CANADIAN MINT ISSUES FIRST COLLECTOR COIN FOR 2011

THE ROYAL CANADIAN MINT HAS NOW ANNOUNCED ITS FIRST COLLECTOR COIN OF THE NEW YEAR, THE 2011 SILVER DOLLAR, WHICH COMMEMORATES THE 100th ANNIVERSARY OF PARKS CANADA. THE NEW SILVER DOLLAR HAS BEEN MADE AVAILABLE IN A PROOF AND BRILLIANT UNCIRCULATED FINISH, AND IN A SELECT GOLD-PLATED VERSION FOUND EXCLUSIVELY IN THE MINT'S 2011 PROOF SET. IAN E BENNETT, PRESIDENT AND CEO OF THE ROYAL CANADIAN MINT, SAID THAT THE FIRST 2011 PROOF SILVER DOLLAR HONORS PARKS CANADA'S PRICELESS ROLE IN PRESERVING CANADA'S NATURAL WONDERS OVER THE LAST 100 YEARS. THE 2011 SILVER DOLLAR HAS BEEN DESIGNED BY QUEBEC ARTIST LUC NORMANDIN, AND IT SHOWS THE IMAGE OF A YOUNG CANADIAN HOLDING FOUR ENDANGERED ECOLOGICAL TREASURES IN HIS HANDS; A WHOOPING CRANE, THE SOUTHERN MAIDENHAIR FERN, A WESTERN FRINGED PRAIRIE ORCHID AND A KENTUCKY COFFEE TREE. LIMITED TO A MINTAGE OF 40,000, THE 2011 PROOF SILVER DOLLAR IS MADE OF STERLING LIVER AND RETAILS FOR $55.95 CDN.

HOSMER MORSE MUSEUM OF AMERICAN ART TO PRESENT TIFFANY EXHIBITION

THE LAST MAJOR ART WORKS FROM THE ESTATE OF AMERICAN ARTIST LOUIS COMFORT TIFFANY WILL GO ON PERMANENT DISPLAY FOR THE FIRST TIME IN FEBRUARY AT FLORIDA'S CHARLES HOSMER MORSE MUSEUM OF AMERICAN ART IN ORLANDO. A NEW 6,000 SQUARE FOOT GALLERY AT THE WINTER PARK MUSEUM WILL BE OPENED ON 19.FEBRUARY, NEARLY 54 YEARS AFTER A FIRE DESTROYED LAURELTON HALL, THE TURN OF THE CENTURY NEW YORK HOME OF TIFFANY, WHO WAS BEST KNOWN FOR HIS LEADED GLASS WORKS. THE GALLERY WILL HOUSE THE SURVIVING COMPONENTS OF THE ESTATE, INCLUDING THE REASSEMBLED DAFFODIL TERRACE, AN OUTDOOR ROOM MARKED BY EIGHT 11 FOOT MARBLE COLUMNS TOPPED WITH WREATHS OF GLASS FLOWERS AND COVERED BY A CEDAR, TILE AND GLASS CEILING. OVER THE PAST FIVE YEARS, THE MUSEUM HAS BEEN DEVELOPING THE NEW GALLERY DESIGNED TO DISPLAY TIFFANY'S REMAINING LARGE-SCALE WORKS IN A MANNER THAT SUGGESTS THEIR PLACEMENT AT HIS ESTATE, AS WELL AS HIS LOVE OF NATURAL BEAUTY AND HIS STYLE OF BLURRING THE LINE BETWEEN INDOORS AND OUTDOORS. THE GALLERY WILL ALSO INCLUDE 250 OBJECTS FROM OR RELATED TO THE ESTATE. THE DAFFODIL TERRACE WILL BE DISPLAYED IN A GLASSED-IN ALCOVE TO RECREATE THE FEEL OF TEH ORIGINAL OUTDOOR SPACE. AS IT DID AT LAURELTON HALL, THE TERRACE FLOWS DIRECTLY INTO A RECREATION OF THE ESTATE'S DINING ROOM, WHICH INCLUDES A NEARLY 14 FOOT HIGH MOSAIC MANTELPIECE, 25 FOOT LONG ORIENTAL CARPET AND A SUITE OF SIX LEADED-GLASS WISTERIA TRANSOMS. THE ADJOINING LIVING ROOM FEATURES FOUR LEADED-GLASS PANELS DEPICTING THE FOUR SEASONS, WHICH WON A GOLD MEDAL AT THE EXPOSITION UNIVERSELLE IN PARIS IN 1990, AND FIVE TURTLEBACK-GLASS HANGING LAMPS. HIGH F MCKEAN, AN ARTIST WHO HAD BEEN A FELLOW IN RESIDENCE AT THE ESTATE, RESCUED THE WORKS FROM THE WRECKAGE OF THE 1957 FIRE ALONG WITH HIS WIFE JEANNETTE, WHO FOUNDED THE FLORIDA MUSEUM NAMED FOR HER GRANDFATHER, CHARLES HOSMER MORSE. THE MCKEANS SPENT FOUR DECADES TRACKING DOWN AND BUYING MISSING PIECES THAT HAD BEEN SOLD, AUCTIONED OR GIVEN AWAY. THE TERRACE AND MANY OF THE OBJECTS WERE WAREHOUSE UNTIL 2006 WHEN THE MORSE MUSEUM COLLABORATED WITH THE NEW YORK METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART TO UNPACK AND RESTORE THE COLLECTION AND CREATE A SIX MONTH TEMPORARY EXHIBIT THAT HAD BEEN SEEN BY ABOUT 350,000 PEOPLE AT THE MET. THE MORSE MUSEUM ALSO HOUSES THE TIFFANY CHAPEL, A BYZANTINE-INSPIRED INTERIOR CREATED FOR THE 1893 WORLD'S COLOMBIAN EXPOSITION IN CHICAGO, AND AN EXTENSIVE COLLECTION OF TIFFANY POTTERY, JEWELRY, ECCLESIASTICAL WORKS AND LEAD-LINE DRAWINGS WHICH SERVED AS PATTERNS FOR HIS GLASS WORKS.

