Tom Ford's Warhol Self-Portrait Sells for $32.6 Million at Auction

Tom Ford put up a 1986 purple Andy Warhol self-portrait for auction at a sale at Sotheby's on Wednesday night. It went for well over the estimate:

"The sale offered a commercial selection of work by blue-chip artists, and prices were strong throughout the evening. All eyes were on the 1986 Andy Warhol “Self Portrait,” which sold for $32.6 million, well above its $15 million high estimate...The seller of the Warhol was Tom Ford, the fashion designer, movie director and collector. He was not at the Sotheby’s sale, but was said to be watching it on the Internet from his London home. The competition made for good entertainment. Six bidders wanted to buy the painting, which ended up selling to Gregoire Billaut of Sotheby’s in Paris. Mr. Billaut was bidding by telephone for an unidentified client. In this painting, made a year before his death, Warhol’s face is cast in a purple light; he is wearing his signature fright wig and staring hauntingly straight at the viewer. He made five versions of the image in this large format — it is nine feet square — and each has a different color. The Andy Warhol Museum in Pittsburgh has two — one yellow, one blue; the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth has a green one; and Peter M. Brant, a newsprint magnate, has a red one."

Another Warhol, "Flowers" (1964) went for $7.6 million. A Mark Rothko painting for sale by Mexican financier David Martinez, went for $31.4 million.

Picasso Painting Sets Art Auction Record: $106.5 Million

 

"Nude, Green Leaves, and Bust", a 1932 work by Pablo Picasso, last night became the most expensive painting ever sold at auction:

"In an overflowing salesroom at Christie’s, six bidders vied for 'Nude, Green Leaves and Bust,' which depicts the artist’s mistress Marie-Thérèse Walter, reclining naked. When the canvas last changed hands, in 1951, it sold for $19,800. But this time, 'Nude, Green Leaves and Bust' brought $106.5 million. For 8 minutes and 6 seconds, bidding rose steadily, with five people still competing at $80 million. Nicholas Hall, of Christie’s old master paintings department in New York, took the winning bid for an unidentified buyer."

The painting was part of the collection of the late L.A. philanthropist Frances Lasker Brody. Picasso painted it in a single day.

Massive Polaroid Collection to Go on Auction Block

A number of photographs from the collection of Polaroid founder Edwin Land is set to go on the auction block at Sotheby's in June as the result of a bankruptcy brought on by a Ponzi scheme by Tom Petters, whose company bought Polaroid from Land.

NYT: "To pay off creditors, a bankruptcy court in Minnesota is forcing Polaroid to sell a portion of its collection at Sotheby’s in New York on June 21 and 22. On offer will be 400 photographs by Ansel Adams alone, along with prints by Mr. Close, Mr. Wegman, Robert Rauschenberg, David Hockney, Robert Frank, Robert Mapplethorpe, Warhol (above) and Lucas Samaras. Together the 1,200 objects are expected to fetch $7.5 million to $11.5 million."

Check out some of the photos here.

Andy Warhol's '200 One Dollar Bills' Goes for $43.7 Million

The money appears to be back in the contemporary art market:

"The price rose at breakneck speed as five collectors vied for the classic image, '200 One Dollar Bills.' It ended up selling for $43.7 million (including fees to Sotheby’s), more than three times its high estimate of $12 million. The buyer, whom Sotheby’s refused to identify, bid by telephone through Bruno Vinciguerra, the company’s chief operating officer. Sotheby’s would also not identify the seller, although people familiar with the collection said it was Pauline Karpidas, a London-based collector. Just a year after the art market was in the doldrums with the world’s financial markets, buyers with deep pockets were not shy about stepping up for tried-and-true artists. The sale topped Sotheby’s expectations, totaling $134.4 million, well above its $67.9 million high estimate."

News: R-71, Gordon Brown, D.C., David Hockney, Will Young, Toronto

Justice Kennedy refers R-71 names case to full Supreme Court?

