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“Triptych 1974-77″ via The New York Times

Last night Francis Bacon’s “Triptych 1974-77,” post war impressionist painting, was sold for £26.3 million at Christie’s International’s London Auction House. Christie’s sold the Triptych at their Post War Art Evening Sale, which did not do as well as Sotheby’s Modern and Impressionist Art Sale the previous night. The sale was the equivalent of $46.1 million dollars, after fees, and fell just under the presale estimate of $50 million to $70 million.

Bacon Fetches $51.1 Million; Demand Weakens in Christie’s Sale [Bloomberg]
Post-War & Contemporary Art Evening Sale [Christie's]
Bacon’s homage to dead lover sells for £26m [The Independant]
Triptych by Francis Bacon Is Sold for $46.1 Million [The New York Times]

details of auction after the jump

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Wallpaper Video Screenshot via Archinect

Earlier we told you about hotelier Andre Balazs’ loan of his Jean Prouve Flat-Pack Home, La Maison Tropicale, to the Tate Modern in London. Today, Wallpaper Magazine has a time-lapse video detailing the assembly of the famous design, originally intentioned for Niger and the Congo in the 1940’s and 1950’s.
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Video of Jean Prouvé’s Maison Tropicale assembly [Archinect]
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La Maison Tropicale, Jeane Prouve [Wallpaper]

Ed Ruscha via US Department of Art & Technology

Ed Ruscha will exhibit five pairs of paintings at the Gagosian Gallery, Britannia Street in London from February 5 – March 15. Ruscha’s work often centers on ideas of American life and the urban landscape bringing issues of time, memory and perception into the forefront.
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Sarah Jessica Parker via ActressArchives

Sarah Jessica Parker has teamed up with the Magical Elves, Dan Cutforth and Jane Lipsitz of “Top Chef” and “Project Runway” fame, to develop a new reality show where artists paint, sculpt, photograph and design “their way to the top.” (more…)

Girolamo Francesco Maria Mazzola, known as Parmigianino (1503 – 1540), Antea,
c. 1531–34, oil on canvas, Museo di Capodimonte, Naples
photograph courtesy of Soprintendenza Speciale per il Polo Museale Napoletano

On January 29, The Frick Collection on New York’s Upper East Side opened a one-painting exhibition which has drawn widespread interest. The sole work which is on special loan from the Museo di Capodimonte in Naples, is Parmigianino’s Antea, an Italian Renaissance (more…)

Pablo Picasso’s Tete de Femme via Bloomberg

Last night, Sotheby’s Modern and Impressionist auction brought in $230 million selling roughly 88% of lots offered. Christie’s Modern and Impressionist auction, which took place this past Monday, did not fair as well.

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Rolls Royce auctioned at Bonhams via Elite Choice

Bonhams has announced its plans to move to a three-story space on the corner of 57th Street and Madison Avenue in New York. This site formerly housed the Dahesh Museum. The move, as well as the decision to sell their Scottish headquarters in Edinburgh, is part of an effort to raise the Auction house’s profile.

Bonhams Auction House [Bonhams]
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Dahesh Museum [Dahesh Musem of Art]
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Art Sales: Auctions Weather the Storms [Telegraph]
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Bonhams Hosts First Urban Art Show [Art Observed]

Banksy via The World’s Best Ever

These new Banksy graffiti pieces were spotted in Los Angeles recently. The artist, based in London, is known for his underground graffiti artwork and his distinctive stenciling technique.
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Amadeo Modigliani “Reclining Nude” via Thyssen-Bornemisza

“Modigliani and His Time” at the Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum in Spain may shed new light on the enigmatic career of Italian artist Amadeo Modigliani. The exhibition which runs from February 5 – May 18 features 130 pieces including Modigliani’s famous nudes, landscapes and portraits, juxtaposed with artworks by his influences and his contemporaries.

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Damien Hirst “All You Need is Love” via Sotheby’s

Sotheby’s Lowers Estimate for (RED) Auction by 28% [Bloomberg]
Damage to Antiquities Caused by Tax Scheme Accounts for Art Raids [New York Times]
Ryan McGinley to Shoot Ads for Converse by John Varvatos [GQ Magazine]
Picasso Exceeds Auction Estimate at Christie’s London [Bloomberg]
Met Hires Headhunter to Find New Director [Wall Street Journal]
Guy Cogeval Appointed Director of Musée d’Orsay [Art Info]
Saatchi buys Contemporary Heinrich Himler portrait [UK News]
Richard Prince and Terry Richardson create artwork for controversial James Frey novel [New York Post]
Gerhard Richter at Serpentine Gallery in September [Guardian UK]

Faile “London 12″ via Bonhams

Bonham’s in London is hosting its first ever street art auction on February 5th. Banksy, probably the most well known of the artists has 22 out of the 75 lots up for sale. Banksy’s anarchist works are expected to bring in the most profit, however there are many other noteworthy street artists being featured as well. Adam Neat, the youngest of the group, has had an estimate of £25,000 – 30,000 for his “Apprentice” piece.