STAN LEE GIVEN STAR ON WALK OF FAME

THERE'S A NEW SUPERHERO ON HOLLYWOOD BOULEVARD. COMIC BOOK LEGEND STAN LEE, CREATOR OR CO-CREATOR OF SUCH MARVEL COMICS CHARACTERS AS SPIDER-MAN, THE INCREDIBLE HULK, X-MEN, THE FANTASTIC FOUR AND IRON MAN, HAS NOW BEEN ENSHRINED IN CONCRETE. THE 88 YEAR OLD LEE UNVEILED HIS WALK OF FAME SIDEWALK STAR ON TUESDAY IN FRONT OF THE LIVE NATION BUILDING ON HOLLYWOOD BOULEVARD. IT'S THE 2,428th STAR DEDICATED ON THE FAMOUS AVENUE OF DREAMS. LEE IS FOUNDER, CHAIRMAN AND CHIEF OFFICER OF POW! ENTERTAINMENT. MORE THAN 2 MILLION OF LEE'S COMIC BOOKS HAVE BEEN PUBLISHED IN 75 NATIONS AND IN 25 LANGUAGES. HIS CHARACTERS HAVE BEN FEATURED IN 24 ANIMATED TELEVISION SERIES AND SEVERAL LIVE ACTION FILMS. IN COLLABORATION WITH SEVERAL ARTISTS, MOST NOTABLY JACK KIRBY AND STEVE DITKO, HE CO-CREATED SPIDER-MAN, THE FANTASTIC FOUR, THE X-MEN, THE AVENGERS, IRON MAN, THE HULK, THOR, DAREDEVIL, DOCTOR STRANGE AND MANY OTHER FICTIONAL CHARACTERS. INTRODUCING COMPLEX, NATURALISTIC CHARACTERS AND A THOROUGHLY SHARED UNIVERSE INTO SUPERHERO COMIC BOOKS. IN ADDITION, HE HEADED THE FIRST MAJOR SUCCESSFUL CHALLENGE TO THE INDUSTRY'S CENSORSHIP ORGANIZATION, THE COMICS CODE AUTHORITY, AND FORCED IT TO REFORM ITS POLICIES. LEE SUBSEQUENTLY LED THE EXPANSION OF MARVEL COMICS FROM A SMALL DIVISION OF A PUBLISHING HOUSE TO A LARGE MULTIMEDIA CORPORATION. HE WAS INDUCTED INTO THE COMIC BOOK INDUSTRY'S WILL EISNER COMIC BOOK HALL OF FAME IN 1994 AND THE JACK KIRBY HALL OF FAME IN 1995.

JOHN LENNON'S WHITE SUIT SELLS AT AUCTION FOR $46,000

THE WHITE TWO-PIECE SUIT JOHN LENNON WORE ON THE COVER OF THE BEATLES' ABBEY ROAD ALBUM HAS BEEN SOLD AT AUCTION IN CONNECTICUT FOR $46,000. THE SUIT AND OTHER BEATLES MEMORABILIA WERE SOLD SATURDAY AT THE BRASWELL GALLERIES' ANNUAL NEW YEAR'S DAY AUCTION TO AN ONLINE BIDDER WHO WISHED TO REMAIN ANONYMOUS. OWNER KATHY BRASWELL TELLS THE CONNECTICUT POST THE HOLIDAY AUCTION IS THEIR BIGGEST EVENT OF THE YEAR. THE SUIT WAS CUSTOM MADE FOR LENNON BY FRENCH DESIGNER TED LAPIDUS. HANK GIOIELLA OF DARIEN PAID $5,500 FOR A RUSTED GREEN 1972 CHRYSLER STATION WAGON LENNON AND YOKO ONO OWNED. THE ABBEY ROAD IMAGE IS ONE OF THE MOST ICONIC ALBUM COVERS OF ALL TIME AND THE FAMOUS SHOT FOR THE FINAL BEATLES ALBUM TOOK ON A LIFE OF IT'S OWN. FORTY YEARS AFTER FIRST BEING PUBLISHED, THE FAMILIAR IMAGE IS SO INDELIBLY IMPRINTED ON THE PUBLIC IMAGINATION IT SERVES AS THE CATALYST FOR THOUSANDS OF MULTI-GENERATIONAL BEATLES FANS TO MAKE THE PILGRIMAGE TO THE FAMED SPOT AND PAY HOMAGE.

