Archive for November, 2006

Seattle Art museum sells paintings at N.Y. auction

Thursday, November 30th, 2006

In a New York auction Wednesday that brought record prices for paintings by Edward Hopper and Norman Rockwell, the Seattle Art Museum sold six of eight paintings it had offered.
SAM deaccessioned the eight paintings to raise money for other acquisitions.
The highest-valued painting of SAM’s group, John Marin’s “New York Abstraction,” sold for $688,000, including the [...]

Presley wedding ring tops auction items

Thursday, November 30th, 2006

The wedding ring that iconic U.S. singer Elvis Presley wore during his marriage to Priscilla Presley will headline an auction by Profiles in History.
The diamond wedding ring is among 900 pieces of TV and movie memorabilia to be auctioned off Dec. 14 and 15 by the Internet auction company. The ring alone is expected [...]

Rare dinosaur fossil for Los Angeles auction

Wednesday, November 29th, 2006

An exceptionally well-preserved 65 million year-old fossilized dinosaur nest with some broken eggs exposing tiny skeletons is up for auction in Los Angeles on Sunday.
The nest of raptors, fierce predatory dinosaurs, is expected to fetch between $180,000-$200,000.
“It is probably one of the finest dinosaur egg nests in the world. For the tiny skeletons still to [...]

Auction for Stamford mansion of slain developer

Wednesday, November 29th, 2006

A state Superior Court judge has ordered that an unfinished mansion of slain real estate developer Andrew Kissel be sold at auction to pay back a portion of the money he allegedly stole from financial institutions.
Judge Michael Shay yesterday ordered a home Kissel was building in Stamford to be sold by sealed bid to help [...]

Canadian artworks bring top dollar at Toronto auction

Wednesday, November 29th, 2006

A 19th-century painting depicting the immediate aftermath of a sleigh accident and small works by the Group of Seven were among the highlights of Joyner Waddington’s Fall Auction of Important Canadian Art on Tuesday.
Run Off The Road In A Blizzard by 19th-century painter Cornelius Krieghoff sold for $307,000, more than double its presale auction estimate.
Two [...]

Minneapolis Castle for sale on eBay

Tuesday, November 28th, 2006

The Van Dusen mansion, located at the corner of 19th and LaSalle in Minneapolis, may be one of the city’s most beautifully restored historic homes.
The home was built in 1892 for George W. and Nancy B. Van Dusen. The main house is 12,000 square-feet, but there’s also a 3,600 square-foot carriage house. It’s made [...]

Detroit auctioning Old Tiger Stadium

Tuesday, November 28th, 2006

Development plans are underway for the old Tiger Stadium, which has sat empty since its doors closed in 1999.
Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick and the Detroit Economic Growth Corporation (DEGC), a public/private partnership organization designed to increase investment in the city, have decided to auction as many items as possible to help foot the cost of demolition.
According [...]

eBay removes Klan figurines

Monday, November 27th, 2006

The online auction site says it’s removing a listing for “KKK Snowmen and Snow-women.”
The ad said the crude clay figurines have removable white pointy hoods. The starting bid was listed at $13.77. As of Thursday night, no bids had been placed for the items.
An eBay spokeswoman told the New York Daily News that the listing [...]

Heffel Fine Art Auction takes $11.7 million

Sunday, November 26th, 2006

Works by a modern painter, an impressionist, a member of the Group of Seven, and Canada’s first prime minister helped make the Heffel Fine Art Auction the second most lucrative event of its kind in Canada’s history.
A painting by legendary Canadian artist Jean-Paul Riopelle sold for almost $1.7 million, Tom Thomson’s dramatic display of the [...]

Charlie Sheen auctions Brando apology letter

Saturday, November 25th, 2006

Actor Charlie Sheen is auctioning off a letter from acting legend Marlon Brando.
Sheen had invited Brando to his 26th birthday but the latter was too sick to attend. Instead he sent a letter of apology for not making it. It is that letter that is being auctioned.

Logbooks not from sunk ferry

Saturday, November 25th, 2006

An EBay seller says logbooks he listed for sale Tuesday weren’t from a B.C. ferry that sank near Prince Rupert earlier this year.

Bonhams & Butterfields Natural Wonders Auction – Dec 3

Saturday, November 25th, 2006

Among the natural wonders to be auctioned Dec. 3 in Los Angeles are two saber-toothed tiger skeletons and several fossilized dinosaur eggs preserved in a raptor’s nest, according to Bonhams & Butterfields.
The museum-quality raptor nest and eggs, complete with fossilized embryos, are expected to bring $180,000 to $220,000, according to the auction house, which noted [...]

Settlement reached in New Jersey auction firm suit

Saturday, November 25th, 2006

A New Jersey-based auction company agreed to pay $20,000 in civil penalties and fees after it was accused of using false and misleading advertising during its sale of jewelry items at hotels in San Mateo County. The lawsuit was filed Monday by the San Mateo County District Attorney’s Office and was subsequently settled Tuesday.
The suit [...]

Auction brings record prices for Canadian artists

Saturday, November 25th, 2006

The recording-breaking fall art auction season continued last night, with $1,667,500 paid for Jean-Paul Riopelle’s spectacular abstract painting, Il était une fois une ville (1954-’55) at the Heffel Art Auction in Toronto.
It’s the most ever spent on a Riopelle sold in Canada, although not for one sold outside the country.
The auction saw a total of [...]

Crusader trying to stop relic sales on eBay

Saturday, November 25th, 2006

Hardly an hour goes by without Thomas Serafin or one of his cybersleuths checking what eBay has to offer.
They’re not hunting for bargains and never place a bid. Their interest is bone shards, bits of wizened flesh and a contemporary twist on the sacred and the profane: how the ancient trade in the most coveted [...]