March 3, 2011 - Auction Central News

Cowan’s offers Remington bronze in March 25 Western auction

Assiniboine beaded hide bandolier bag. Estimate: $15,000-$20,000. Image courtesy of Cowan’s Auctions.

CINCINNATI – Cowan’s will offer an original bronze cast of Frederic Remington’s Broncho Buster in the March 25 American Indian and Western Art Auction. This sale offers a unique selection of fresh-to-the-market beadwork, paintings, carvings, weavings and basketry from America’s history dating from the 19th to the 20th centuries.

LiveAuctioneers will provide Internet live bidding.

Frederic Remington’s Broncho Buster, cast 37, is estimated to bring anywhere from $200,000-$300,000. This is an early lifetime cast of approximately 90 known to have been produced. The piece was owned by William Cooper Proctor (1862-1934), president of Proctor and Gamble from 1907-1930, and gifted to his niece, noted collector Mary Johnston. According to the ledgers within the substantial archive of the Roman Bronze Works Foundry, salvaged and currently cared for by the Amon Carter Museum of Art in Forth Worth, Texas, this Broncho Buster was cast on Jan. 24, 1906. Currently one of the original Broncho Buster casts resides in the White House’s Oval Office.

An oil on canvas by Frank E. Schoonover, titled The Line Stretched for Miles As It Had Stretched Once Before is expected to sell for $50,000-$75,000. Schoonover, an American illustrator, is well known for his magazine and book illustrations of eclectic material ranging from Western subjects to historical figures like Joan of Arc. In 1903 Shoonover traveled to the West. The ideas for many of his Western works can be traced back to this expedition. In this painting, the artist has depicted a specific historical event, the opening of the Cimarron Strip in Oklahoma.

Cowan’s will be offering an oil on canvas by Charlie Dye titled Good Medicine for a Sick Horse estimated to bring $20,000-$30,000. Dye was part of the second generation of American Western painters and a member of the Cowboy Artists of America, a group of artists that focused on illustrating a waning Western lifestyle.

An Andy Warhol serigraph titled Mother and Child is expected to sell for $15,000-$20,000. Warhol, one of the most prolific 20th century contemporary artists, made this series of Western prints towards the end of his life. The series included this print and nine others, with portraits of famous Western subjects such as John Wayne, Gen. George Armstrong Custer, Geronimo and Annie Oakley.

An Assiniboine beaded hide bandolier bag is estimated at $15,000-$20,000. The bag is thread and sinew-sewn shot pouch using glass bead colors of pony trader blue, black, pink and white.

A Jessie Monongye inlay gold bear necklace is expected to bring anywhere from $14,000-$16,000. The bear is double-sided and shown on the cover of Jerry Jacka’s book Beyond Tradition. The black bear has an incredibly detailed micromosaic night scene complete with planets, moon, comet and stars.

A painting by American artist Nick Eggenhoffer, titled Landscape with Indians, is estimated at $10,000-$15,000.

A Navajo multiple pattern Germantown weaving is expected to bring $8,000-$10,000. There are two types of multiple pattern Germantowns, and both are rare. There are approximately 12 known examples that can be documented, all woven between the 1880s and 1895.

An Eastern Cree shot pouch and powder horn set is estimated at $8,000-$10,000. A lot of two, both pieces are backed with patterned cotton. The thread is sewn using small glass beads in colors of pony trader blue, white, pink, clear, amber, pea green, white and cobalt.

A Pueblo polychrome painted hide shield is estimated at $8,000-$10,000. Detailed with an Avanyu on the top half and an abstract design with lighting bolts and dots on the lower half, the shield is painted in red, green, yellow and black.

A Bering Sea Eskimo ivory pipe with pipe tamper is expected to hammer down anywhere between $7,000-$9,000. Having a golden patina, the pipe is incised using black and red ink to depict seals, wolves, walrus, dogfish and caribou.

A Sioux beaded hide cradle is estimated at $6,000-$8,000. Sinew sewn and full beaded using bead colors of red white-heart, dark blue, pea green, greasy yellow and white, the cradle comes from the Fraser Douglass collection.

