art collector news stories on Newser

Writer Finds Hitler's Art in Monastery

Neal Colgrass — Sat, 25 Feb 2012 17:21:53 CST

A Czech publisher and writer has uncovered a chunk of Adolf Hitler's art collection in a Czech monastery north of Prague, AFP reports. Jiri Kuchar announced his seven-painting find yesterday, valuing it at roughly $2.7 million. "They're part of Hitler's collection of about 45 paintings, about 30 statues, a...

Warhol Collection Stolen From LA Home

Rob Quinn — Sat, 12 Sep 2009 05:58:08 CDT

A multi-million dollar collection of portraits by Andy Warhol has been stolen from a prominent collector's home, the Los Angeles Times reports. Former investment banker Richard Weisman's housekeeper discovered that The Athletes series of 11 portraits—worth as much as a million a pop—had vanished when she entered the...

Collectors Give 50 Artworks Each to 50 States

Jason Farago — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 09:14:41 CDT

Herb and Dorothy Vogel had just modest incomes—he was a postal clerk, she a librarian—but over four decades they acquired more than 3,600 drawings, paintings, and collages from America's leading artists. They collected so much that they had to stuff works under their bed. But now the...

Madoff's Money Man Sells Rothkos for $310M

Jason Farago — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 07:53:22 CDT

Ezra Merkin, the financier who pumped billions of his clients' money into Bernie Madoff's Ponzi scheme, is selling more than 10 paintings by Mark Rothko and two sculptures by Alberto Giacometti for $310 million, reports the Wall Street Journal . Some of the proceeds may go to his defrauded investors, who...

Lehman CEO's Art Collection Goes Up for Sale

Rob Quinn — Sat, 27 Sep 2008 09:16:59 CDT

A $20-million collection of abstract expressionist drawings belonging to Lehman boss Richard Fuld and his wife is to be sold by Christie's, Bloomberg reports. Fuld's net worth has taken a whack with the collapse of Lehman stock; the sale, which includes 3 de Koonings, was anounced 4 days after the...

Hearst Group to Auction Night at Xanadu

Harry Kimball — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 05:42:00 CDT

Wanna-be Citizen Kanes have a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to spend a night at Hearst Castle—if they can pony up enough cash. A single night for two at William Randolph Heart's ultra-luxe California digs is going up for auction this month on eBay to raise funds to restore the legendary publisher's...

Beetle Bailey Finds New Barracks

Rob Quinn — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 13:14:59 CDT

One of the world's biggest collections of cartoon art has found a new home at Ohio State University, the Wall Street Journal reports. "Beetle Bailey" creator Mort Walker amassed more than 200,000 pieces of cartoon art during his 7 decades in the business but had to move his National...

Carla Nude Pic Fetches $91K at Christie's

Caroline Zimmerman — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 20:11:25 CDT

Sarkozy isn't the only one who gets to see his wife in the buff: a collector paid $91,000 for a photograph of a naked Carla Bruni at Christie's today. The auction house expected Michel Comte's 1993 portrait of the French first lady to sell for no more than $4,...

Not a Great Time to Be an Artist

Eleanor Villforth — Thu, 03 Apr 2008 17:50:30 CDT

The exploding art market may be about to deflate: New York’s flurry of contemporary art fairs last week had surprisingly good sales in light of the economic times, reports Portfolio , but the president of one of the nation’s most active lenders against art predicts a sharp downturn from last year’s...