In 1957 Jack Kerouac wrote a letter to Marlon Brando (which just sold for over $33,000 at Christies) asking him to buy the rights to On The Road and make a movie out of it, noting that they could both star in it. In his vision, the novel would be reworked to a "perfectly acceptable movie-type structure," compressing all of the separate voyages into one large journey across the country. He began the letter: more ›

We've heard plenty of stories of Warhol paintings being sold for ridiculous sums of money at auction, but yesterday a damaged one was sold at Christie's for $302,500, more than 10x the amount estimated by experts. Of course, it doesn't hurt that it was owned and damaged by beloved late actor Dennis Hopper, which has given the painting a drug-addled backstory for the ages. more ›

Playboy magazine is unloading a ton of artwork on the auction block this December 8th, with a Christie's event titled The Year of the Rabbit. This includes a Salvador Dali watercolor that's been hanging in Hugh Hefner's bedroom (and appeared in a 1967 issue), 80 photographs, 24 cartoons and a dozen contemporary works, according to the AP. more ›

Breaking: Andy Warhol paintings still fetch a lot of money at auction. According to the NY Post, his "Big Campbell's Soup Can with Can Opener (Vegetable)" piece is expected to get up to $50 million when it's on the block at Christie's next month. Auction house spokeswoman Laura Paulson told the paper that the 1962 classic is an "incredibly important, very iconic work. When he painted the soup can picture... it changed the course of art history. No one had seen anyone do anything like this." There are only 11 large-scale soup can paintings, and 8 are held by museums. more ›

If you love your girlfriend, you'll say it with diamonds. And you'll say it with a 10.95 carat rare vivid blue diamond if you really mean it. Next month, Christie's will have the largest triangular-shaped fancy vivid blue diamond ever to come to auction, and it's expected to go for over $15 million. How's that recession going for you? more ›

The city is suing a New Jersey man and Christie's auction house for $1MM over 86 drawings (mostly) by Jacob Wrey Mould, who designed the Bethesda Fountain and Belvedere Castle in Central Park. Sam Buckley says he inherited the watercolors from his father, who found them in a dumpster about 50 years ago. Buckley brought the pieces to Christie's, and the auction house now holds them—however, earlier this week a Manhattan judge ordered them to refrain selling the drawings while the two sides are in settlement talks, according to the Daily News. more ›

One of legendary artist Jasper Johns "Flag" paintings was auctioned off last night at Christie's, and sold for $28.6 million, setting a new auction record for one of his pieces. The wax and paper collage was the highest selling item of the 31 works at auction from the art collection of the late author Michael Crichton. The buyer wasn't identified, but a Christie's spokesman said it was purchased by a gallery or other business, rather than an individual. more ›

A UK woman, Jeanne Marchig, has filed a lawsuit against Christie's in Manhattan federal court. Marchig claims when she took a piece she owned with her husband to the auction house in 1997, they told her it was the work of an anonymous 19th century German artist. It ended up selling at auction the following year for a measly $20,000. Thing is, it may be the work of Leonardo Da Vinci, with an actual value of $150 million! more ›

The art world is in the money once again. A 78-year-old Pablo Picasso painting titled "Nude, Green Leaves and Bust" just sold at Christie's last night for a record $106.5 million, though the auction house only expected around $70 million. The bidder is undisclosed, and called in to the Rockefeller Center salesroom. The painting is 5-by-4-foot and depicts Picasso's blond mistress, Marie-Therese Walter. Dealer Daniella Luxembourg told the Wall Street Journal she was surprised it took over the initial estimate, but that "the purchase reflected the market's volatile mood. 'This is a fantastic picture, but the market also wants trophies right now.'" Wonder how much the blowjob painting he denied having anything to do with would go for? (Currently it's hanging at the Met.) more ›

On January 27 Christies New York will auction off the largest Old Masters painting it has ever displayed. The 20-feet wide and 13-feet high clunker, Hubert Robert's "Le Pont Sur Le Torrent," was once owned by newspaper mogul William Randolph Hearts and was commissioned in 1780 for the expansive dining room of the Hôtel du Luynes in Paris. Though it hasn’t been on view to the public for more than fifty years it’s expected to go for a price that equals its size—between $2 million and $3 million, reported NY1. So happy bidding! At least you know these people won't be showing up for the auction. more ›

