On September 18, Sotheby's will auction 118 lots of rare (and rarely at auction) Indian and Southeast Asian paintings, miniatures and objects. The group is expected to fetch a total of between $2.3 and $3.2 million. Sotheby's has experienced unusually high prices for traditional Indian art in recent years, as economic growth in India appears exponential, and young collectors turn from modern pieces to those artists' historical roots.
British painter Lucian Freud's portrait Benefits Supervisor Sleeping (above) sold to Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich for $33 million in May, setting a new world record for a living artist, and no doubt making him very happy. Freud just got some bad news, however; the artist was recently informed that one of his subjects, Bernard Breslauer, destroyed a similar portrait because he found the work "unflattering". Breslauer, a famed millionaire New York rare books dealer who once bought a Gutenberg Bible, destroyed the painting because of Freud's "unsightly depiction of his double chin," the London Daily Mailreports.
The destruction of the multimillion dollar painting by Breslauer, who died at the age of 86 in 2004, was discovered by a curator researching works painted by Freud between 1939 - 1954 for a retrospective exhibition taking place in London next month. Freud is reportedly extremely distraught at the discovery - as are Breslauer's heirs, no doubt.
Teddy bears are such a universal item its hard to make one someone wouldn't adore. Growing up there was the Paddington Bear, then Build-A-Bear came along, but the most recent creation, which makes a truly unique (and expensive!) mark on the history of stuffed bears, is the Karl Lagerfeld teddy bear made by Steiff. Touted as a 'master of luxury', Karl Lagerfeld may be seen by many as the quintessential choice for a luxury bear that costs upwards of $14,000 and will be sold at Neiman Marcus this September in NYC. I think the bear could be mistaken as one of the Men In Black if you don't follow the design industry but either way it is cool, chic, and totally original.
When you go to a jewelry store, almost everything you're looking at is mass produced. Each gemstone has its own distinct, microscopic qualities, but other than that, you're going to find the same selection just about everywhere. That's why George Sawyer is a true artist among jewelers.
Sawyer's art is called mokume. Taken from the ancient Japanese art of folding metal for swords, Sawyer uses metal folding to create beautiful, unique pieces of jewelry. He uses several different types of metals in each piece to create a romantic, swirling design that is as unique as a fingerprint.
Sawyer works primarily in golds, using 14K yellow, white, and rose gold, but also works with silver, copper, palladium, and other metals to produce the wide array of colors in his palette. Many of his designs call up the image of tree bark, and with a hint of gray green color, these rings have a very earthy look.
Sawyer showcases his work at craft and jewelry shows all over the country, and many retailers sell his pieces. To find a dealer near you, click here.
Paul Mawhinney has a big problem -- his enormous collection of records that exceeds the interest of most wealthy, potential buyers. Appraised at $50 million Mawhinney is only asking for a mere $3 million hoping to sell the collection before his blindness and diabetes make life any more difficult. Sure, iPods are fantastic and digital music is a great addition to our ever more tech-driven lives but a historic collection of this magnitude belongs with another true music connoisseur or in a museum. Anyone with the means and a passion for tunes should consider making Mawhinney an offer -- it is most likely the only collection of its kind.
Travel + Leisure has announced its collaboration with 18 prominent artists including Maya Lin, Manolo Blahnik and April Gornik, to create specially-commissioned pieces to be auctioned as part of its second annual Project Globe event. Following the auction, the magazine will donate all proceeds to Future Generations, a non-profit conservation and community development organization. The online auction starts today at tlprojectglobe.com, where bidders are swiftly staking their claims.
The diverse group of photographs, sculptures and jewelry, all of which aim to celebrate travel's positive impact, will be shown at GlassHouses in New York City on September 19 and 20. Photographs from the auctioned items will be featured in Travel + Leisure's October Style + Culture issue, on newsstands September 23. See the gallery for a selection of items at auction.
Shepard Fairey has already turned his artist's eye toward the political with his art for Barack Obama but now he's embracing the voting process as a whole. Today at 11:00 am PDT, CafePress and Rock the Vote will start selling 100 exclusive framed prints created, signed and numbered by the popular artist. This limited edition art was designed by Shepard Fairey for Rock the Vote to get those youngsters out there voting. The print measures 18" x 24" and comes framed. It sells for $250 and only on per customer will be sold until they are sold out . All proceeds will got to Rock the Vote. CafePress will also make all Shepard Fairey/Rock the Vote merchandise such as T-Shirts, prints, stickers, buttons, etc. available for purchase.
If summer holidays have kept you out of the city, you may have a treat waiting for you upon arrival in New York: the pietre dure (Italian for "hard stones") exhibit at the Met. The museum's second floor galleries are filled with ornately designed furniture, vases, and various objêts d'art all featuring hand-carved pietre dure that could take artisans years to complete for just one piece. As highly valued now as then, one recently auctioned example of pietre dure was sold for $36.7 million in 2004.