GINUWINE BECOMES SPOKESMAN FOR ADULT CHOCOLATE MILK

SINGER GINUWINE HAS PUT ON A MILKMAN'S UNIFORM FOR HIS RECENT GIG AS THE NEW SPOKESMAN OF ADULT CHOCOLATE MILK, A 40% VERSION OF THE CHILDHOOD FAVORITE. THE NEW PRODUCT IS BEING SOLD AT COSTCO AND IS THE LATEST TWIST ON SWEET TREATS FOR ADULTS THAT INCLUDE THE INFAMOUS FOUR LOKO ENERGY SODA AND WHIPPED LIGHTENING WHIPPED CREAM. THE NEW YORK DAILY NEW REPORTS THAT ADULT CHOCOLATE MILK WAS CREATED BY CALIFORNIA MOM TRACY REINHARDT AND COMBINES CHOCOLATE MILK WITH 40 PROOF VODKA. THE IDEA LED TO THE CREATION OF THE ADULT BEVERAGE COMPANY WHICH ALSO PLANS TO MAKE OTHER ALCOHOL-FILLED VERSIONS OF CHILDHOOD FAVORITES INCLUDING ADULT ORANGE CREAM, ADULT FRUIT PUNCH AND ADULT LIMEADE. THE PRODUCT HAS A SLOGAN 'RE-TASTE YOUR YOUTH AT 40 PROOF' AND COMES IN A MILK-BOTTLE INSPIRED GLASS BOTTLE WITH A SWING TOP. IT IS NOT REFRIGERATED AND SELLS FOR $23.99.

A HEDONIST'S GUIDE TO ART

HG2 ART IS A HANDBOOK THAT GIVES READERS AN INSIGHT INTO BOTH THE DARKER REACHES OF THE ART WORLD AND SOME OF ITS MORE ENCHANTING POCKETS. REVEALING INSIDER SECRETS, IT ANSWERS THE QUESTIONS EVERY WOULD-BE ART COLLECTOR WANTS TO KNOW. HH2 ART IS A SEMINAL COLLECTION OF ESSAYS THAT WILL NOT ONLY INSPIRE ANY BURGEONING COLLECTOR, BUT ANYONE WISHING TO TAP INTO THE ESOTERIC FORTRESS OF STRANGE THAT IS THE ART WORLD. GILBERT & GEORGE, SARAH LUCAS, WILL SELF, KIETH TYSON, SUE WEBSTER, MARTIN CREED, POLLY MORGAN, AND OTHER INTERNATIONALLY RENOWNED ARTISTS, WRITERS, GALLERY OWNERS, ART COLLECTORS AND HANGERS ON, REVEAL THEIR HIDDEN LIVES, THE LIVES OF OTHERS, AND THE SLIGHTLY APPALLING SECRETS THAT ONLY A SELECT HANDFUL OF PEOPLE ARE AS YET A PARTY TO. LEARN HOW TO NAVIGATE THE BEST ART PARTIES, WHY YOU SHOULD BUY THE ART YOU HATE, WHERE THE INTERNATIONAL CURATING AND COLLECTING HOTSPOTS ARE, AND HOW TO BECOME A DEALER. A HEDONIST'S GUIDE TO ART COMPRISES 90+ ESSAYS, AND A FEW PIECES OF NEVER BEFORE SEEN, ORIGINAL ART, ESPECIALLY MADE FOR THE BOOK. SOME OF THE CONTRIBUTIONS WILL MAKE YOU LAUGH OUT LOUD, SOME WILL MAKE YOU TURN A SHADE OF PUCE, WHILE OTHERS MIGHT JUST MAKE YOU CRY. WHATEVER THEIR POISON, THIS UNIQUE ANTHOLOGY WILL BRING A WRY SMILE TO ALL ART ENTHUSIASTS.

CARTIER PANTHERE BRACELET

CARTIER HAS RECENTLY CREATED A STUNNING NEW MASTERPIECE TO ADD TO THEIR ICONIC SIGNATURE PANTHERE JEWELRY COLLECTION. THE PANTHERE BRACELET IS MADE OF EXQUISITE PLATINUM AND IS SET WITH DIAMONDS, EMERALD EYES, BLUE SAPPHIRE SPOTS AND A UNIQUE BLACK ONYX NOSE. THE BRACELET IS A TRIBUTE TO DESTRUCTIVE SEDUCTION, OBSCURE BEAUTY, WILD CHARACTER AND IS EXCLUSIVELY AVAILABLE FROM CARTIER.