Confessions of a Genius Art Forger — In one of Germany's greatest art scandals, former hippie and talented artist Wolfgang Beltracchi forged dozens of paintings over a period of 35 years, earning millions and fooling top collectors and museums. In a SPIEGEL interview, he reveals how he did it and why he eventually got caught. Photo Gallery. Background... [more inside]
posted by netbros on May 26, 2012 - 20 comments

The art market entered a new phase on Wednesday evening when “The Scream”, a pastel drawn in 1895 by Edvard Munch, was sold for $119.92 million at Sotheby’s auction of Impressionist and modern art. The winning bid, which came by telephone, set a world record for any work of art offered at auction. [more inside]
posted by Trurl on May 3, 2012 - 61 comments

After receiving a $20,000 grant from the Australia Council, Denis Beaubois set about creating his artwork, Currency, 2011, by withdrawing $20,000 from a teller at the Reserve Bank of Australia and writing down the serial numbers. The artwork sold at auction yesterday for $17,500. [more inside]
posted by robcorr on Aug 31, 2011 - 75 comments

Andy Warhol always plays a prominent role in the twice-yearly contemporary sales in New York, but this season his work saw a phenomenal turnover of $181m, almost a third of the week's total proceeds at Christie's, Sotheby's and Phillips de Pury. The Economist on The wizards of the Warhol market. Watch for yourself: In the Saleroom: Andy Warhol's Self-Portrait, 1963-1964.
posted by R. Mutt on May 19, 2011 - 14 comments

STEP 1 Buy 100 pieces of crap from thrift stores and garage sales.
STEP 2 Get 100 authors to write a fiction about pieces of crap.
STEP 3 ???
STEP 4 Profit!
Significant Objects hosts the stories for all 100 pieces of crap/art, but the last six are still available for bidding: Blue Vase by Lauren Mechling, Umbrella Trinket by Bruce Holland Rogers, Lighter Shaped Like a Small Pool Ball by Rob Agredo, Bar Mitzvah Bookends by Stacey Levine, Geisha Bobblehead by Edward "ed" Champion, and Missouri Shotglass by Jonathan Lethem.
posted by carsonb on Nov 14, 2009 - 12 comments

Tom Sanford, a NY based artist, has created paintings depicting pop-culture icons before, but none have created a "regular trickle of hate mail/criticism" like this one. [more inside]
posted by dubold on Nov 12, 2009 - 67 comments

"What would you say if I told you that I filled my entire living room with completely original works of art for less than $300?" Andrea Dickson from Wise Bread has found an unlikely -- though, the more you think about it, almost obvious -- place to find original art from new artists: Ebay. If you can filter through the crapload of "artistic nudes", there are plenty of gems, and usually at buyers' market prices. And, as Andrea's mother mused, when it comes to decorating the house, it beats buying mass-produced art from Costco, which is about as original as a Big Mac.
posted by chakalakasp on Oct 1, 2008 - 35 comments

The Most Curatorial Biennial of the Universe has nearly 450 local, national and international artists and curators (pdf) participating. Individuals place bids on the works of art in increments of $10. Online art auction to benefit the Robin Hood Foundation of NYC.
posted by RMD on Jul 14, 2007 - 3 comments

Pinning down the elusive Banksy. "The art world is the biggest joke going," he has said. "It’s a rest home for the overprivileged, the pretentious, and the weak." Yet the stencilist/graffiti writer's pieces regularly sell for hundreds of thousands of pounds at places like Sotheby's--not bad for a man who still remains cloaked in complete anonymity. The New Yorker gets a rare e-mail interview. [Previously: 1, 2, 3]
posted by dead_ on May 15, 2007 - 33 comments

Peter Doig's White Canoe just sold at auction for £5.7M making it the most expensive work by a living European painter. Gallery 1, 2.
posted by johnny novak on Feb 15, 2007 - 39 comments

Charity-by-Numbers. Re-Paint-By-Number. Corey Helford Gallery in Los Angeles is holding an exhibition & charity auction for The Alliance for Childrens Rights. The show features old paint-by-numbers art work that has been altered by many contemporary artists. You can find Before and After images of all the artwork in their ebay listings as well as many on the gallery's site. (Sorry, no direct link to the embedded feature.) Many larger views are on the Juxtapoz blog. Some are subtle, while others bury the original almost entirely.
posted by JBennett on Feb 14, 2007 - 1 comment

The world's most expensive photocopy. An untitled cowboy photograph by Richard Prince set a record last night for the most expensive photograph sold at auction, with a price of $1,248,000. The catch? It's a re-photograph of pre-existing Marlboro ad.
posted by Robot Johnny on Nov 10, 2005 - 62 comments

Want to buy an original David Hockney for only £35? Does Damien Hirst better suit your tastes? Make a visit to the Royal College of Art Secret Challenge sometime between November 19th and 25th to see if you have the eye for it!
posted by ScottUltra on Nov 18, 2004 - 5 comments

Breast Cast Art. (NSFW? I don't know, your call.) Modart's Keep a Breast 2002 is currently auctioning off these artistic busts to benefit The Breast Cancer Fund.
posted by Stan Chin on Nov 8, 2002 - 15 comments

'Pope hit by meteor' sculpture sets a contemporary art record at Christie's and sells for $886,000. The artist says, "I like to think of La Nona Ora as a sculpture that doesn't exist, a three-dimensional image that dissolves into pure communication blah, blah, blah... " Has anyone noticed we all live in Bizzaro World.
posted by quirked on May 18, 2001 - 28 comments

At $5.6m (£3.8m) for the original, I think I'll wait until the knock offs are in walmart.

This must have been an interesting auction.
posted by the_ill_gino on May 16, 2001 - 29 comments