auctions

867-5309 For Sale!

Joshua David Stein · 02/01/09 12:00PM

The guy who thought it was a good idea to get the eponymous number from Tommy Tutone's tuberculosis-for-the-ears (it's catchy and uncomfortable) 867-5309/Jenny , has decided to sell that number.

Virginity Auction Trend: Over

Hamilton Nolan · 01/27/09 01:42PM

Oh okay, we will put this up simply to remind you of how quickly trends can spiral into sickening territory: an Ebay auction (hoax?) for the virginity of a 19 year-old quadriplegic girl. Um:

Artistic Madonna Crotch Shot for Sale

Hamilton Nolan · 01/17/09 01:30PM

In 1979, a hirstute Madonna posed nude for Lee Friedlander. You can buy the photo for an estimated $15,000 at Christies, just in time for Valentine's day. Or just look at it for free. [Christies]

As the Phones Stop Ringing, Christie's Cuts Back

cityfile · 01/13/09 01:10PM

The romance between Wall Street high rollers and contemporary artists was always going to be a Faustian pact, even though the Chelsea denizens who rode the wave of stratospheric prices haven't wanted to contemplate that fact. But they no longer have a choice as it becomes increasingly obvious that the collapse of the financial markets has pulled the art market right down with it.

Madoff Memorabilia

cityfile · 12/16/08 11:39AM

Now you can own a souvenir from the biggest financial fraud in history: A Bernard Madoff Investment Securities fleece is up for sale on Ebay for $255. Not recommended attire for services at your local synagogue, obviously. [Ebay via Dealbreaker]

Merrill Lynch's Greatest Swag Blunders

cityfile · 12/11/08 01:54PM

We've never been much of a fan of those duffel bags you see investment banking analysts carrying on the subway. But now that banking is dead, does that mean the only people who will be carrying them in the near future will be ironic hipsters who picked up their green-and-blue Lehman Brothers duffels on Ebay? Those bags pale in comparison to some of the other items that banks have stamped with their logos, though. In honor of the demise of Merrill Lynch, we trolled around to find the three most unfortunate items the firm has unleashed on humanity over the years.

No Takers for Visionaire

cityfile · 11/19/08 09:15AM

A collection of all 53 issues of Visionaire—the super-expensive, super-glossy fashion/art mag founded by Stephen Gan—went up for auction last night at Sotheby's in London, but failed to find a buyer. [Unbeige]

Another Slow Night at Sotheby's

cityfile · 11/12/08 07:40AM

Not even the presence of high-profile collectors like Steve Martin, Valentino, and billionaire Eli Broad (who dropped $8 million on works by Ed Ruscha, Jeff Koons, Robert Rauschenberg, and Donald Judd) could save last night's Sotheby's contemporary art sale from being a big disappointment. Twenty paintings, including a Lichtenstein and a Damien Hirst, were left on the block, and the total tally was $125.1 million, far below the conservative presale estimate of $202.4 million. One genre that's apparently recession proof: John Currin and his trademark boobies. His "Nice 'n' Easy," an oil of two curvaceous naked women, went for a record $5.4 million. [NYT, Bloomberg]

The Latest Victim of the Recession: Truffles

cityfile · 11/10/08 11:01AM

White truffle prices are falling fast! At a Tokyo auction last night, the biggest truffle on the block went for $30,000, a far cry from the $330,000 paid for the largest specimen at last year's auction. [FT]

Another Slow Night at Christie's

cityfile · 11/07/08 08:01AM

Skittish art collectors with shrunken fortunes continue to balk at the prospect of picking up expensive artwork: At last night's sale of impressionist and modern art at Christie's, works by Matisse, Monet and Renoir had no takers, and the auction house's owner, French billionaire François Pinault, looked on as sluggish bidding led to lots going for bargain prices or not at all.

Art Market Continues Downward Slide

cityfile · 11/06/08 09:55AM

Honestly, art buyers, why even show up to auctions if you're going to cowardly balk at multi-million dollar estimates? At last night's Christie's sale combining the 19th and 20th century art collections of Park Avenue widow Rita Hillman and property heiress Alice Lawrence, works by Manet, Cézanne, Renoir, Rothko, and de Kooning were left on the block, making an overall tally of $47 million, not even close to the presale estimate of $103 to $150 million.

Sotheby's Sale Predictably Slow

cityfile · 11/04/08 07:56AM

Unsurprisingly, there aren't so many people wanting to invest millions in pretty (or not so pretty) pictures at the moment: At Sotheby's Impressionist and modern art auction last night, only 64 percent of the lots sold. Still, it's not quite time to get the violins out: The overall tally was $223.8 million, which included $37 million for Henry Kravis's Edgar Degas ballerina pastel and $60 million for a Kazimir Malevich painting. [Bloomberg, Reuters, previously]

Auctioneers Grow Nervous As Sales Tumble

cityfile · 10/30/08 12:29PM

Now is not a good time to be in the auction business, especially if your business involved selling overpriced items to people who have just lost all their money in the market. Sales were extremely slow at Sotheby's "Exceptional Wines" auction on Tuesday night: Only 70 percent of the 190 lots were ultimately auctioned off, bringing in $2.2 million, a far cry from the $5.1 million the auction house had been hoping for. Sotheby's isn't alone, of course: Business has been dismal at nearly every major auction from London to New York in recent weeks. But organizers for next week's Impressionist and Modern art sale at Sotheby's are already bracing for the worst, especially after one of the auction's priciest pieces was unexpectedly withdrawn by its owner. Now they just have to hope Henry Kravis doesn't pull out, too. He's planning to unload his Degas pastel of a seated ballerina, and is hoping for as much as $40 million for the work (he paid $28 million for it in 1999), and we all know that financiers need every penny they can get these days.

A New Record for Football Tickets

cityfile · 10/20/08 09:47AM

And you thought everyone who worked in the mortgage industry was screwed. A "Manhattan mortgage mogul" paid $400,000 last week for two "personal seat licenses," which will give him the right to buy the two best Jets season tickets at the new stadium, which is scheduled to open in 2010. Sound like a lot? In his defense, the purchase does come with free food and parking. [NYP]