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Sunday, July 31, 2011
Francis Bacon triptych breaks record at NYC auction
This undated photo released by Sotheby's shows the three panels of Francis Bacon's "Triptych, 1976" which broke a record for contemporary art auctions Wednesday May 14, 2008 , selling for $86,281,000 after three bidders vied for it. It also set an auction record for the British artist.A three-panel masterpiece by Francis Bacon broke a record for contemporary art auctions Wednesday, selling for more than $86 million after three bidders vied for it, a spokeswoman for the auction house said.
The $86,281,000 price for "Triptych, 1976" also set an auction record for the British artist, Sotheby's spokeswoman Lauren Gioia said.
She said the sale also broke auction records for work by pop artist Robert Rauschenberg, who died Monday at 82. His 1963 painting "Overdrive" sold for some $14.6 million, Gioia said.
Both buyers were anonymous, and the prices included the auction house's commission, known as a buyer's premium.
The bidding for "Triptych, 1976" rocketed past an estimate of $70 million for the painting, which is full of symbolism and draws on ancient Greek mythology.
The price also bested the $72.8 million auction record for contemporary art, set when Mark Rothko's "White Center (Yellow, Pink and Lavender on Rose)" sold at Sotheby's in May 2007.
Rothko's "Orange, Red, Yellow" was expected to fetch $30 million to $40 million at Wednesday's auction. But it was not sold after bidding fell short of the seller's minimum price, Gioia said. Rothko died in 1970.
Bacon, who died in 1992 at 82, is considered one of Britain's most important 20th century artists. The previous auction record for a Bacon work was $52.7 million, for his "Study for Innocent X, 1952," sold at Sotheby's last May.
The triptych that sold Wednesday has been in the same owner's collection for more than 30 years, according to Sotheby's.
It was purchased in 1977 from the Galerie Claude Bernard in Paris. The Tate Gallery in London and the Georges Pompidou Centre in Paris also have shown it.
Another Bacon triptych, "Studies for Self Portrait," sold for $28 million at Christie's on Tuesday night.
Arundel's amazing carpet of flowers open to the public
MORE THAN 100 years of tradition, a sacred moment in time and around 1,500 flowers are on display in Arundel Cathedral from today (Tuesday, May 20).A 90ft carpet of flowers has been painstakingly designed, organised and laid along the aisle of the cathedral, to celebrate the festival of the Corpus Christi.
The procession of the Blessed Sacrament will make its way from the cathedral, to the courtyard of Arundel Castle, on Thursday (May 22) before moving back to the cathedral, and its colourful carpet.
This year's design is to mark the 150th anniversary of Saint Bernadette's apparitions of the Virgin Mary at Lourdes.
Mary Bagg, a parishioner who has been helping to organise the carpet of flowers for more than 30 years, said: "Our Lady taught Bernadette to use a rosary, so that is our theme."A massive rosary, fashioned from cream, gold, pink, red and purple chrysanthemums, adorns the aisle, and 100s of visitors are expected.
Ancient tradition
It is an ancient tradition to lay flowers in the path of important people, a practice that has been adopted by the Catholic Church to welcome the Blessed Sacrament.
Arundel's own tradition started in 1877, when Duke Henry, the 15th Duke of Norfolk, was inspired by seeing streets of flowers in Italy, and for many years the cathedral was decorated using flowers from his own green house.
It has taken place annually since, barring the years through the First World War.The cathedral is open from 9.30am until 9pm tomorrow (Wednesday, May 21, 2008) and there will be two masses on Thursday. at 10am and 5.30pm.
The procession will begin at around 6.30pm
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