Andy Warhol Self-portrait Sells For $17 Million As London Art Boom Continues

An important rediscovered Andy Warhol self-portrait crowned a big art week in London, selling for £10.8 million pounds ($17.4 million) at Christie's. The piece which dates from 1967 is a red square six-foot acrylic and silkscreen piece showing Warhol staring thoughtfully at the viewer, two fingers covering his mouth. Christies had estimated the work to sell for £3 to £5 million as part of its 64-lot auction of contemporary works. Legendary art dealer Larry Gagosian snapped it up, bidding in the room and wresting it away from another client on the telephone.

Rare Objects Missing From the Egyptian Museum

Now that the dust has settled a little in Cairo, a full inventory of the Egyptian Museum has been done to assess the damage. The AP reports that according to the Ministry of Antiquities 18 items were taken by looters. On January 28, during the turmoil and chaos around Tahrir Square, thieves climbed a fire escape to the museum's roof and lowered themselves on ropes from a glass-paneled ceiling to the museum's top floor. Around 70 objects were damaged but it wasn't known until an announcement on Sunday night that anything had gone missing. Among the casualties were two gilded wooden statues of King Tut.

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Did Abramovich Just Bag a Bacon for $37 Million at Sotheby's?

Last month when we wrote about an important Francis Bacon triptych being auctioned off atSotheby's, we predicted it would blast past its $14 million high estimate. And indeed on ThursdayThree Studies for a Portrait of Lucian Freud (above) sold for a whopping $37 million, or more than two and a half times the top quote, at the auction house's Looking Closely sale of 20th century artworks inLondon. In our original post we also put forward Bacon-loving oligarch Roman Abramovich as the likely buyer, since he's in the midst of decorating his new $230 million mega-mansion in London; while Thursday's purchaser was anonymous, we bet the Freud triptych will be hanging on Abramovich's wall before long. The Thursday sale, from works said to have belonged to the low-profile Geneva collector George Kostalitz who died last year, also saw a new auction record for any surrealist work of art –Salvador Dali's Portrait de Paul Eluard, which sold for $21.6 million.

Sweet Temptations: Valentine's Day At City Center, Las Vegas

Yoshitomo Nara

Philippe Hiquily

Dale Chihuly

Sakari Pykala

Toots Zynsky

Warhol Screenprints Sell High At Auction

I was surprised that the screenprint portrait of Mao Zedong by Andy Warhol, with two bullet holes put there by "Easy Rider" star Dennis Hopper was only estimated at $20,000 to $30,000. To myself I speculated that it might eke out a price over $100,000. I was not even close. The work with two bullet holes sold for $302,500 at Christie's on Tuesday, more than 10 times its high estimate. The 1972 screenprint from Hopper's art collection is done in hues of mostly blues and greens. Hopper shot the artwork when startled one night. He showed Warhol the bullet holes, and the pair agreed to consider the work a collaboration. Warhol drew circles around the holes, labeling the one over Mao's right shoulder "warning shot" and the one at his upper left eyelid "bullet hole." Another famous Warhol screenprint from 1967 of Marilyn Monroe fetched $206,500, or about four times the pre-sale estimate.

Freek Wambacq

Damien Hirst Draws Fire for $50 Million Diamond and Platinum Baby Skull

Art world provocateur Damien Hirst's latest work, an authentic baby's skull covered in platinum anddiamonds, is causing controversy in the UK. The sculpture (above), entitled For Heaven's Sake, is a follow-up to the Brit artist's astounding $100 million diamond covered skull which he debuted in 2007. The new work is based on an infant's skull believed to be that of a newborn less than two weeks old from a 19th-century pathology collection that Hirst has acquired, the London Telegraph reports. Cast in platinum and set with more than 8,000 white and pink diamonds by royal jewelers Bentley & Skinner, the skull will be exhibited later this month at the Gagosian Gallery's new space in Hong Kongand will be shown in London later this year.

The gallery has not named a price for the new work but we expect it to fetch at least $50 million if not more. The work has angered parenting groups who claim that it is offensive to those who have suffered the bereavement of a child, the newspaper reports, raising the specter of protests. That of course is only likely to increase its value. "When you look at a skull, you think it represents the end, but when you see the end so beautiful, it gives you hope," Hirst commented regarding his earlier skull work. "Diamonds are about perfection and clarity and wealth and sex and death and immortality. They are a symbol of everything that's eternal, but then they have a dark side as well."

HEDI SLIMANE Website / Diary

Inside the World of Famed Design House Fornasetti

With an incredible 3,000 photographs and illustrations, Rizzoli's massive new monograph on iconic Italian design house Fornasetti is a work of art in itself. Fornasetti: The Complete Universe details how the firm's founder Piero Fornasetti (1913–1988) achieved fame transforming everyday objects into works of art featuring idiosyncratic designs. His work is carried on today by his son Barnaba Fornasetti, who now runs the Fornasetti atelier and authored the impressive volume. Designed to be an "artist's book" that reflects Fornasetti's iconic overall approach to design, the slipcased $250 monograph is divided into two sections: the first half is dedicated to Piero Fornasetti as an artist and highlights his pictorial and graphic work and their artistic applications; the second half focuses on the 70-plus years of the atelier's production.

