Christie's – News Stories About Christie's - Page 2

Digital Work of Art Just Shattered All Records

Mar 11, 2021 1:55 PM CST

A JPG File Just Sold for $69M

Digital collage by Beeple fetches third-highest amount for a living artist at Christie's

(Newser) - The Verge begins its coverage of this art sale by noting that artist Mike Winkelmann, who goes by Beeple, had never sold a print for more than $100 before October. On Thursday, he sold a piece for $69.3 million, the third largest amount for a living artist, notes Vice...

Angelina Jolie's Churchill
Painting Sets Auction Record

Mar 2, 2021 8:13 AM CST

Angelina Jolie's Churchill Painting Sets Auction Record

Former British prime minister's 'most important work' sells for almost $10M

(Newser) - A painting by former British prime minister Sir Winston Churchill has just sold for an auction record, making Angelina Jolie millions of dollars richer. The actress had offered up The Tower Of The Koutoubia Mosque, which Churchill painted in Marrakech, Morroco, during World War II. An anonymous buyer nabbed it...

Someone Paid $98K to Get Closer to the Mona Lisa

This Person
Really Wanted to
See the Mona Lisa

Dec 16, 2020 7:30 AM CST

This Person Really Wanted to See the Mona Lisa

Bidder paid $98K to get closer glimpse of da Vinci's famous piece during annual inspection

(Newser) - How much would it be worth to get to see that Mona Lisa smile up close and personal, without any fellow gawkers blocking your view? According to one person, $98,000 . That's how much a bidder paid for the chance to watch as da Vinci's famous painting is...

'Blue Marble' Photo, First
Space Selfie Up for Grabs

Nov 12, 2020 12:20 PM CST

'Blue Marble' Photo, First Space Selfie Up for Grabs

2.4K vintage photos showcase the golden age of space exploration

(Newser) - The only photograph showing Neil Armstrong walking on the moon is set to go to the highest bidder. Christie's is auctioning off some 2,400 rare NASA images amassed by French collector Victor Martin-Malburet, and though the one of Armstrong is expected to fetch the highest price, an estimated...

She Got a Raffle Ticket as
a Gift, Now Owns a Picasso

May 21, 2020 10:15 AM CDT

She Got a Raffle Ticket as a Gift, Now Owns a Picasso

Italian woman wins $1.1M painting in charity raffle

(Newser) - An Italian woman is the new owner of a century-old painting by Pablo Picasso, worth $1.1 million—but she didn't buy it. The unidentified woman won 1921's "Nature Morte"—a small oil painting depicting a glass of absinthe and a newspaper on a table—in...

Own a Chunk
of the Moon—for a Price

May 4, 2020 10:45 AM CDT

Own a Chunk of the Moon—for a Price

Big rock up for sale at Christie's for $2.5M

(Newser) - Rich space enthusiasts who can't get a seat on a rocket now can settle for having space come to them. Christie's has a chunk of the moon for sale, and it's valued at $2.5 million, reports Reuters . The lunar meteorite (designated formally as NWA 12691) weighs...

A Teenage Mozart Portrait May Auction for $1.3M

Rare Portrait
of Mozart
at 13 Could
Bring $1M

Nov 13, 2019 5:15 PM CST

Rare Portrait of Mozart at 13 Could Bring $1M

Christie's to auction the 1770 painting this month

(Newser) - A 1770 portrait of a young Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart will be sold at auction this month, and Christie's has set a guide price of as much as $1.3 million. The Austrian composer sat for the portrait while traveling in Italy with his father when he was 13, CNN...

Someone Just Paid
$31M for This Wristwatch

Nov 12, 2019 7:53 AM CST

Someone Just Paid $31M for This Wristwatch

The Patek Philippe auctioned by Christie's is the most expensive wristwatch ever sold

(Newser) - Someone is about to have a very well-adorned wrist. Christie's held its charity Only Watch auction in Geneva on Saturday to help raise money for research on Duchenne muscular dystrophy, an every-other-year event that features dozens of luxury timepieces, and a one-of-a-kind Patek Philippe earned the title of most...

Egypt's Outrage Couldn't
Stop This $6M Sale

Jul 5, 2019 7:42 AM CDT

Egypt's Outrage Couldn't Stop This $6M Sale

Christie's holds auction of 3,000-year-old King Tut bust despite Egypt's claims it was stolen

(Newser) - "Egyptian history is not for sale" is what signs carried by protesters read outside of Christie's in London. But apparently it was, as a controversial auction of a King Tut bust was carried out Thursday, fetching nearly $6 million, Reuters reports. At issue regarding the 3,000-year-old, 11-inch-high...

Christie's Thinks This Is Worth
$5M. Egypt Thinks It's Stolen

Jun 10, 2019 1:54 PM CDT

Christie's Thinks This Is Worth $5M. Egypt Thinks It's Stolen

A tussle over a Tutankhamun statue

(Newser) - Last Monday Christie's let the world know that it planned to auction an Egyptian brown quartzite head of King Tut as the god of sun and air, Amun. It expected it to go for more than $5 million in the July 4 sale. Egyptian officials are now trying to...