The exhibit will run until September 21. If your travels won't take you down 5th Avenue by then, see the gallery for stunning examples of this painstakingly rendered art.
Gallery: Art of the Royal Court: Treasures in Pietre Dure from the Palaces of Europe
If you fancy yourself a Frank Lloyd Wright fan and wish to emulate his designs in your backyard or patio this Oak Park Studio Vase may be of interest. The vase is a cast stone replica of the very object which decorated his Oak Park residence in Chicago. Illustrating one of his classic designs, the cross within a circle within a square, this strapping vase is available in three sizes with prices starting at $1,350. I imagine this would serve well as a plantar, birdbath, or decorative piece holding its own along a path or strategically placed on a patio.
Artnet recently launched an online art auction (still in beta mode), featuring photography, prints, works on paper, sculpture, and paintings. At a glance there were several hundred works posted, and there's info on the home page for art dealers on how to become an authorized Artnet seller. The site is straightforward and seems to work much like any online auction -- place a bid (U.S. dollars or euros) or just add to your watch list. There are starting bids, estimates, and end times. While the site is just getting started, I bet that with people shopping more and more from home (saving gas), even shopping online for art will become commonplace.
The honor of auctioning off the private art collection of French fashion designer Yves Saint Laurent and his partner Pierre Berge, shown above at Saint Laurent's funeral, is a huge get for Christie's. Christie's will work with the auction house Pierre Berge and Associates on a planned February 2009 auction. The items to be sold will be announced in September. The collection is composed of several hundred pieces including Renaissance jewelry, paintings by Picasso and Matisse and manuscripts by authors such as Gustave Flaubert and Andre Gide. Experts say the auction could bring in close to $800 million.
Designer Harry Allen crafted his resin cast gold finished piggy bank as part of his series, Reality. And in our current economic climate, everyone wants to look more penny pincher than spendthrift, whether you are truly concerned about your investments or have conscientiously decided to be a happy person just one-Birkin-fewer. With this piece on a shelf somewhere, your frugal side makes its subtle yet cheeky appearance and your charitable side does too: Allen will donate 5% of proceeds to The Humane Society. Available in gold or chrome finish at Moss online for $195.
Russian billionaire Andrey Melnichenko's long-awaited yacht is getting some pricey decoration. The wildly distinctive yacht, known simply as "A" named after Melnichenko's wife Aleksandra, was designed by Philippe Starck. The Times Online reports that the $400 million megayacht recently motored to Norway to pick up three Monet paintings. It is believed that Melnichenko chose Norway to avoid EU import taxes.
The 390-foot ship was built by Blohm & Voss and features details including a glass roof looking up into one of the two swimming pools. It has six guest cabins but room for 42 staff members.
Check out more pictures of this incredible yacht at Monaco Eye.
When contemporary art cult fave Shepard Fairey started "campaigning" for Barack Obama, he created original collages assembling inspiring portraits of Obama above titles like HOPE, PROGRESS and CHANGE. We saw them silkscreened on tee shirts worn by the likes of Ryan Phillippe that soon became impossible to get, selling for thousands on eBay. Now for the true connoisseur -- of politics and art -- the rare opportunity exists to bid on one of the original three pieces, OBAMA HOPE. Currently at $60,000, the piece is being auctioned by Westport, CT-based CharityBuzz, which will donate profits to the Rush Philanthropic Arts Foundation, providing access to the arts to disadvantaged urban youth. CharityBuzz will accept bids until July 24, but if you miss this potentially revolutionary piece of art, you can at least order the sticker version online at Sticker Robot. Big spender yours truly just snagged ten of them.
The Sapphire Tower condominium project in downtown San Diego takes a unique approach to attracting attention by using public art. While most public art is at the base of a structure, the Sapphire Tower's Borgonovo sculpture will stretch 80 feet from tip to tail. The design from artist Betsy Schulz is a modern metal and glass structure with two different textured glass colors set as the shimmering gemstones. Borgonovo will be made of two-tiered mesh, aluminum panels, textured and laminated blue and clear glass, and blue-LED string lights to illuminate the glass at night. Borgonovo is one of two major art pieces being installed at Sapphire Tower both designed by Schultz and costing just under a half a million dollars total.
Sapphire Tower is a 32-story project located on the southwest corner of Kettner Boulevard and A Street in downtown San Diego. The project will include 97 units in one and two bedroom, loft and penthouse layouts. Building amenities include a pool, hot tub, sundeck and gym. The building is set to be finished by the end of the year and prices start in the $600,00s with penthouses starting at $2.5 million.
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When you go to a jewelry store, almost everything you're looking at is mass produced. Each gemstone has its own distinct, microscopic qualities, but other than that, you're going to find the same selection just about everywhere. That's why George Sawyer is a true artist among jewelers.
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Designer Harry Allen
When contemporary art cult fave Shepard Fairey started "campaigning" for 