Spoiler alert! He loses. So, back to the beginning... a few years ago there was an epic Christie's auction that catered to the world's most crazed fans: Trekkies. Items on the block went for much more than estimated, and the History Channel even streamed the auction action live. more ›

Red Hook is getting another big name, but this time it's not a Big Box store. The NY Times reports that the once corrupt waterfront location is getting classed up by Christie's Auction House! They'll be moving into "an enormous, high-tech warehouse with security worthy of James Bond, all to protect the multimillion-dollar artworks, manuscripts, furniture and even rare cars." The luxury storage facility will be housed in one of the former New York Dock Company loft buildings, which is being renovated, and by January "will boast infrared video cameras, biometric readers and motion-activated monitors, as well as smoke-, heat- and water-detection systems," as well as private viewing galleries. This sounds primed for an art caper, Hudson Hawk style. The lofts were originally going to be luxury apartments, but the developer has said, “I still think it will be a fantastic residential conversion, but with the economic climate being what it is today. it may make sense to do a Christie’s-like commercial deal and treat it as a bond—you, know, put it away for 30 years, let my children see what’s happening 30 years from now.” more ›

Before you lay down some hard earned cash on that Bob Dylan poem, you should probably know a little bit more about it. Like, for instance, that those are actually the words of Canadian country singer Hank Snow. Reuters reports that earlier this week Christie's announced the sale of a Bob Dylan poem believed to have been written in 1957 when he was away at Jewish camp, but they "failed to detect that the words, with a few minor variations, matched those of a song previously recorded by Snow." A reader alerted Reuters of the fact, who then informed the auction house, who announced, "Additional information has come to our attention about the handwritten poem submitted by Bob Dylan to his camp newspaper, written when he was 16, entitled 'Little Buddy.' The words are in fact a revised version of lyrics of a Hank Snow song. This still remains among the earliest known handwritten lyrics of Bob Dylan." The big question here is: did Dylan cop to copying the lyrics back in '57? It certainly wouldn't be the fist time he's lifted some lines. more ›

Awww, before Bob Dylan wrote the songs he became known for, he wrote a poem called "Little Buddy" about the tragic death of a dog. USA Today reports that when he was 16, Dylan (then Zimmerman) penned the poem for the newspaper at Herzl Camp in Webster, Wisconsin—and now it's expected to take in around $15K at Christie's on June 23rd. "Written on both sides of a single page, the poem tells the poignant story of Little Buddy, who is killed at the hands of a drunkard, and the boy who mourns him." Christie's pop culture expert says, "It's a very early example of his brilliance. It comes from the mind of a teenager (with) some very interesting thoughts kind of percolating in his brain." Dylan will turn 68 on Sunday, and he told his old camp they were free to do what they wished with the poem. Read it in full, in his own handwriting, after the jump. more ›

Earlier this year we talked to Robert Thurman (Uma's dad, and also the head of the Tibet House), who told us that his aim is "to preserve Tibetan culture" and "raise funds to support Tibetan cultural projects like art departments in schools." Tonight, along with an Honorary Chair Committee that includes Yoko Ono Lennon, Martin Scorsese and Sting, they'll be doing just that at the 6th Annual Tibet House US Benefit Auction at Christie’s. Proceeds will be going towards the Ghar Sita Mutu and Pema Ts’al schools in India and Nepal, as well as the Tibetan Community Cultural Center being built in Queens. Some of the items on the block include a safari vacation, an amulet made by a Newari Buddhist monk and blessed by Mata, and a Fantasy Dinner Party with 11 friends in your own home joined by composer Philip Glass (who will also perform). Oh and that dinner? It's cooked by none other than chef Eric Ripert. more ›

Atlantic Records founder Ahmet Ertegun, who died from injuries sustained during a fall at the Beacon Theater Rolling Stones concert in 2006, will be represented at the Christie's Pop Culture/Punk Rock auction today via a portrait. more ›