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Alexej von Jawlensky “Schokko (Schokko With Wide-Brimmed hat)” via Sotheby’s

Christie’s International and Sotheby’s will auction a record breaking approximately $847 million of Impressionist and Modern Art this month in London. Expectations for the sales remain high despite the economic turmoil in many sectors, including the subprime loan crisis and the all time low for stocks in London last month. This optimism stems from the fact that many experts and collectors believe art will remain a stable investment in times of financial upheaval. (more…)

Rosson Crow “Night at the Palomino” via Artnet

Honor Fraser, Los Angeles is currently exhibiting “Night at the Palomino”, featuring Rosson Crow’s newest paintings. Her works feature European styled bars and hotels, taking reference from now demolished Ambassador Hotel from Los Angeles.

Honor Fraser [Honor Fraser]

Federal Agents raiding the Bowers Museum of Cultural Art in Santa Ana via Los Angeles Times

Federal agents raided the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Pasadena’s Pacific Asia Museum, the Bowers Museum in Santa Ana and Mingei International Museum in San Diego, as well as two unidentified individuals in Chicago last week. The raids were a result of a fve year long smuggling investigation.

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Stefan Sagmeister via Deitch Projects
On January 31st Stefan Sagmeister’s, “Things I Have Learned in my Life So Far”, opened at Deitch Projects in New York. The exhibition is a multimedia installation that will continue to shift and change throughout the duration of the show. (more…)

Artists Anonymous from “Virus” via Artists Anonymous

Artists Anonymous a group of artists from London and Berlin are currently exhibiting the final installment of their “Apocolyptic Warriors” series at Haunch of Venison in Zurich. Each multimedia exhibition includes painting, sculpture, photography, video and print.

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Aby Rosen via New York Social Diary

Real Estate Mogul/Collector Aby Rosen Silent Partner with Peter Brant in Art in America and Interview [The New York Post]
Spiral Jetty threatened by energy development [Arts Journal via C-monster]
MCA Chicago Director Joins Haunch of Venison, London [Art Forum]
UK Corporate Art Spending Reaches All Time High [Financial Times]
Gap’s Fischer Family to Start Negotiations Concerning San Francisco Art Museum [Bloomberg.com]
Lucian Freud Reportedly to Paint Portrait of Actor Jack Nicholson [The New York Post]
Brian McMaster Disputes Potential for Current UK Art Scene to Rival the Renaissance [Guardian Unlimited]

Hermitage Museum via Wikipedia.com 

Dutch Architect Rem Koolhaas will redesign the art diplays at the State Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg, Russia in an effort to update the almost 250 year-old institution. He is charged with creating a schema to display the nearly three million artworks and artifacts housed in the encylopedic museum’s 2000 rooms.

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Maurizio Cattelan via C-Monster

Maurizio Cattelan’s latest exhibition will be on view at the Kunsthaus Bregenz, Austria, from February 2 until March 24. Cattelan, a highly original and controversial conceptual artist, settled in New York in 1993, but has lived and worked both in New York and Italy.

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                                                   Jasper Johns via Chelsea Art Galleries

Matthew Marks Gallery is hosting a new exhibition of Jasper John’s drawings from February, 2 until April, 12, 2008.  This will likely be one of the more significant shows the gallery will show this year.  The opening is 6PM, Friday Febuary 1st. 

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Bond No. 9 via Portfolio

Bond No. 9 Captures “Essence” of Warhol with New Perfume [Portfolio]
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Photographer Taryn Simon Accesses Restricted Areas In Her Latest Book [The World's Best Ever]
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Gallery Owner, Lawrence Salander, Risks Eviction by Aby Rosen [bloomberg.com]
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Shepard Fairey Endorses Obama With Iconic Image [Cool Hunting]
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Shedding light on much hyped Sale: Hirst and White Cube Insured Diamond Skull, For the Love of God [The Art Newspaper]
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Art Cologne Drops Chief, Worries About Future [bloomberg.com]
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Proposed: World’s Largest Sculpture Garden in France [Art Forum]

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“Women in the City” via The New York Times

Starting February 9, Emi Fontana’s lastest show takes art out of the galleries and into the city, displaying the breakthrough work of female artists including Jenny Holzer, Barbara Kruger, Louise Lawler and Cindy Sherman in more than fifty public locations throughout Los Angeles.

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Sandra Brant and Ingrid Sischy
Photo: via New York Observer

On January 23, Ingrid Sischy announced her resignation as editor-in-chief of Interview Magazine after 18 years at the helm.

Her decision came about after Sandra Brant, CEO and Publisher of Brant Publications which publishes Interview Magazine as well as Art in America sold her 50% share to her ex-husband Peter Brant who had been co-owner. (more…)

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Former Dia Building via The Observer

Former Chelsea Dia Art Foundation building slated for apartment rentals and gallery space [The Observer]
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How to preserve Paul McCarthy’s chocolate Santa [C-Monster]
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Hudson Morgan covers Gagosian’s gallery festivities in Rome [Men's Vogue]
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Parisian home of Pierre-Auguste Renoir is for sale [The Wall Street Journal]
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The Times UK arts critic interviews Zhang Xiaogang [Times UK Online]
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Guardian Unlimited UK interviews Peter Doig [Guardian Unlimited]
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Suspect reports Saudi collector possibly behind Sao Paulo Picasso Theft [Art Forum]