This includes furniture, sculptures and etchings, graphics, textiles, glass, screens, trays, ceramics, and more. The second section covers the activity of the atelier up to the present day as well. The book also addresses Barnaba's commitment to keeping the Fornasetti legacy alive by showing how Piero's ideas and models are "transformed, reworked, and contextualized." Today the Fornasetti atelier not only reissues historical pieces, but also "offers reinterpretations of themes and objects drawing inspiration from the vast repertory of the atelier's archive of lithographic plates, designs, notes, documents, and objects." Finally, the beautiful and comprehensive book includes a list of exhibitions and a register of the atelier's complete works.

»The World According To...«, Galerie ZAND / Work Barbara Nanning

Dragon Jar Sells For $7.658 Million At Bonhams & Butterfields

A blue and white porcelain Dragon jar had a huge result at Bonhams & Butterfields in San Francisco at the Fine Asian Works of Art sale on Monday December 13th. The 14-inch high jar was described conservatively as Qianlong Mark, Late Qing/Republic Period and given a pre-sale estimate of $10,000-15,000. But bidders who felt the dragon jar was a unique treasure pushed the bidding sky-high. It eventually sold for $7.658 million.

Dessa Goddard, Vice President and Director, Asian Works of Art said, speaking about the sale: "The jar proved to be a puzzle for several clients with whom I spoke who all declared it to be unique. Without a consensus of opinion we felt obliged to be cautious with our attribution. Needless to say, we are elated that the jar achieved such a spectacular price. Its sale provided a fantastic slice of auction drama that our clients and staff will remember for many years to come."

The jar is decorated with bands of plantain leaves, waves, and a cloud-collar at the waisted neck and broad shoulders. The sides are painted with six dragons emerging from crashing waves and flying amid stylized clouds and flames. The sale brought in more than $19 million total.

Just last month an 18th century Chinese porcelain vase from the Qianlong period stunned the world when it sold for £43 million ($69.3 million) at Bainbridges Auctions. The vase was only estimated to sell for £1.2 million but fierce bidding among Chinese would-be buyers drove up the price. The vase sold to a Chinese bidder who turned up to bid on behalf of an undisclosed buyer.

Celebrities At Art Basel

Celebrities have converged on Miami Beach this week for some warm weather and to do a little holiday art shopping. Art Basel Miami Beachtakes place December 2 - 5, 2010. The art show, the little sister of Switzerland's Art Basel, combines an international selection of top galleries with special exhibitions and plenty of parties. The shows attract plenty of deep pockets and a far amount of celebrity art lovers as well. Ahead of the official launch Naomi Campbell, Danny Glover and others arrived to enjoy the flurry of events around the show. Some are also there to exhibit like Julian Lennon, the musician turned photographer who was showing "Timeless," a collection of 30 hand-signed portraiture and landscape photographs.

The event at the Miami Convention Center features 250 leading art galleries from North America, Latin America, Europe, Asia and Africa will exhibit 20th and 21st century artworks by over 2,000 artists. Special sections feature young galleries, performance art, public art projects and video art. A one-day ticket is available for $36. The ArtNexus guided tours are available daily during show hours and are guided by established art critics. A one-hour tour is $20.

World Auction Price for Lichtenstein At $42.6 Million

The Roy Lichtenstein 1964 painting "Ohhh...Alright..." was sold at Christie's auction of postwar and contemporary art on November 10 for a whopping $38 million or $42.6 million including Christie's fees (watch video of the moment here). The painting topped even a Warhol soup can and opener which fetched $23.9 million, considerably less than the $30-$50 million estimate. Las Vegas casino owner Steve Wynn was the seller. The buyer was an anonymous bidder on the phone. There was only this single bidder who had made a contractual agreement with the auction house before the sale.

The comic-book inspired image of a flaming redhead clutching a phone to her ear with a puzzling speech bubble is one of a group of dream-girls painted between 1961-1965 in Lichtenstein's signature Ben-Day dots. Some pundits claim collectors want instantly recognizable images. Another view is that the painter's iconic images are "safe" and rare, while Warhols seem to pop up on a regular basis. In any case, unlike the US economy, the contemporary art market appears to have regained its health.

The Gummi Bear Candelier, Now in Mini

Jellio's original limited edition Candelier, the giant chandelier made up of 5000 tiny acrylic gummi bear 'candies,' was so popular its been reincarnated in a new, miniature form. Created by hand-stringing approx 3000 high-gloss acrylic mulit-colored bears that hang in a perfect sphere, the Mini Candelierhas a 17" diameter and even at half the size of the original is still a significant lighting fixture. And although each Candelier is handmade so no two are exactly alike Jellio has yet to offer color customization options -- I'd personally like to see one in all yellow or all red. $1,800

Megabucks Rothko, Warhol & Bacon Head Sotheby's Sale

A $30 million Mark Rothko, $25 million Andy Warhol, $18 million Roy Lichtenstein and $10 millionFrancis Bacon will headline Sotheby's stunning Contemporary Art sale in New York on Nov. 9. Though the least expensive of the top four lots the Bacon, 1985's Figure in Movement (above), is our favorite among the offerings. Bacon gave the painting to his personal physician, Dr. Paul Brass, and the sale marks it's historic first appearance to market. It featured prominently in the 2008 landmarkexhibition Francis Bacon: A Centenary Retrospective at Tate Britain which traveled to theMetropolitan Museum of Art in New York. The Rothko, 1955's Untitled, is one of the artist's most monumental works measuring over 7.5 ft. high. Warhol's contribution is 1962's Coca-Cola, not particularly compelling but guaranteed to ride the wave of high prices realized for his work. The Lichtenstein, Ice Cream Soda, is also dated 1962 and has been in a private collection since it was originally purchased that same year.