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☆ A 1954 Mercedes worth up to $70 million will be among legendary racing cars up for sale soon
▼ + stars: | 2024-08-13 | by ( Jack Guy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

CNN —A 1954 Mercedes-Benz W196 Streamliner valued between $50-70 million is among the historic cars set to be sold by the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum. “These vehicles will be some of the world’s most significant cars ever sold,” Gord Duff, global head of auctions at RM Sotheby’s, said in the statement. The cars will be sold at different events late this year and in 2025, according to the statement. In 2022, a very rare 1955 Mercedes-Benz SLR coupe that had been kept in the German automaker’s collection was sold to a private buyer for €135 million ($142 million at the time). “The Ferrari 250 GTO is the motoring market’s equivalent of Van Gogh’s ‘Sunflowers’ and a talisman for any top-end collection,” he said.

Persons: Mercedes, Juan Manuel Fangio, Stirling Moss, Fangio, Moss, Ferrari 250LM, Ferrari, Ford GT40, ” Gord Duff, Joe Hale, “, Laurin, Mercedes Brookland, Craig Breedlove, Lee, David MacNeil, James Knight, Van, ” Organizations: CNN, Benz, Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum, Chief, Sotheby’s, Prix, Le, Sotheby's, Chevrolet Corvette SS, XP64, Ford, Indianapolis, Indianapolis Motor, Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Le Mans, IMS, Klement, Ferrari Locations: Buenos Aires, Argentina, Monza

☆ Sotheby’s expands Hong Kong footprint with cavernous new exhibition and retail space
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-29 | by ( Oscar Holland | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

CNN —A fossilized mammoth skull, centuries-old ceramics and Banksy’s famous self-shredding painting are among hundreds of high-value collectibles on show at Sotheby’s ambitious new retail outpost in Hong Kong. With younger collectors seemingly in mind, items on the first floor range in price from 5,000 to 50 million Hong Kong dollars ($640 to $6.4 million). The venture is the latest signal that major auction houses still consider Hong Kong to be their long-term hub in Asia. In June, Hermès also unveiled its expanded retail space in the neighborhood. It has simultaneously sought to grow its footprint in Hong Kong — not only with its newly unveiled Maison, but also a nearby 36,000-square-foot regional headquarters, due to open later this year.

Persons: Maison, Hong Kong, Art Basel’s, Isaac Lawrence, Louis Vuitton, Hermès, Sotheby’s, Patrick Drahi, Hong Kong —, Christie’s, Zaha Hadid’s, Phillips, Bonhams, Nathan Drahi Organizations: CNN, Hong Kong, UBS, Art, Art Basel, Getty, PricewaterhouseCoopers, Louis, Sotheby’s Locations: Hong Kong, Central, Asia, China, Hong, Hong Kong's Central, AFP, London, Singapore, Shanghai, Sotheby’s, Sotheby’s Asia, Paris, New York

☆ The Woman Who Sold the World’s Most Expensive Dinosaur
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-18 | by ( Rachel Sherman | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The $44.6 million stegosaurus, the most valuable fossil ever sold at auction, wasn’t the only thing that caught the attention of viewers mesmerized by a 15-minute bidding war at Sotheby’s on Wednesday. Around 10 a.m., Ms. Kao, a vice president of client strategy for Sotheby’s, started the bidding at $3 million with a cool lean on the podium. “Emily draws blood first,” Ms. Kao says of an early bid of $3.8 million in a captivating video. Wearing a gray Armani jacket, with her dark hair twisted up and pinned back in a pony tail, Ms. Kao supported herself on her forearm and steadied her gaze toward the bidders like an opponent challenging a rival. Seven bidders held phones to their ears, relaying offers for the bones from buyers around the world.

