The Apotheosis of King James I via the Times U.K

Tate seeking £6 million to keep “country’s most significant” Rubens[Times UK]
Monet, Rodin, 30 other works stolen from ‘priceless’ French collection [Bloomberg]
As Indian art gains value, is it a good time buy? [NY Sun]
Chanel commissions Sophie Calle, others for bag inspired installation [The Age Australia]
Fake Picasso prints sold over eBay, arrests made in the U.S. [New York Post]
Update: Is the Whitney Biennial too smart for its own good? [NYMag]
Sischy, Brant formerly of Brant Publications (Art in America), are new editors of European Vanity Fair [Mediaweek]

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Gustav Klimnt, Beethoven Frieze via secession.at

Klimpt’s historic ‘Beethoven Frieze’ to be reconstructed at Tate Liverpool [NY Times]
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Old master stolen by Stasi (East German secret police) valued at $2 million [Bloomberg]
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The architectural intelligence of the New Museum [Financial Times]
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Update: Goat farm video, other favorites, at Whitney Biennial [Bloomberg]
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Brooklyn and Manhattan street art gains fans, collectors [NY Times]
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A case against art for Trafalgar Square’s Fourth Plinth [Financial Times]
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Gagosian’s Uptown Gallery Expands, with a new director (former Picasso biographer) [Art Info]
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Anthony D’Offay via MSNBC

The British art dealer Anthony d’Offay has made one of the biggest arts sales in Britain for a reported fifth of their value. 725 works have been sold to the national collection, the Britain’s Tate and Scotland’s National Galleries on Wednesday.
British Art Dealer Anthony d’Offay Sells Major Collection [MSNBC]
More Modern Art for British museums [Telegraph.co.uk]
The Battle between the Tate and the MOMA [Guardian Unlimited]

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Zhang Xiaogang “Big Family” via Artprice

Sotheby’s gears up this year for its February 27th contemporary auction with flag-ship pieces such as Warhol’s 1986 `Three Self- Portraits’ and Bacon’s 1969 painting`Study of Nude With Figure in a Mirror’ as well as a more trendy selection of Chinese contemporary art.

Sotheby’s
Sotheby’s to Offer Three Self Portraits by Andy Warhol [Arts Gallery]
Bacon Nude, Warhol Self-Portraits Star in U.K. Sales [Bloomberg]
London’s Grand Finale [The New York Sun]
Sotheby’s Offers $19 Million of Chinese Contemporary Art [Bloomberg]

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Peter Doig, Ski Jacket 1994 via Tate Britain

The Peter Doig retrospective opens today at the Tate Britain in London. This comprehensive survey chronicles the artist who in 2007 became one of Europe’s most expensive living painters when his work White Canoe sold for £5.7 million at Sotheby’s. His canvases blur the line between abstraction and figuration as he creates images drawn from photographs, newspapers or snapshots.

Peter Doig [Tate Britain]
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Record Painter [The Guardian]
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Peter Doig’s success [ ArtInfo]
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Peter Doig’s exhibition at Tate Britain [The Economist]

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Andy Coolquitt, JSUT, 2007 via Art Review

Galleries worth leaving Chelsea for [Art Review]
Details of 46,000 artworks stolen by Nazis [Bloomberg]
Interview with Armory Show chief Katelijne De Backer [Art Fag City]
Artist Hope Atherton on Peter Doig, soon to open at Tate [Style]
No market for stolen art: art thieves will have difficulty selling loot [NYSun]
Poussin Paintings together again [NYTimes]
Saatchi/HarperCollins join to sponsor a book design competition for Sean Dixon’s debut novel [Londonist]
Top Moscow contemporary art galleries merge [Bloomberg]
The Finnish version of the UK’s Turner prize: More of a marketing tool? [NYSun]

Farhad Moshiri’s gold-leafed toy guns via Portfolio

Dealers and Auction Houses Scour Middle East [Portfolio]
International Buyers Ignore Turmoil and Look to Art [Wall Street Journal]
Louis Vuitton and Richard Prince Collaborative Handbag [NY Sun]
Minimalists Artist, Martin Creed, First at Tate [Guardian]
Diversifying with Art Investment Strategies [Wall Street Journal]

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Damien Hirst’s “Mother and Child” via Guardian, Photograph by David Sillitoe

Damien Hirst has donated 4 major artworks worth £15m from his personal collection to The Tate Museums as part of the Tate’s Building the Tate’s Collection campaign. It is the first time Hirst has donated work to a museum. The works are:

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A still from Mark Wallinger’s Sleeper, via artnet.

On December 3rd 2007 Tate Britain awarded Mark Wallinger the 2007 Turner Prize for his video, “Sleeper.” Since 1984, the prize has been awarded annually to a top British Contemporary Art Exhibition of the previous year and is generally regarded as one of the top art honors in Europe. Past winners include Damien Hirst, Gilbert & George and Anish Kapoor. The exhibition is on display through January 18th at Tate Liverpool.

Bloomberg Article
Mark Wallinger [Tate]

More Details on Wallinger after the Jump: (more…)

Photos: Christian Coleman for ArtObserved
“Banksy Does New York,” the first New York gallery show for British-born street-artist Banksy, opened this Sunday, December 2nd, at Vanina Holasek Gallery on West 27th Street.

Just this October more than 50 Banksy works went to auction at Bonhams and Sotheyby’s, both in London. Nearly all the works sold for at least double their top estimate. (more…)