CENTRAL SAINT MARTINS POSTGRADUATE COLLECTION IN 1992 TO HIS FINAL RUNWAY PRESENTATION, WHICH TOOK PLACE AFTER HIS DEATH IN FEBRUARY 2010, MCQUEEN CHALLENGED AND EXPANDED THE UNDERSTANDING OF FASHION BEYOND UTILITY TO A CONCEPTUAL EXPRESSION OF CULTURE, POLITICS AND IDENTITY. THE EXHIBITION, IN THE METROPOLITAN MUSEUM'S SECOND-FLOOR CANTOR GALLERIES, WILL FEATURE APPROXIMATELY 100 EXAMPLES OF MCQUEEN'S WORK FROM HIS PROLIFIC 19 YEAR CAREER. DRAWN PRIMARILY FROM THE MCQUEEN ARCHIVE IN LONDON, WITH SOME PIECES FROM THE GIVENCHY ARCHIVE IN PARIS AS WELL AS PRIVATE COLLECTIONS, SIGNATURE DESIGNS INCLUDING THE BUMSTER TROUSER, THE KIMONO JACKET AND THE ORIGAMI FROCK COAT WILL BE ON VIEW. MCQUEEN'S FASHIONS OFTEN REFERENCED THE EXAGGERATED SILHOUETTES OF THE 1860s, 1880s AND THE 1950s, BUT HIS TECHNICAL INGENUITY ALWAYS IMBUED HIS DESIGNS WITH AN INNOVATIVE SENSIBILITY THAT KEPT HIM AT THE VANGUARD. GALLERIES WILL SHOWCASE RECURRING THEMES AND CONCEPTS IN MCQUEEN'S WORK BEGINNING WITH 'THE SAVAGE MIND' WHICH WILL EXAMINE HIS SUBVERSION OF TRADITIONAL TAILORING AND DRESSMAKING PRACTICES THROUGH DISPLACEMENT AND DECONSTRUCTION. 'ROMANTIC GOTHIC' WILL HIGHLIGHT MCQUEEN'S NARRATIVE APPROACH TO FASHION AND ILLUMINATE HIS ENGAGEMENT WITH ROMANTIC LITERARY TRADITIONS SUCH AS DEATH, DECAY AND DARKNESS. IT WILL ALSO REVEAL THE MAIN CHARACTERS OF HIS COLLECTIONS, INCLUDING FEMME FATALES AND ANTI-HEROES SUCH AS PIRATES AND HIGHWAYMEN. 'ROMANTIC NATIONALISM' WILL LOOK AT MCQUEEN'S FASCINATION WITH THE DISTANT PAST, WHILE 'ROMANTIC EXOTICISM' WILL EXAMINE HIS FOCUS ON DISTANT PLACES. 'ROMANTIC PRIMITIVISM' WILL EXPLORE MCQUEEN'S ENGAGEMENT WITH THE IDEAL OF THE 'NOBLE SAVAGE'.
FOR MORE INFORMATION VISIT www.metmuseum.org

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.