A Crow beaded buffalo hide scabbard is estimated at $10,000-$15,000.

A Chippewa beaded cradleboard is expected to bring anywhere from $15,000-$20,000. The 19th century cradleboard is thread-sewn using bead colors of red white-heart, pink, white, pony trader blue, light blue, pea green, greasy yellow and pumpkin.

A Tonawanda Seneca false face staff is expected to bring $6,000-$8,000. Finely carved with the head of the cane featuring a slightly closed hand holding a red painted false face maskette; the body of the cane is wrapped with two snakes, the smaller of the two eats a frog; engraved on the head of the larger snake is G.A.M. 1841, probably for George Moses, an important Seneca headman.

A Tlingit Chilkat child’s blanket is estimated to bring $10,000-$15,000.

To learn more about Cowan’s visit their website at www.cowans.com.

View the fully illustrated catalog and register to bid absentee or live via the Internet as the sale is taking place by logging on to www.LiveAuctioneers.com.

ADDITIONAL LOTS OF NOTE

Frederic Remington's bronze ‘Broncho Buster.’ Estimate: $200,000-$300,000. Image courtesy of Cowan’s Auctions. — Frederic Remington’s bronze ‘Broncho Buster.’ Estimate: $200,000-$300,000. Image courtesy of Cowan’s Auctions.

Frank Schoonover's ‘The Line Stretched For Miles As It Had Stretched Once Before. Estimate: $50,000-$75,000. Image courtesy of Cowan’s Auctions. — Frank Schoonover’s ‘The Line Stretched For Miles As It Had Stretched Once Before. Estimate: $50,000-$75,000. Image courtesy of Cowan’s Auctions.

Charlie Dye's ‘Good Medicine For A Sick Horse.’ Estimate: $20,000-$30,000. Image courtesy of Cowan’s Auctions. — Charlie Dye’s ‘Good Medicine For A Sick Horse.’ Estimate: $20,000-$30,000. Image courtesy of Cowan’s Auctions.

Andy Warhol's ‘Mother and Child,’ serigraph on Lenox Museum Board. Estimate: $15,000-$20,000. Image courtesy of Cowan’s Auctions. — Andy Warhol’s ‘Mother and Child,’ serigraph on Lenox Museum Board. Estimate: $15,000-$20,000. Image courtesy of Cowan’s Auctions.

Jessie Monongye inlay gold bear necklace. Estimate: $14,000-$16,000. Image courtesy of Cowan’s Auctions.

Trial begins for art dealer Rocco DeSimone, accused of $6M con

PROVIDENCE, RI (AP) – A former art dealer earlier convicted of tax fraud duped investors out of $6 million and used the money to buy cars, antique Japanese swords and valuable works of art, a prosecutor said as the man’s trial began in federal court Wednesday.

Rocco DeSimone has pleaded not guilty to mail fraud and other charges in the case. His defense attorneys declined to deliver an opening statement. But they wrote in a pre-trial court filing that they plan to argue that DeSimone’s business dealings relied on information provided by his accountant, Ronald Rodrigues, who they say also had a financial interest in those dealings.

John McAdams, an assistant U.S. Attorney, told a jury in U.S. District Court in Providence that DeSimone convinced acquaintances and others to invest in inventions he said major international corporations, including Nintendo and Sony, had offered to buy for millions of dollars.

“He made false promises and outright lies to get their money,” McAdams said. “He took their money, and he spent it.”

Prosecutors say in an indictment that he used the money to buy sport utility vehicles, several centuries-old Japanese swords, a 1915 painting by French Impressionist Pierre-Auguste Renoir and “one Japanese scroll painting of an eagle sitting on a branch.”

In one case, prosecutors say, DeSimone convinced Robert McKittrick, a medical doctor he met through a friend, that he could sell two of the doctor’s inventions for millions of dollars in exchange for a one-third ownership stake.

