Auction News Network

Three Rockwells Sell For $58.7m At Sotheby’s

Time was when Normal Rockwell was considered just a popular illustrator, albeit one who had 322 covers for The Saturday Evening Post to his credit. All that has changed: last night at Sotheby’s in New York three of his paintings sold for nearly $58.7m including fees, or just about double their high estimate. After a nine and a half minute bidding war, one work alone, “Saying Grace,” soared past its $20m estimate to close at $46m, a new record for the artist.

“Born To Run” Manuscript At Sotheby’s

Early in 1974, Bruce Springsteen wrote a draft of the lyrics for his classic “Born To Run.” This wasn’t the final version; the rock star would revise the lyrics considerably. The handwritten draft, however, does contain marginal notes and a variety of alternate word choices that provide a rare glimpse of the artist’s working methods. When it comes up for auction tomorrow at Sotheby’s in New York, the document is expected to sell for as much as $100,000.

Whitey Bulger’s Belongings Headed To Auction

The items themselves sound more appropriate for a yard sale than an auction: 9 fedora hats, 14 pairs of jeans, 27 pairs of sunglasses, salt and pepper shakers shaped like poodles, and a collection of ceramic cats. What sets them apart, however, is the identity of their owner, Boston mobster and convicted killer Whitey Bulger, finally captured in 2011 in Santa Monica, California. Federal prosecutors haven’t said when or where the auction of Bulger’s belongings will take place but when it happens, the proceeds will benefit the families of his victims.

As Much As $30m Expected For America’s Oldest Book

What’s more rare than a Guttenberg Bible, of which there are just 48 known copies?  “The Whole Booke of Psalmes,” for one, otherwise known as “The Bay Psalm Book.” Only 11 copies remain of the volume, which was printed in Cambridge, Massachusetts in 1640, giving it the distinction of being he first book printed in America. When it comes up for sale this evening at Sotheby’s in New York, it’s expected to sell for $15m-$30m, which would make collection of psalms set to rhyme the most expensive printed book ever sold.

Update: America’s first printed book sold to an American businessman for $14.165m. The price  was just under the volume’s low estimate but enough to secure its place as the most valuable printed book ever sold at auction. The previous record holder was a copy of John James Audubon’s “Birds of America,” which sold for $11.5m at Sotheby’s three years ago.

Sotheby’s & RM Offer ‘Art Of The Automobile’ In N.Y.

New York, center of so much in the auction world, hasn’t been much associated until now with the sale of vintage automobiles. Sotheby’s and Canada’s RM plan to change that today with a joint auction called “Art of the Automobile.”  Leading the distinguished lineup will be a 1964 Ferrari 250 LM, which won first in class at the 1968 24 Hours of Daytona. Offered for the first time in decades, it’s expected to sell for $12m-$15m.

‘Pink Star’ Sells for $83.1m

To this week of startling records in the art world, which saw the price of a Francis Bacon triptych balloon to $142.4m, add another from the world of gems: a 59.69-carat diamond known as the Pink Star sold at a Sotheby’s auction in Geneva for $83.1m. The result for the stone, described an internally flawless fancy vivid pink diamond, almost doubled the previous record achieved at Sotheby’s in 2010, when the 24.78 carat Graff Pink sold for 46.2m.

$142.4m Francis Bacon Sets Auction Record

Most, highest, record, and best–these were the words that kept recurring in descriptions of Christie’s history-making sale of Contemporary Art in New York last night. Along the way, Francis Bacon’s “Three Studies of Lucian Freud” sold for a staggering $142,4m including commissions, which made the triptych the most expensive work of art ever sold at auction. Christie’s total for the packed-house event exceeded a half-billion dollars–$691.6m, to be exact—and gave it another crown, as the most expensive auction ever held.

Pirates Great Bill Mazeroski’s Memorabilia Scores Hit

Pittsburgh Pirates Hall of Famer Bill Mazeroski was the hero of the 1960 World Series, in which his dramatic Game 7, 9^th inning home run clinched the title for his team, closing out the Yankees. This weekend, in a Louisville sale staged by Hunt Auctions, his baseball memorabilia scored another hit, netting more than $1.7m. The top seller was his Game 7 uniform, for which a buyer paid $632,500.

Great Expectations For ‘Maltese Falcon’

Any tally of the most prized movie props of all time would have to include the Maltese Falcon from director John Huston’s 1941 screen version of the same name. As it happened, two lead statuettes were created for the film, but only one has been certified by Warner Brothers as having appeared on screen.  In the film, the bird that Humphrey Bogart’s Sam Spade calls “the stuff that dreams are made of” turns out to be a dud. Bonhams is expecting a rather better result at its auction in New York on November 25, when the falcon is expected to sell for as much as $1m.

Lackluster Results At Christie’s Krugier Sale

More than $1b—that’s billion with a b—is expected to change hands this week in New York, as the major auction houses stage their marquis art sales. You might not know it, however, from last night’s auction at Christie’s of the estate of Picasso’s dealer Jan Krugier. The results were decidedly lackluster. More than a third of the 62-lots failed to find buyers, including some of the works for which Christie’s had the highest hopes, including a 1964 sculpture by Picasso that had been expected to sell for at least $25m.

Christie’s Celebrates The Rolex Daytona’s 50th

2013 is a big year for anniversaries. Consider: events as diverse as JFK’s assassination, and the introduction of the iconic Porsche 911 all happened 50 years ago. Christie’s will be celebrating another next month, namely the advent of the Rolex Daytona chronograph wristwatch. To mark the occasion, the auction house will offer 50 particularly fine examples of the timepiece in a Geneva auction.  Pride of place goes to a Daytona originally made for a Sultan, and priced accordingly. It’s expected to sell for $336, 000-$674,000.

Italian Racing Motorcycle Sells For $134,000

For $134,000, you could buy a sleek Bentley, or a substantial yacht. Another option would be a vintage racing motorcycle, like the 250cc 1957 Moto Marini Bialbero Grand Prix that starred at an auction in the UK this past weekend.  Morinis of this type have serious racing chops; one won the 1958 Italian Grand Prix. Yesterday the example at Bonhams established its auction bona fides as well, when it  sold for $134,425.

From Hong Kong To Frieze

Like the fashion world, the auction business moves seasonally, sometimes weekly, around the globe. Last week’s most heated action was in Hong Kong, where over the course of 16 separate sessions Sotheby’s sold a staggering $538m worth of art, wine, jewelry and ceramics, including the record $23.1m a buyer paid for Zeng Fanzhi’s “The Last Supper.” This week the focus shifts to London, and the multiple sales surrounding the 11^th annual Frieze Week art fair. Kicking off the major action was Gerhard Richter’s “White,” an oil from 1988 that sold for $3.9m  at Phillips Contemporary Art event on Tuesday evening.

$539,000 Telescope Stars At Christie’s Sale

In the 18^th century, centuries before such high-tech devices as the space-traveling Hubbell Telescope, there were nonetheless astronomical devices of considerable precision. One of them was the telescope created circa 1719 by Pietro Patroni. Featuring a gilt-tooled green vellum draw tube complete with signature and silver mounts, the instrument was the highlight as yesterday’s Travel, Science and Natural History auction at Christie’s in London, where it sold for $539,000.