Both Sotheby's and Christie's have been suffering lately, either not selling items at auction, or selling them for much less than anticipated. While not everyone is buying, there's plenty of folks selling--even outgoing Lehman Brothers boss Richard Fuld dropped off a collection at Christie's as part of "his own bailout plan." Not all of his pieces went for as much as he'd estimated, as has been the outcome for many sellers as of late. So who is lucking out on the auction block? None other than Metallica drummer Lars Ulrich. During these times of economic downturn, The NY Post reports that his 1982 Jean-Michel Basquiat, titled "Untitled (Boxer)" went for $13.5 million...about $1.5 million more than expected! more ›

High-end auction houses aren't very punk rock, but Christie's is about to put some classic punk era memorabilia on the block. They announced the auction, which takes place November 24th, yesterday--and it will include more than 120 punk treasures from legends like the Ramones, the Velvet Underground, Patti Smith, Blondie, David Bowie and more. more ›

Following in the footsteps of U2 bassist Adam Clayton, Metallica's Lars Ulrich is now set to auction off his Jean-Michel Basquiat. The painting will be on the block at Christie's in New York come November 12th, and the NY Times reports that it "depicts a victorious black boxer, his hands waving in the air, against a richly painted background filled with the artist’s signature graffiti scrawl. The figure is part hero, part warrior, part victim. It is also said to be autobiographical." Ulrich bought the painting in 1999, and it's expected to bring in around $12 million minimum at auction. Of his timing, he said, “Of course it’s an awkward time to sell, but I’ve always been about taking chances." He added: "I have a lot of faith in the art market. It’s perhaps the last frontier where the best of the best will not go the way of the rest of the economy.” [via the Observer] more ›

After being contested by two of Brown's former business managers, Christie's hosted the James Brown Collection auction today, something his children were also unhappy about and planned on protesting. more ›

Christie's is holding a pop culture auction this summer and their sale will include none other than Tony Soprano's most notable wardrobe items. The auction takes place on June 25th (almost a year after the series finale, and the tag sale) and WNBC reports that the proceeds will go to the Wounded Warrior Project, a Florida-based group assisting severely wounded soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan. more ›

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Everyone is abuzz about the latest art world scandal, and here's what is known about the life of the Warhol painting at the center of the controversy.

1981: Andy Warhol creates a number of his "Dollar Sign" pieces, using the same theme with different colors and sizes. Medium: polymer paint and silkscreen ink on canvas. more ›

After posthumously leaving $12 million to her dog, Leona Helmsley is ready to spread the wealth with humans through her own charitable trust (created in 1999). Yesterday Christie's announced they would be auctioning off paintings, sculptures, furniture and other property from the late real estate mogul's numerous homes. Spokesman Rik Pike stated that each auction will take place this year, and "the collection reflects a sophisticated taste and a wonderful sense of style across a wide range of collecting fields, including Asian art, European painting and decorative arts." more ›

A New Jersey man says he was burned by Christie’s and CBS Paramount when they knowingly dumped counterfeit Star Trek memorabilia at an auction in October ‘06. Diehard Trekkie Ted Moustakis has filed a $7 million dollar lawsuit against the auction house and the producers of Star Trek who supplied the disputed items, which included Data’s poker visor – made but never worn – in an episode of Star Trek: Next Generation, a “one of a kind” uniform worn by Data and the poker table from the episode. more ›

Christie's is finally getting on the overpriced vintage concert t-shirt bandwagon. Today they bring 30 rock tees to the block as part of their Rock and Pop Memorabilia auction, and all are expected to sell for up to $4,500 each. Remember when Stella McCartney was creating overpriced rock tees for Chloe? We sort of blame her for this."The fact that these T-shirts exist in such pristine condition is remarkable because most people didn't keep these... more ›

'Tis the season...not only for typical holiday shopping, but for auctions as well (the auction season kicked off earlier this month when a Matisse sold for over $33M). So what's the ultimate gift this year? If you missed out on the $18.5M Faberge egg, how about the Norman Rockwell painting of Santa Claus? The painting, titled Extra Good Boys and Girls, is expected to take in between $2.5 and $3.5 million, according to Christie's New... more ›