Persons: Phyllis Kao, . Kao, “, ” Ms, Kao Locations: Sotheby’s

☆ Citadel's Ken Griffin buys a stegosaurus for $45 million in a record auction sale
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-18 | by ( Yun Li | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

People look at a virtually complete Stegosaurus fossil on display at Sotheby’s on July 10, 2024 in New York City. Billionaire investor Ken Griffin, founder and CEO of hedge fund Citadel, purchased a late Jurassic stegosaurus skeleton for $44.6 million at Sotheby's on Wednesday, marking the most valuable fossil ever sold at auction. The 150 million-year-old stegosaurus named "Apex" measures 11 feet tall and nearly 27 feet long from nose to tail and it is a nearly complete skeleton with 254 fossil bone elements. Griffin won the live auction in New York on Wednesday after competing with six other bidders for 15 minutes. In 2021, he paid $43.2 million for a first-edition copy of the U.S. Constitution, outbidding a group of cryptocurrency investors.

Persons: Ken Griffin, Griffin, Apex, Sotheby's, outbidding Organizations: Billionaire, Citadel, Apex, Chicago's, Museum, Constitution, Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art Locations: New York City, New York, U.S, America, Moffat County , Colorado, Argentina, Arkansas

☆ Stegosaurus skeleton sets auction record, selling for $44.6 million
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-18 | by ( Catherine Nicholls | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN —A Stegosaurus skeleton has become the most valuable fossil ever sold at auction, being snapped up for $44.6 million in New York. The dinosaur fossil was sold on Wednesday to an anonymous buyer after it was sought after by seven bidders, according to Sotheby’s, the auction house handling the sale. The fossil, nicknamed “Apex,” smashed its pre-sale estimate, which was between $4 million and $6 million. Apex became the most valuable fossil ever sold at an auction, according to Sotheby's. According to Sotheby’s, it sold “Sue,” a Tyrannosaurus rex and the first ever dinosaur to be sold at auction, for $8.4 million in 1997.

Persons: ”, Jason Cooper, Sotheby’s, Steve Brusatte, ” Brusatte, ” Sotheby’s, Apex, Sue, “ Stan Organizations: CNN, Apex, Scotland’s University of Edinburgh Locations: New York, Moffat County , Colorado, U.S, America, Sotheby’s

☆ National Portrait Gallery acquires Dolley Madison daguerreotype — the earliest known photograph of a US First Lady
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-09 | by ( Torey Akers | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —The Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery (NPG) in Washington, DC, has acquired the earliest known photograph of a US First Lady. The quarter-plate daguerreotype of former First Lady Dolley Madison, wife of fourth US president James Madison, dates from around 1846. The Dolley Madison daguerreotype, made by artist and entrepreneur John Plumbe Jr., shows the trailblazing First Lady when she was in her late seventies. In addition to his portrait of Madison, he created the earliest extant image of the US Capitol. Courtesy Sotheby'sThe NPG bought the Madison photograph for $456,000 at a Sotheby’s auction of books, manuscripts and Americana on June 28, more than six times the lot’s high estimate of $70,000.

Persons: Dolley Madison, James Madison, John Quincy Adams, Philip Haas, Madison daguerreotype, John Plumbe Jr, Madison, Lonnie G, Joseph L, Emily K, ” Bunch, Dolley Payne Todd Madison, Lady, soirees, Zachary Taylor, ”, Louis Daguerre Organizations: The Art, CNN, Capitol, Plumbe, Madison, Smithsonian, Gidwitz, Foundation Endowment, US Locations: Washington ,, America, United States, Philadelphia, Washington, Madison

☆ Cover Art for ‘Harry Potter’ Sold at Auction for $1.92 Million
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-27 | by ( John Yoon | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The original cover art for the first edition of “Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone” sold for $1.92 million at auction on Wednesday, becoming the most expensive item related to the series, decades after its illustrator was paid a commission of just $650. The year before the novel came out in 1997, its publisher, Bloomsbury, hired a 23-year-old from England who had just graduated from art school to design the book jacket, the auction house said. The artist, Thomas Taylor, would go on to establish the world’s conception of Harry Potter, with his iconic round glasses and lightning bolt scar. “It’s kind of staggering, really,” he said about the sale of his painting in an interview on Thursday. “It’s exciting to see it fought over.”

