American street artist Ron English has announced his plans to paint over a Banksy artwork after paying £561,000 for it. Slave Labour (Bunting Boy), a celebrated work by Banksy and painted on the side of a North London Poundland in 2012, joined more of the elusive street artists’ work at the Street & Contemporary Art auction held by Juliens Auctions on Wednesday November 14. One of the most publicised examples of Banksy’s social commentary, the...
Sotheby’s Evening Sale of Impressionist & Modern Art saw René Magritte’s portrait of patron Edward James, Le Principe du Plaisir (The Principle of Pleasure) (1937), fetch $26.9 million—a new world auction record for the artist. The portrait of one of the most influential patrons of surrealist art—introduced to Magritte by Salvador Dalí in 1937—well exceeded its highest pre-sale estimate of $20 million, after a bidding battle between seven collectors. Commissioned by James himself, the work...
On 14 November, Sotheby’s will present A Street (1926) and Calla Lillies on Red (1928) by Georgia O’Keeffe in a Contemporary Art Evening Auction for the first time. The stunning Cottonwood Tree in Spring (1943) will also be featured at the American Art Auction, taking place on 16 November. Succeeding the sale of Georgia O’Keeffe’s iconic flower painting Jimson Weed/White Flower No.1 (1932), Sotheby’s will again be offering significant works by the modernist artist to...
To commemorate the 100th anniversary since World War I ended, an online antique marketplace has revealed the war’s most valuable memorabilia; a list topped by a Victoria Cross Medal worth £200,000. An antiques website, LoveAntiques.com has partnered with military historian, Mark Smith to compile a list that features the 10 most valuable items that exist from the World War I period. Members of the public could have these valuable collectibles in their homes. Will Thomas,...
Klimt was the master of symbolism, but was his personal life as scandalous as his paintings? Born on July 14 1862 in Baumgarten, Austria, Gustav Klimt was the son of a struggling gold engraver. Klimt was the second of seven children and lived in poverty while he studied architectural painting at Vienna’s School of Applied Arts. All three of the Klimt boys displayed early artistic talent—as a member of the ‘Company of Artists’ (a group...
Opening on 12 October, the Victoria and Albert Museum’s new Photography Centre is set to display the world’s first photographic experiments, pictures by Alfred Stieglitz and Edward Steichen, acquisitions by Linda McCartney and commissioned works by Thomas Ruff. The world’s largest museum of decorative arts and design has collected photographs since it was founded in 1852. Following the transfer of the Royal Photographic Society collection, the V&A’s expanding amalgamation of world-class photography collections has inspired...
As part of their annual ICONS & IDOLS: HOLLYWOOD event, Julien’s Auctions will be selling the Ford Thunderbird that was owned by Marilyn Monroe. Estimated to fetch between $300,000-500,000, the 225 horsepower, V-8 engine car that Monroe owned from 1955 to 1962, will head to auction for the first time on 17 November 2018. Purchased under the name of Marilyn Monroe’s corporation, Marilyn Monroe Productions, the Raven Black Ford Thunderbird was thought to be a...
Organized by the Salon du Dessin in partnership with Paris Tableau, FINE ARTS PARIS will be running its second edition at the Carrousel du Louvre from 7 to 11 November 2018. The new Paris event is run in collaboration with the major French museums, including the Louvre, Petit Palais, Centre Pompidou, Zadkine, Bourdelle, Rodin and Maillol museums. With over 40 overseas exhibitors currently booked to attend, the fair promises stalls from both recognized dealers and...
Travelling to the Big Apple? Read through Arts & Collections’ essential list of the best museums in New York City. The museums of New York are some of the most iconic in the world and feature some of the finest collections of art, science and history. With such grandeur and the sheer number of them that are spread around NYC, choosing the right museum can be overwhelming. This list compiles the city’s finest, covering facts,...
One of the most recognisable, successful and intriguing figures in the modern art world, Andy Warhol came from very humble beginnings. Andy Warhol was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in 1928 as Andrew Warhola. Emerging from family poverty, Warhol became the most successful commercial illustrator in New York and a leading figure in the visual art movement known as Pop art. His work explores popular culture, celebrities, comics, mundane items and advertising, reducing the boundary between...