Einstein's 'God Letter' Expected
to Fetch 7 Figures at Auction

Dec 4, 2018 8:21 AM CST

Einstein's 'God Letter' Expected to Fetch 7 Figures at Auction

1954 note declares religion as 'superstitition'

(Newser) - "The word God is for me nothing but the expression of and product of human weaknesses." Even now, more than 60 years later, Albert Einstein's words carry some shock value—which is why auction house Christie's expects to nab up to $1.5 million with the...

He Bought the Painting for
$180K. It Just Sold for $92M

Nov 14, 2018 10:05 AM CST

He Bought the Painting for $180K. It Just Sold for $92M

Seattle Art Museum won't get Edward Hopper's 'Chop Suey' after all

(Newser) - When the gavel came down, an anonymous bidder was out $92 million and the art world was up in confidence. The scene unfolded Tuesday at Christie's in New York as work from the estate of late Seattle-area luxury-travel executive Barney Ebsworth was sold, per the Wall Street Journal . In...

Unusual Stephen Hawking
Memorabilia Up for Auction

Oct 22, 2018 4:18 AM CDT

Unusual Stephen Hawking Memorabilia Up for Auction

His wheelchair can be yours

(Newser) - Stephen Hawking was a cosmic visionary, a figure of inspiration, and a global celebrity. His unique status is reflected in an upcoming auction of some of the late physicist's possessions: It includes complex scientific papers, one of the world's most iconic wheelchairs, and a script from one of...

Hockney Painting
May Make History

Sep 13, 2018 11:26 AM CDT

Hockney Painting May Make History

1972 work poised to become priciest artwork by a living artist sold at auction

(Newser) - In May, British painter David Hockney more than doubled his previous auction record with the $28.5 million sale of 1990's "Pacific Coast Highway and Santa Monica," per the BBC . Now, one of his most recognizable paintings could fetch nearly three times as much, reports CNN . In...

Buyer Wants $800K
After Learning of
Painting's Messy Past

Jun 5, 2018 8:27 AM CDT

Buyer Wants $800K After Learning of Painting's Messy Past

Alain Dreyfus says Christie's should have figured out it had been stolen by the Nazis

(Newser) - The buyer of a painting reportedly stolen by Nazis wants some $800,000 from Christie's auction house, which he claims "didn't do enough work" to clear the provenance of Alfred Sisley's "First Day of Spring in Moret." French art dealer Alain Dreyfus says he...

$70M Picasso Damaged
Before Auction

May 14, 2018 9:39 AM CDT

$70M Picasso Damaged Before Auction

Owner Steve Wynn has been down this road before

(Newser) - Pricey mistake: A Picasso worth an estimated $70 million had to be yanked from an auction at Christie's this week because it sustained damage as workers were preparing it. It's not clear how bad the damage is to Le Marin , or The Sailor, or even how the damage...

This da Vinci Painting Just
Obliterated Art-Sale Records

Nov 16, 2017 12:33 AM CST

This da Vinci Painting Just Obliterated Art-Sale Records

Sells for $450M at Christie's

(Newser) - A painting of Christ by the Renaissance master Leonardo da Vinci sold for a record $450 million at auction on Wednesday, obliterating previous records. The painting, called "Salvator Mundi" (Italian for "Savior of the World"), is one of fewer than 20 paintings by Leonardo known to exist...

Here's How Much
Giant 163-Carat
Diamond Went
for at Auction

Nov 14, 2017 6:58 PM CST

Here's How Much Giant 163-Carat Diamond Went for at Auction

$33.7M for largest D-flawless diamond ever auctioned off

(Newser) - The largest-ever D-flawless diamond to be put up for auction, mounted in a diamond and emerald necklace, has sold for $33.7 million at Christie's in Geneva, including buyer's fees. The white, matchbox-size "Creation 1" diamond from Swiss jeweler de Grisogono weighs a whopping 163 carats, the...

Fewer Than 20
da Vinci Paintings
Survive. A New
Fate for One

Oct 14, 2017 8:13 AM CDT

Fewer Than 20 da Vinci Paintings Survive. A New Fate for One

The 'Salvator Mundi' will hit the block at Christie's on Nov. 15

(Newser) - A painting will hit the block at Christie's in New York on Nov. 15, and it's tough to say what's more interesting: that it could fetch $100 million, or the story behind it. As the Wall Street Journal reports, getting to nine figures would be an auction...

Christie's Forced
to Reveal Name
of $14.5M Bidder

Jul 28, 2017 6:37 PM CDT

Christie's Forced to Reveal Name of $14.5M Bidder

Turkey filed lawsuit claiming 5,000-year-old idol was looted from country

(Newser) - A famous auction house must give up the name of the buyer who tried to pay $14.5 million for a rare idol the Turkish government claims was illegally taken from the country, a judge ruled Wednesday. According to Christie's , the 9-inch Guennol Stargazer comes from the Chalcolithic period...