Persons: “ Harry Potter, ”, Harry, Rodney P, Swantko, Thomas Taylor, Harry Potter Organizations: Bloomsbury Locations: Hogwarts, King’s, New York, England

☆ Original ‘Harry Potter’ cover art sells for $1.9 million, setting auction record
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-27 | by ( Amarachi Orie | Lianne Kolirin | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN —The original illustration for the first edition of J.K. Rowling’s 1997 novel “Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone” has sold for a record-breaking $1.9 million. The image features young wizard Harry Potter – with his unmistakable dark, brown hair, round glasses and lightning bolt scar – ready to board the Hogwarts Express train for his first trip to the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. The first edition of 1997 book "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone," which Taylor illustrated. BNPS/ShutterstockTaylor, just 23 years old at the time, created the original cover image in two days, according to Sotheby’s. The illustration was auctioned on Wednesday at Sotheby’s in New York along with other works of English and American Literature.

Persons: Harry Potter, ”, Sotheby’s, Thomas Taylor, Harry Potter –, Sotheby's, “ Harry Potter, Taylor, Shutterstock Taylor Organizations: CNN, Hogwarts Express, Hogwarts School of Witchcraft, Heritage Auctions Locations: New York, Sotheby’s, London, Dallas , Texas

☆ Sotheby’s, Fanatics team up to offer rare sports trading card auctions
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-11 | by ( Ian Thomas | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Fanatics wants to expand the sports trading card industry. Now it's aiming to meet high-end collectors through a new partnership with Sotheby's that will create a collection of auctions for trading cards valued at more than $100,000. Fanatics has quickly moved into the trading card space, acquiring Topps in 2022 and signing several exclusive card licensing deals across professional leagues, including the NBA, NFL and MLB. "It's also an opportunity to really elevate sports trading cards, and create these moments with some of the most important and prestigious cards." Sotheby's has increasingly leaned into sports, something that Brahm Wachter, Sotheby's head of Modern Collectables, said is one of the auction house's fastest-growing categories.

Persons: Sotheby's, Jackie Robinson, Nick Bell, Collect, It's, Muhammad Ali's Organizations: Topps, NBA, NFL, MLB, Kobe Bryant Los Angeles Lakers Locations: New York, Manila

☆ Letter from Franz Kafka complaining of writer’s block up for auction
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-03 | by ( Amarachi Orie | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

London CNN —A letter giving a rare insight into Franz Kafka’s struggle with writer’s block is going up for auction. This means it would have been written while Kafka was undergoing treatment for tuberculosis, with which he was diagnosed three years earlier. Ehrenstein made the request after seeing a newly published work by Kafka – probably the 1919 short story collection “Ein Landarzt” (“A Country Doctor”). We can also all be thankful that Kafka would continue to pick up his pen despite his crippling writer’s block,” he added. At the time the letter was written, Kafka had also begun an intense love affair with Czech journalist and writer Milena Jesenská.

Persons: Franz Kafka’s, Franz Kafka, Kafka, Sotheby's, what’s, ” Kafka, Albert Ehrenstein, “, Sotheby’s, Ehrenstein, Kafka –, Landarzt, Gabriel Heaton, Milena Jesenská, – Organizations: London CNN, Pictorial Press Locations: Prague, Bohemia, Sotheby’s, London, Vienna, Austrian, Czech, ”, Germany, Austria

☆ Stegosaurus fossil goes on sale - but not everyone is happy
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-30 | by ( Lianne Kolirin | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

The “exceptional” and “virtually complete” dinosaur fossil, which is 11 feet tall and 20 feet long, will be sold as part of Sotheby’s annual Geek Week. Paleontologists have questioned the sale of such specimens to private bidders, arguing that these finds should be preserved in museums or other public spaces. Nevertheless, that will not stop the auction of the 150-million-year-old fossil from going ahead in New York on July 17. Apex, as it has been nicknamed, is the “finest Stegosaurus specimen to come to market,” Sotheby’s said in a press release Wednesday. It is expected to fetch between $4 million and $6 million, making it one of the most valuable dinosaur fossils ever offered up for sale, the auction house added.

