Flying Copper, by Banksy (b.1975?), silkscreen printed in colors, 2004, numbered 284/600 in pencil, published by Pictures on Walls, London, on woven paper. Photo courtesy Bloomsbury Auctions and LiveAuctioneers.com.

Contested Banksy art bombs in U.K. auction – is Britain’s stealth artist taking charge?

Flying Copper, by Banksy (b.1975?), silkscreen printed in colors, 2004, numbered 284/600 in pencil, published by Pictures on Walls, London, on woven paper. Photo courtesy Bloomsbury Auctions and LiveAuctioneers.com.

Flying Copper, by Banksy (b.1975?), silkscreen printed in colors, 2004, numbered 284/600 in pencil, published by Pictures on Walls, London, on woven paper. Photo courtesy Bloomsbury Auctions and LiveAuctioneers.com.

LONDON (AP and ACNI) – A British auction house says it has failed to find buyers for five contested pieces of street art purportedly created by aerosol impresario Banksy.

The auction at Lyon & Turnbull follows a statement posted to Pest Control, a Web site affiliated with the British artist, warning that some street pieces were being falsely attributed to the artist, whose identity has never been confirmed.

Pest Control says it refuses to authenticate street art because Banksy prefers the work to remain in place. Ben Hanly, Lyon & Turnbull’s contemporary art expert, said Monday that the pieces were genuine and that the sale fell through for economic reasons.

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Marylin Monroe, from Some Like It Hot trailer. Image courtesy Wikipedia.

Rare Marilyn Monroe footage sells for $24,624 in Sydney auction

Marylin Monroe, from Some Like It Hot trailer. Image courtesy Wikipedia.

Marylin Monroe, from Some Like It Hot trailer. Image courtesy Wikipedia.

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) – Rare film footage of Marilyn Monroe on the set of her 1959 hit Some Like It Hot sold at auction for US$14,624.

The two-and-a-half minute 8 mm film, which features Monroe goofing around with co-stars Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon, was shot by a U.S. naval officer who was invited to the set after Monroe visited his base in San Diego.

The sailor’s daughter, who moved to Australia’s Victoria state, discovered the film by chance among her late father’s possessions.

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Italian police recover stolen Renoir, arrest three suspects

ROME (AP) – A Renoir painting stolen in 1975 was recovered and three people were arrested on a tip from an art critic who had been asked to value it, Italy’s police art squad said Friday.

The work by French impressionist Pierre-Auguste Renoir is worth some $735,000, art squad head Gen. Giovanni Nistri said. It was stolen from a restorer’s lab in Milan, where the Milanese owners had sent it for repairs.

“It’s not one of those paintings of great value,” he told reporters at a presentation in Rome. “The value of the artwork is cultural rather than commercial.”

The painting of a seated nude woman was found this summer after the people who had it contacted the critic to have it appraised before selling it, the Carabinieri paramilitary police said.

The critic alerted the Carabinieri’s art squad, and officers were waiting when the painting was removed from a bank vault in northern Italy for the appraisal.

Three people were arrested on suspicion of receiving stolen goods. They are a 68-year-old woman who manages an art gallery, and two men previously known to police for other crimes, Nistri said.

The painting will be returned to its owners. Its date was not given. Renoir died in 1919.

Copyright 2008 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

AP-WS-09-26-08 0954EDT  

Ken Post, Morphy Auctions.

Ken Post appointed head of new Trains division at Morphy Auctions

Ken Post, Morphy Auctions.

Ken Post, Morphy Auctions.

DENVER, Pa. – Morphy Auctions has announced the opening of its new Toy Trains division, appointing respected toy train dealer/Collector and TCA (Train Collectors of America) member Ken Post to head the department. Morphy’s anticipates hosting one to two annual specialty sales of antique and vintage trains, and will soft-launch the department with a 600-lot selection of mostly Lionel and other American-made trains in the Dec. 11-13 Winter Sale of mixed antiques and art.

“There are more people collecting trains than any other type of toy,” said Dan Morphy, chief operating officer of Morphy Auctions, a division of Geppi’s Entertainment Auctions & Publications. “We’re very happy to be adding specialty train sales to our roster, and look forward to welcoming the train-collecting community to our gallery.”

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The score for Blue Suede Shoes used in Elvis Presley's 68 Comeback Special. Signed by Elvis Presley Charlie Hodge, Joe Esposito and DJ Fontana, Framed and Glazed.

The Fame Bureau Reprises Classic Hits in Oct. 1st Sale

The score for Blue Suede Shoes used in Elvis Presley's 68 Comeback Special. Signed by Elvis Presley Charlie Hodge, Joe Esposito and DJ Fontana, Framed and Glazed.

The score for Blue Suede Shoes used in Elvis Presley’s 68 Comeback Special. Signed by Elvis Presley Charlie Hodge, Joe Esposito and DJ Fontana, Framed and Glazed.

John Lennon’s lyrics for “Sexy Sadie” are among the rock ’n’ roll relics being sold by the Fame Bureau at an auction Oct. 1 beginning at 5 p.m. London time (noon Eastern).

The auction, titled It’s More Than Rock ’n’ Roll Reprise, is composed of lots that did not sell in the auction company’s two sales in September.

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Paul Newman in Exodus. Image courtesy Wikipedia.

Legendary actor, philanthropist, arts supporter Paul Newman, 83

Paul Newman in Exodus. Image courtesy Wikipedia.