Excitement over Thai AIDS vaccine fades: "Now, two other analyses of the trial data suggests that the results could have been due to pure chance, and therefore the vaccine may not have conferred protection to people after all. The additional data are published today in the New England Journal of Medicine and will be more fully discussed today by researchers attending an AIDS meeting in Paris."

Twins wreak havoc on X-Factor with their cover of "Oops, I Did It Again".

Toronto chosen for World Pride 2014.

Man pleads guilty to 2008 gay bashing in Springville, New York.

Prime Minister Gordon Brown backs opening Parliament to gay weddings: "The Prime Minister will insist that it is unfair only heterosexual couples can marry inside the Palace of Westminster. Mr Brown will be speaking at a Parliamentary inquiry into how to increase the representation of gay people, ethnic minorities, women and the disabled at Westminster."

Joss Whedon to direct Glee.

Daniel Radcliffe purchases third NYC residence.

Threats on President's life up 400%: "The Boston Globe reports that a new internal Congressional Research Service report and government sources say there are an unprecedented number of death threats against President Obama -- and that the Secret Service is insufficiently funded and staffed to deal with them."

Astronomers find 32 planets outside our solar system.

Transgender woman found strangled to death in her flat in Brighton, UK by firefighters responding to a blaze. Police have arrested a 42-year-old man: "The body of Andrea Waddell, 29, who had a masters degree and worked as a prostitute, was found just before midnight on Thursday by firefighters. The man in custody, from Brighton, was held on Saturday night, police said."

Big Brother 9 winner Adam Jasinski used his $500,000 prize to fuel his oxycodone drug-dealing business.

Elvis hair: it sells for $15,000.

John Mayer releases augmented reality music video.

More of Lance Bass in the boxing ring.

Character on Law and Order: SVU to come out of the closet.

Inside David Hockney's iPhone obsession.

D.C. activists oppose phase-out of domestic partnerships, fearing that failure of same-sex marriage law would leave gays and lesbians with nothing.

Singer Will Young guest edits Attitude magazine: "Explaining why he took on the job, Will says: 'The first time I bought Attitude I was 15 and Chris O'Donnell was dressed as Robin on the front cover. I didn't know it was a gay magazine at the time. It is never easy adjusting to being different but things have changed so quickly over the last 10 years. I dedicate this issue to the people who were at the forefront of that change by being brave enough to be themselves."

Adam Lambert album to be called For Your Entertainment.

Fashion chat: Paul Smith blabs with Simon Doonan.

Lesbian couple attacked in Brighton, UK: " The couple, who are aged 18 and 22, were walking hand in hand at about 3am on October 7. When they turned towards the three men shouting homophobic insults at them, two of the men attacked them, punching them both in the head. Even when the young women begged the third man, who had a large brown dog, to stop his friends, he did not intervene."

Celebs Customize Shepard Fairey for Marriage Equality

More than 80 entertainers and political figures including Julia Roberts, Robert De Niro, Anne Hathaway, Mayor Gavin Newsom, Scarlett Johansson, Chris Pine, Jessica Biel, Natalie Portman, Bradley Cooper, Lance Bass, Dave Matthews, Jared Leto, and Charlie Sheen have contributed signatures and/or enhancements to a set of "Defend Equality - Love Unites" original prints with a design by Shepard Fairey which became well-known during California's campaign against Proposition 8.

The project (undertaken in partnership with entertainment networking group HOMOtracker and its annual fundraiser ‘FallOut’) will go up for auction on November 10 on the website Charity Buzz and will benefit the grassroots marriage equality group FAIR. The group is also holding an event in West Hollywood on November 12 at which the prints will be on display.

The image above was enhanced by Virginia Madsen. Check out contributions from Ellen DeGeneres and Portia de Rossi, Marc Jacobs, Michael C Hall, and Cheyenne Jackson,
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