Persons: ” Sotheby’s, Jason Cooper, Sotheby’s, Cooper, “, Steve Brusatte, ”, Sotheby’s Brusatte, “ Sophie, Cassandra Hatton, Maximus ”, Stan Organizations: CNN, Apex, Scotland’s University of Edinburgh, Geek, Abu Dhabi Department of Culture Locations: New York, Apex, Colorado, Morrison, Moffat County , Colorado, Dinosaur, Sotheby’s, Sotheby’s New York, Abu Dhabi, Tourism

☆ Apex, the Largest Stegosaurus Fossil Ever Found, Heads to Auction
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-29 | by ( Asher Elbein | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

That femur led to a stegosaurus fossil, among the largest and most complete ever found, which has subsequently been nicknamed “Apex.” In July the Sotheby’s auction house will sell Apex at auction at an estimated value of $4 million to $6 million, making the skeleton the latest flashpoint in a long-running debate about the private fossil trade. Dinosaur fossils have fetched escalating prices at auction houses since 1997, when Sotheby’s sold “Sue” the Tyrannosaurus rex to the Field Museum in Chicago for $8.36 million. In 2020, “Stan,” another largely complete T. rex skeleton, sold at Christie’s for $31.8 million. Such pricing has raised serious concerns among academic paleontologists, said Stuart Sumida, vice president of the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology. Many of them have watched fossils that may unlock scientific mysteries get steered into the hands of wealthy private collectors rather than toward research institutions in recent decades.

Persons: Jason Cooper, Sotheby’s, Sue ”, “ Stan, ”, Stuart Sumida Organizations: Apex, Field Museum, Vertebrate Locations: Colorado, Dinosaur, ”, Chicago

☆ David Redden, Who Brought Ingenuity to the Auction Block, Dies at 75
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-21 | by ( Trip Gabriel | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

One hundred seventy-five cookie jars that belonged to Andy Warhol. The bat that Babe Ruth carried in his last appearance at Yankee Stadium. A piano plinked by Dooley Wilson, as Sam, in “Casablanca.” The Duchess of Windsor’s jewelry. David N. Redden, an innovative auctioneer and a dapper presence at the podium, sold them all in a 42-year career at Sotheby’s. His wife, Jeannette Redden, said the cause was complications of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or A.L.S., which he had for nine years.

Persons: Andy Warhol, Babe Ruth, Dooley Wilson, Sam, David N, Redden, James Naismith’s, —, Jeannette Redden Organizations: Yankee, Sotheby’s, Magna Carta, brac Locations: “ Casablanca, ”, Independence, Cornwall, Hudson, N.Y

☆ The Night That Sotheby’s Was Crypto-Punked
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-18 | by ( Zachary Small | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

It would have been the greatest insult to rock the Upper East Side on any normal night, but instead the private equity heir Holly Peterson could only laugh. Why had a Sotheby’s official denied her access to a bidding paddle? In February 2022, Ms. Peterson, an author and art collector, was surrounded by a new clientele: the crypto nouveau riche, who made a temporary home of the art market. It was supposed to be another banner evening for the booming art market, where NFTs had come to represent almost half of the industry’s $65 billion valuation in only a couple of years. They were estimated to sell for $20 million to $30 million, and, for the first time, Sotheby’s had devoted a major sale to just a single lot of NFTs.

Persons: Holly Peterson, Peterson, riche, NFTs, Sotheby’s, Leonardo da Vinci Organizations: Twitter Locations: sweatpants

☆ At Christie’s, the Show Goes On, Despite a Hack
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-14 | by ( Zachary Small | Julia Halperin | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The salesroom at Christie’s was packed on Tuesday evening, as spectators rubbernecked to see if buyers would compete for multimillion-dollar artworks at an auction house still hobbled by a cyberattack. Could she succeed despite the headwinds of a slumping market and concerns about whether a cyberattack might have compromised the financial data of Christie’s clientele? There were only four withdrawals ahead of the evening sales, as Christie’s salespeople worked hard to assure buyers and sellers that business would continue without a glitch. There was a depth of bidding not seen the night before at the contemporary art sales at Sotheby’s, where out of its 52 lots, most sold on just a few bids. Still, Sotheby’s managed to outdo its rival with a total of $267 million on Monday — more than double Christie’s final result of $115 million, from a total of 57 lots, offered on Tuesday.