McAdams said DeSimone, who entered court in handcuffs, falsely told McKittrick that he was a close friend of the CEO of Fidelity Investments and convinced McKittrick to give him an ownership stake in one invention — the Drink Stik — in exchange for facilitating the sale of the device to Fidelity. He later said Raytheon Co. and Tyco International Ltd had also submitted million-dollar offers for the product, although they had not, according to the indictment. The Drink Stik is a device that connects beverage containers to respirators and gas masks worn by military officers in contaminated areas.

Prosecutors said DeSimone, who they say did not know the Fidelity CEO, obtained $1.2 million in funds and about $4.9 million in property and other assets and that he used similar claims to attract and defraud investors in inventions by McKittrick and others.

McKittrick, a key prosecution witness, said Wednesday that he gradually came to believe that DeSimone was involved in a scam, particularly in the summer of 2007, when DeSimone was ordered to prison after losing an appeal on an earlier tax fraud conviction.

DeSimone was convicted in 2005 of cheating on his taxes.

McKittrick, who called DeSimone “a con man and a liar,” said that even after that, the former art dealer asked McKittrick to visit him in prison because he had met a fellow inmate interested in buying Drink Stik.

DeSimone “used my invention — that I designed to help people — to hurt a number of people,” McKittrick said. “He used his influence, his fast talking and his maneuvering.”

During a cross-examination of McKittrick, one of DeSimone’s defense attorneys, Thomas F. Connors, asked whether McKittrick’s ultimate motivation in the case was financial gain from his as-yet unsold invention. McKittrick said he only wanted to keep DeSimone from hurting investors further.

The cross-examination will continue on Thursday.

When FBI agents raided DeSimone’s house in March 2008, his wife, who DeSimone’s defense attorneys have said was undergoing cancer treatment, called him while he was in prison on the tax fraud conviction. Two days later, DeSimone escaped from prison, but he turned himself in after only four days on the lam.

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Gray’s Jewelry & Coin Auction bursting with colorful gems, March 10

$5 American Eagle gold coin and diamond ring. Estimate: $1,200-$1,500. Image courtesy of Gray’s Auctioneers.

CLEVELAND – Heralding the arrival of spring to northeast Ohio, Gray’s Auctioneers will sell more than 150 lots of rings, bracelets, necklaces, brooches, coins and currency at their Jewelry and Coin Auction on Thursday, March 10. LiveAuctioneers will provide Internet live bidding.

The auction will start at 11 a.m. Eastern. Previews will be in Gray’s custom designed showrooms at 10717 Detroit Ave. in Cleveland from 11 a.m.-4 p.m. March 7-9.

One of the highlights, lot no. 1, is a $5 American eagle gold coin designed into a ring, set around with 1.5 carats of baguettes and round cut diamonds in a yellow gold setting. This beautiful ring, size 7 3/4, is estimated at $1,200-$1,500.

Another interesting item, lot no. 40, is a custom-designed diamond cut dome ring, encrusted with 52 round brilliant cut diamonds in a yellow and white gold setting. Weighing pennyweights with 5.5 carats of diamonds, this striking piece of jewelry has a $5,000-$7,000 estimate. Lot 41 is the classic engagement ring, a 2-carat, round, brilliant cut diamond sitting atop a white and yellow gold ring, set with six more round brilliant cut diamonds and 28 tapered and straight cut diamonds, for another 1.5 carats. All the diamonds have SI2 clarity and are color graded G. The size is 7 1/4 and the estimate is $7,000-$8,000.

Bracelets include Lot 59, a stunning 7-inch diamond tennis bracelet, and Lot 60, a delightful ruby and diamond encrusted gold foxtail bracelet with 2.25 carats of rubies and 1.4 carats of diamonds. Lot 64 is a gorgeous hinged and segmented white, green gold and diamond bracelet with 9 carats of 120 round, brilliant cut, S1 clarity, F-G color diamonds. The total weight is 40.1 pennyweights and the estimate at auction is $10,000-$15,000.

One of the many pieces this auction offers is Lot 69 a striking necklace by noted jewelry designer M.j Savitt featuring two strands of large carnelian beads holding a big sterling silver pendant in the form of a daisy, with another carnelian bead forming the center of the flower. The estimate on this piece is an affordable $175-$200. Another such deal is lot no 105, which includes a sterling silver bangle and two rings designed by the Spanish modernist designer Joachim S’Paliu. He was born in 1944 and produced his most notable designs in the 1960s and 1970s. This lot has an auction estimate of $120-$150 for all three pieces.

