Results tagged “painting”

A Manhattan woman who has been keeping her Andy Warhol original in the closet for decades, has finally taken it out of the makeshift storage room so she can cash in. The painting (a self portrait) will go on the auction block at Sotheby's on November 11th. The woman was reportedly a receptionist in Warhol's factory at age 17, and in 1967 he gave her the painting, which is inscribed to her. Why sell such a personalized gift? It's estimated there are about one million reasons.

Sea Lions seem to be making all the headlines this year; this summer a baby one was born at the Bronx Zoo, and then the New York Aquarium started a new pricey Sea Lion program up for visitors. Now that the business world has been conquered, they're showing their creative side.

Raise your one-gloved hand if you believe that Michael Jackson, the King of Pop, only ever had one portrait of himself done in his entire lifetime. One couple is claiming they hold the one and only painting MJ ever posed for, and CityRoom reports that it's, unsurprisingly, now up for sale. It last sold nearly twenty years ago for $2.1 million, and it's now on display in a Harlem car showroom (at Lenox Avenue and West 129th) after being kept in storage in New Jersey. Classy! Just like the masterpiece itself. The portrait is by Brett-Livingstone Strong, a friend of Jackson's whose other work you can see here, and is currently owned by toy inventors Marty Abrams and John Gentilly. They say the painting hasn't drawn many crowds, because “we don’t put a big sign in the window, ‘Michael Jackson Painting Here.’” Speaking of New Jersey toy collectors with connections to Michael Jackson, under the June 28th entry here, a significantly lesser known musician discusses his dinner with the King of Pop at a toy inventors home in New Jersey.

This is sort of like a storyline out of House—imagine a cold opening where a young artist falls ill from a headache, and upon being diagnosed her happily-ever-after doodles become dark, borderline-psychotic masterpieces. The NY Post has a story on 33-year-old Alison Silva, a painter from New Jersey, who the paper claims "is a medical marvel whose tumor left her with blinding visions—and breathtaking ability." Silva actually has painted since she was younger, but when she discovered her lifelong battle with headaches was actually being caused by a brain tumor that could kill her—well, her vision changed a bit. Now each of her dark paintings sell for around $7,500 apiece. She told the paper, "I had to do a lot of thinking when I was diagnosed. The tumor is right by my memory, so I was scared with the thought of having to start over." She added, "It took me to a darker place. It changed a lot of my art work. It got darker because I wasn't afraid anymore." Well, art imitates life, right?

The New Museum seems to be a magnet for strange activity. Earlier this year a dead deer was spotted outside of its doors, and now AnimalNY reports that "during the press preview for the New Museum’s triennial exhibition, 'Younger Than Jesus,' someone hung a giant banner stating 'Please, New Museum, Show My Work' on the facade outside." It was promptly removed, but a painting across the street with the same plea was also spotted. Until the artist reveals him/herself however, the stunt has failed since no one knows who the work belongs to. However, someone with video capabilities happened to be nearby when the banner was still up, and they made a video including both that and the painting—ultimately asking the artist to unmask thyself. We've asked the New Museum to comment on the artwork, but have yet to hear back.

A couple of years ago TBS made a collage so that hardcore fans of Seinfeld could test their knowledge on the show, which went off the air 11 years ago. But this Brooklyn-based artist's is much more detailed and challenging. Can you be the master of this domain? Kiersten Essenpreis's piece includes around 99 Seinfeld references—sit down with those unwanted muffin stumps and see how many you can guess (the cheat sheet is also on the artist's site). [via Listicles]

Today the New Museum will unveil a painting "in tribute to incoming First Lady Michelle Obama." The portrait, titled "Michelle and Sasha Obama Listening to Barack Obama at the Democratic National Convention August 2008," will be a new component to the exhibition Live Forever: Elizabeth Peyton. Stop by the 4th floor to see it for yourself!

Even though Lars Ulrich recently declared the art market is "perhaps the last frontier where the best of the best will not go the way of the rest of the economy," it seems the Metallica drummer doesn't have a very good read on the climate after all. The NY Times reports that "a Picasso Cubist painting that was to have been a star of Sotheby’s Impressionist and Modern art sale on Nov. 3 has been abruptly withdrawn." The artist's Arlequin (ca. 1909) was expected to take in over $30 million, but "fears that art prices were heading the way of the world financial markets" may have changed the seller's mind. Sotheby's confirms that, as of now, the painting is off the market. At the very least, the painting's history is worth reading about: The Times details how its previous owner, Surrealist painter Enrico Donati, came to purchase it (knowing Marcel Duchamp may have come in handy!).

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]

Nylon has some shots of the new Keith Haring mural going up on E. Houston as a tribute to the artist on his upcoming birthday, May 4th. Still a work-in-progress, you can find it between Bowery and 2nd Avenue.

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.

Continue reading "New Woes Over Stolen Warhol"