Paul Newman in Exodus. Image courtesy Wikipedia.

WESTPORT, Conn. – One of the cinema’s brightest and most beloved stars, Paul Newman, has passed away at age 83. According to a family spokesperson, Newman died on Friday night, Sept. 26, at his home in Westport, Connecticut. Newman had been battling lung cancer, which doctors diagnosed last year.

Not only was Paul Newman an accomplished star of more than 60 films, including Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, The Sting, The Hustler, and the immortal Southern family drama Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, he also spent his adult life as a substantial contributor to charities and the arts. He founded Newman’s Own, a food company whose entire profits benefited numerous nonprofit organizations. Newman’s “Hole in the Wall” Camps enabled children with terminal illnesses to enjoy summer breaks in the country.

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Considered rare, this 10-inch signed L.C. Tiffany Favrile trumpet vase has a green heart vine motif.

Choice estate pieces add sparkle to Woody Auction’s Oct. 25 sale

Considered rare, this 10-inch signed L.C. Tiffany Favrile trumpet vase has a green heart vine motif.

Considered rare, this 10-inch signed L.C. Tiffany Favrile trumpet vase has a green heart vine motif.

ST. CHARLES, Mo. – Hundreds of high-end items in an array of categories will be offered at a multi-estate auction slated for Saturday, Oct. 25, at the St. Charles Convention Center. Lots will include more than 2,000 silver spoons, John Rogers statuary groups, vintage clocks and art glass, including five Tiffany vases.

“This will be an exciting sale because there is so much here and the merchandise is so diverse,” said Jason Woody of Woody Auction, based in Douglass, Kan, which will conduct the sale. “These are high-end, highly collectible, fresh-to-the-market items, from several important estates. It isn’t every day we get this much quality merchandise all at once, but this will be such an event. Mark your calendars.”

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George Washington telescope, est: $10,000. Image courtesy Leslie Hindman.

Telescope believed to have been owned by Geo. Washington in Oct. 5-6 Hindman sale

George Washington telescope, est: $10,000. Image courtesy Leslie Hindman.

George Washington telescope, est: $10,000. Image courtesy Leslie Hindman.

CHICAGO – A telescope believed to have belonged to George Washington, and last offered as such in 1920, will be sold at a Fine Furniture & Decorative Arts Auction scheduled for Oct. 5-6 by Leslie Hindman Auctioneers. It is expected to fetch $10,000 or more. The spyglass has been consigned by the renowned Illinois Institute of Technology.

George Washington owned many telescopes during his lifetime, having eleven in his collection at the time of his death in December 1799. Several of these are now housed in the Smithsonian, Mount Vernon and other esteemed institutions.

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Though the artist is not known, this Spanish Colonial School painting of the Archangel Uriel, done around 1700, flew to $14,375.

Archangel Uriel painting lights fire under Leland Little’s bidders

Though the artist is not known, this Spanish Colonial School painting of the Archangel Uriel, done around 1700, flew to $14,375.

Though the artist is not known, this Spanish Colonial School painting of the Archangel Uriel, done around 1700, flew to $14,375.

HILLSBOROUGH, N.C. – An oil-on-canvas rendering of the Archangel Uriel holding a musket and standing before a mountainous landscape, painted around 1700 by an unknown artist in the Spanish Colonial School, sold for $14,375 at an auction conducted Sept. 13 by Leland Little Auction Estate Sales Ltd.

The painting was one of 615 lots that changed hands in a sale that grossed $690,000. Most of the lots were drawn from seven important and prominent estates and lifetime single-owner collections.

The archangel Uriel painting came from the estate of former U.S. Ambassador Findley Burns Jr., of Southern Pines, N.C.

“Mr. Burns and his wife only collected choice, worldwide material,” said Leland Little. “It didn’t surprise me his estate drew so much attention from bidders.”

And there were plenty of bidders vying for the mostly fresh-to-the-market merchandise. About 250 people packed the showroom in Hillsborough, while record numbers of phone and absentee bids – nearly 1,000, versus the usual 750 at most Leland Little sales – were posted. In addition, more than 1,400 online registered bidders participated through LiveAuctioneers.com, which facilitated Internet bidding.

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Charles and Ray Eames DCWs, pair Herman Miller USA, 1946/c. 1950 19 w x 20 d x 29 h inches Estimate: $5,000–7,000

Chicago-based Modern design specialists Wright announce Oct. 7 auction

Charles and Ray Eames DCWs, pair Herman Miller USA, 1946/c. 1950 19 w x 20 d x 29 h inches Estimate: $5,000–7,000

Charles and Ray Eames DCWs, pair Herman Miller USA, 1946/c. 1950 19 w x 20 d x 29 h inches Estimate: $5,000–7,000

CHICAGO – Wright’s Oct. 7 Modern Design auction will feature select works from such 20th-century legends as Harry Bertoia, Charles and Ray Eames, Gio Ponti, George Nakashima and George Nelson, as well as many others. In keeping with current buying trends, the 517-lot Wright sale will also include designs from fast-rising stars in the Contemporary field, like Marc Newson, Tom Dixon, Martin Szekely and Tjep.

Among the event’s top lots are two important works by Shiro Kuramata. Lot 264, a curiosity cabinet of multicolored acrylic, numbered 13 of 40 and accompanied by a certificate of authenticity, is expected to make $70,000-$90,000. Lot 265, a Kuramata Glass Chair, number 15 of 40, may realize $40,000-$60,000.

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