Persons: Georgina Hilton, Rosa de la Cruz, Christie’s salespeople, Sotheby’s Organizations: Cuban Locations: Christie’s, Cuban American, Sotheby’s

☆ At Art Auctions Market Seeks Its Footing After Stumbling Sales and a Hack at Christie’s
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-12 | by ( Zachary Small | Julia Halperin | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Estimates are still soaring past the $20 million mark and canvases still bear the signatures of dependable ringers like Warhol, Basquiat and Picasso. A cyberattack at Christie’s brought down the company’s website on Thursday, and as of Sunday morning, Christie’s had not yet regained control of it, but promised the auctions would proceed, at least in person. (A place-holder website was set up allowing access to the digital catalogs, but did not allow online bidding.) With the site down and questions still unanswered about the fate of confidential data, analysts are uncertain about the impact on buyers and sellers. Over the next week, more than 1,700 works of modern and contemporary art are expected to be offered at the three major houses — Sotheby’s, Christie’s and Phillips — with an estimate of $1.2 billion to $1.8 billion.

Persons: Warhol, Basquiat, Picasso, Christie’s, Phillips Organizations: Christie’s Locations: Christie’s

☆ Sylvester Stallone’s watches to go on sale, including ‘holy grail’ of timepiece collecting
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-07 | by ( Issy Ronald | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

That watch was the “most beautiful thing I’d ever seen,” Stallone said in a video released by Sotheby’s, and sparked a decades-long love of watch collecting. And now, the Hollywood star is auctioning 11 watches from his personal collection at a Sotheby’s sale in New York on June 5. Among the items is the rare Patek Philippe Grandmaster Chime, which is expected to fetch as much as $5 million, as well as watches he wore in some of his films. The Grandmaster Chime is the most complicated ever Patek Philippe watch. Another Patek Philippe watch, this one from its Nautilus family, is expected to sell for up to $400,000.

Persons: Sylvester Stallone, Gregg Allman, Allman, ” Stallone, Sotheby’s, Philippe Grandmaster, Philippe, “, Phillipe, Stallone, Audemars Piguet, Cartier, Sotheby's Organizations: CNN, Hollywood, Rolex Locations: New York

☆ How to buy your first luxury watch
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-03 | by ( Christy Choi | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

Learn the lingoJust like buying a car, there are some technical terms prospective watch buyers can benefit from knowing. Parts of the watchCrown: Small knob found on the side of the watch used to change the date and time. Automatic movement: A mechanical watch that does not need a battery to move, it relies on movement from the wearer to wind. Buy a watch for the right reasons and consider what you need from itDon’t get sucked into hype around a watch. See if the designer made any othersWhile on the lookout for a watch to wear to his wedding, Pang saw a six-figure Audemars Piguet watch.

Persons: you’ve, it’s, Patek Philippe, Cartier, Vacheron Constantin, Sotheby Asia’s, Joey Luk, Charles Frodsham, “, ”, Johnathan Chan, you’re, Helbert Tsang, Tim Stracke, don’t, Luk, Carlos Pang, Pang, Gerald Genta, Chan, … Organizations: CNN, Rolex, Horology, Facebook, IWC, ” Locations: haute, Hong Kong, Geneva

☆ Harry Potter: Original cover art for ‘The Philosopher’s Stone’ to go on sale
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-02 | by ( Amarachi Orie | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —J.K. Rowling’s 1997 novel “Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone” was the beginning of what would become a worldwide phenomenon. Now, the original illustration for the first edition of the book is going on sale. Taylor’s cover was used for several translated versions of the book, the auction house said. The first edition of 1997 book "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone" -- which Taylor illustrated. The manuscript is one of six handwritten by the British author that was originally intended as gifts for people closely involved with the publication of “Harry Potter,” according to the release.

Persons: CNN —, Harry Potter, ”, Thomas Taylor, Harry Potter –, Sotheby's, “, “ Harry Potter, Taylor, Shutterstock Taylor Organizations: CNN, Hogwarts Express, Hogwarts School of Witchcraft, Heritage Auctions Locations: Sotheby’s, London, Dallas , Texas, New York, American, British

☆ Why auction houses are embracing luxury — and celebrity — fashion
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-25 | by ( Joan Kennedy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

(CNN) — There’s a lot of talk about luxury’s rising prices, but it’s at auction that fashion is selling for the most eye-popping of sums. Fashion items from the sets of TV, film and even commercials can also garner high prices. Frank Augstein/APWhile selling prices are widely publicized, auction houses maintain something akin to attorney-client privilege when it comes to the identities of their bidders. In fact, much of the archival fashion seen on stars today has passed through auction. “That dress would now sell for $10 million because of that double whammy connection of a celebrity,” said Nolan.

Persons: —, Celine, Joan Didion, Levi’s, Kurt Cobain, Elton, Burberry, ”, Nicole Kidman, Lucy Bishop, Frank Augstein, Bishop, Audrey Hepburn, Diana —, Victoria, they’re, Lady Gaga, Kim Kardashian, Michael Jackson’s, Laverne Cox, Jordan Strauss, ’, Shannon Hoey, Hoey, Dior, Elizabeth Debicki, Diana, “, Meg Randell, Leigh Anne Clark —, Valentino, Saint Laurent, Chanel, Andre Leon Talley’s Birkin, Christie’s, Anna Wintour, Clark, Talley, would’ve, Andre Leon Talley's, Meghan McCarthy, Renae Plant, Diana’s, It’s, Carrie Bradshaw, Martin Nolan, Carrie Bradshaw's, Craig Blankenhorn, Barbie, Marilyn Monroe, John F, Kennedy, Nolan, Read Organizations: The, Fashion, CNN, AMC, Albert Museum, York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art, Vogue, USA, Plant, City, Julien’s, HBO Locations: London, Dallas, Palm Beach , Florida, California, Paris, Australia

☆ The pre-owned luxury watch market is thriving
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-24 | by ( Fawnia Soo Hoo | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +11 min

Granted, the pandemic-induced second hand luxury watch boom peaked back in March 2022, but the market is still going strong, and price levels remain higher than pre-Covid times. “(They’re) a crucial demographic for the growth and evolution of the pre-owned and vintage luxury watch industry,” added Paul Altieri, founder & CEO of multi-brand online luxury marketplace Bob’s Watches. Don't be shy," said Dimepiece's Brynn Wallner of new buyers' potential nerves when it comes to luxury watch stores. How can you tell if a luxury pre-owned watch is the real deal? “Luxury watches of this caliber will go from one generation to the next to the next to the next,” he explained.

☆ For Sale: A Rare Klimt Portrait, Valued at $32 Million. But of Whom?
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-22 | by ( Scott Reyburn | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

On Wednesday, an auction house in Europe will put a painting by Gustav Klimt up for sale, with a preauction estimate of at least 30 million euros (about $32 million). Whoever buys it will obtain a painting by an artist whose major works rarely come up for sale, but also a portrait whose subject, provenance and current ownership are either unknown, not public or the subject of debate. The auctioneer selling the painting is not an international heavyweight like Sotheby’s or Christie’s, but im Kinsky, a local house in Vienna whose biggest sale until now was in 2010: $6.1 million, for a painting by Egon Schiele. At a news conference in January announcing the sale of the mysterious Klimt work, Ernst Ploil, the co-chief executive of im Kinsky, said: “All is in the dark. Whenever there is an argument for something, counterarguments arise again and again.”

Persons: Gustav Klimt, Egon Schiele, Klimt, Ernst Ploil, ” Locations: Europe, Vienna

☆ Graham Sutherland’s study for the portrait Winston Churchill hated goes up for auction
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-19 | by ( Caitlin Chatterton | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

Churchill is talking about his own portrait, commissioned to celebrate his 80th birthday, as it is unveiled in London’s Westminster Hall in November 1954. This painted study of Churchill by Sutherland, made in preparation of the portrait, is up for auction for the first time. Tristan Fewings/Getty Images for Sotheby'sWhile “The Crown” is not a documentary, it is true that the 80th birthday portrait —described by Churchill as “filthy and malignant” in a letter to his personal doctor — was burned. “(Sutherland) caught him in a much more relaxed, intimate way,” Zlattinger said of the study, a small canvas painted in oils. Graham Sutherland, seen with his-then unfinished but eventually much-maligned portrait of Churchill.

Persons: it’s, ” Winston Churchill, John Lithgow, Graham Sutherland, Stephen Dillane, ”, Churchill, ” Sutherland, “, Judas, Churchill’s, Clementine, Harriet Walter, Sutherland, Tristan Fewings, —, ” Andre Zlattinger, “ He’d, He’d, Churchill —, Alfred Hecht, ” Zlattinger, Hatshepsut of, Baron, Queen Elizabeth I, Robert Blyth ,, Elizabeth “, Queen Victoria, Elizabeth, Ira B, Nadel, ” Blyth, Elizabeth I, Blyth, ” Dr Caroline Rae, Stalin, ” Bryn Sayles, Jacob Epstein, Alexis Schwarzenbach, Queen Elizabeth, King George VI, Queen Elizabeth II, Cecil Beaton, Sayles, Gary Oldman’s Organizations: CNN, Hall, Modern, Irish, Sotheby’s New, Royal Museums Greenwich, Art, University College London, Conservative Party Locations: Sotheby’s, Sotheby’s New York, London, Sutherland, Queen, Downing, Suez, Blenheim, Oxford, New York, British, Swiss

☆ Muhammad Ali’s ‘Thrilla in Manila’ trunks poised to sell for $6 million at auction
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-05 | by ( Story Reuters | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

Reuters —Muhammad Ali’s white satin boxing trunks from his epic “Thrilla in Manila” bout with rival Joe Frazier went up for auction on Thursday and are expected to sell for upwards of $6 million. Auction house Sotheby’s said the trunks from the October 1975 bout in the Philippines, which was won by Ali and marked a brutal finish to perhaps the greatest trilogy in boxing history, will be up for auction until April 12. According to Sotheby’s, the trunks were auctioned in 1988 from Bundini’s storage locker after his death for around $1,000 and have since made their way through the auction market. Muhammad Ali's signed trunks are on auction until April 12. Ali got revenge when he outpunched Frazier for a unanimous 12-round decision in January 1974, setting the stage for the “Thrilla in Manila” nearly two years later.

Persons: Reuters — Muhammad, Joe Frazier, Sotheby’s, Ali, Ali’s, Drew “ Bundini ” Brown, Muhammad Ali's, Frazier, outpunched Frazier Organizations: Reuters, Manila ” Locations: Manila, Philippines, Philippine

☆ Sherlock Holmes: Original manuscript could fetch $1.2 million at auction
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-02 | by ( Issy Ronald | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

By the time they left, Wilde had committed to writing “The Picture of Dorian Gray” and Conan Doyle had agreed to write “The Sign of Four,” one of his most famous Sherlock Holmes stories. Now, Conan Doyle’s letters recounting that fated dinner and his sole handwritten manuscript of “The Sign of Four” are being auctioned by Sotheby’s New York, alongside other literary treasures. The manuscript alone is expected to fetch up to $1.2 million, given its unique significance and status as the most valuable Conan Doyle item ever offered at auction, a Sotheby’s statement said. Courtesy Sotheby'sThe manuscript itself is exceptionally clean, bearing only Stoddart’s edits to Americanize spellings and a few crossed-out words as Conan Doyle himself tweaked his work. All of Conan Doyle’s other surviving manuscripts, most of which reside in museums, similarly show little sign of being edited, Kiffer added.

Persons: Arthur Conan Doyle, Oscar Wilde, J.M Stoddart, Wilde, Dorian Gray ”, Conan Doyle, Sherlock Holmes, Conan Doyle’s, “, ” Selby Kiffer, they’re, you’re, Kiffer, Doyle, ”, Stoddart, Holmes, Watson, Rodney P, Scott Fitzgerald, Gatsby, Scott, Zelda, Vladimir Nabokov, Graham Greene, Vera Organizations: CNN, Langham, Lippincott’s, Sotheby’s Locations: London, American, York, Chicago, New York

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