Watch enthusiasts have three lots to choose from. Lot 68 is a ladies platinum and diamond Hamilton wristwatch by Ball. Lot 68A is a 14K yellow gold and diamond ladies wristwatch, by Baum & Mercier. Lot 108 is a collection of watches, cufflinks and earrings, a veritable mystery lot of assorted treasures.

Coin and currency enthusiasts will be interested in lots 109 through 146. Notable pieces include lot 114, a rare 1894 silver dollar in very fine condition; lot 122, a 1928 $500 bill marked “Redeemable in Gold” and in near mint condition; and lot 136, a 1923 $20 gold coin described to be in uncirculated condition. Lot 138 is of particular interest because it is one of those rare coins that was stamped off center. It is a Susan B. Anthony dollar with the full date clearly showing. This uncirculated coin is categorized by coin aficionados as a “Major Error” and very collectible. Lot 146 is from 1928 and is the final coin to finish a set. It is a 1928-P Hawaii Commemorative half-dollar. It is also uncirculated and estimated to fetch $3,200-$3,400.

In addition to live online bidding provided by LiveAuctioneers, there will be telephone bidding and absentee bidding offered directly through Gray’s Auctioneers.

More information, including the complete illustrated catalog for this auction, can be found on Gray’s website at www.graysauctioneers.com or phone 216-458-7695.

View the fully illustrated catalog and register to bid absentee or live via the Internet as the sale is taking place by logging on to www.LiveAuctioneers.com.

ADDITIONAL LOTS OF NOTE

Fourteen-karat white and yellow gold diamond rink, approximately 2.0-carat diamond with additional 28 tapered and straight cut diamonds, approximately 1.5 carats. Estimate: $7,000-$8,000. Image courtesy of Gray’s Auctioneers.

Fourteen-karat yellow and white gold and diamond ring with dome is set with 52 round brilliant cut diamonds, pavé set. Estimate: $5,000-$7,000. Image courtesy of Gray’s Auctioneers.

‘Major error’ off-center Susan B. Anthony dollar, 1999, uncirculated. Estimate: $1,000-$1,500. Image courtesy of Gray’s Auctioneers.

Fourteen-karat yellow gold, diamond and ruby foxtail bracelet. Estimate: $10,000-$15,000. Image courtesy of Gray’s Auctioneers.

M&j Savitt silver and carnelian bead necklace, stamped ‘Sterling.’ Estimate: $175-$200. Image courtesy of Gray’s Auctioneers.

Keith Richards’ daughter arrested for painting graffiti, possessing drugs

NEW YORK (AP) – New York City police say Keith Richards’ daughter has been arrested after she was seen painting graffiti on the side of a building in Manhattan.

Authorities say 25-year-old Theodora Richards was arrested on graffiti and drug charges on Tuesday evening after officers noticed her painting the letters “T-[Heart]-A” on the side of St. Mary’s Convent in the trendy SoHo section of Manhattan.

According to a published report, Richards was charged with “possession of a controlled substance.” The report said Richards allegedly had marijuana and Xanax pills on her when she was arrested.

No other arrests were made, though it’s not clear if she was alone at the time.

It wasn’t known if Richards had an attorney. There was no number listed at the address provided by police.

Richards is one of the Rolling Stone rocker’s four children. Following in the footsteps of her mother, Richards is best known for her modeling work, and is represented by the prestigious Wilhelmina agency in New York.

AP-ES-03-02-11 1216EST

Waterford, Ireland: City sparkles like the crystal

Waterford crystal chandelier. Image courtesy of Wikipedia.

WATERFORD, Ireland (AP) – Waterford Crystal is renowned for its sparkle – and lately the city it’s named for lives up to that description.

But Waterford, in Ireland’s sunny southeast (sunny being a relative concept in Ireland), hasn’t always had it easy. The city is often passed over by tourists in favor of Dublin’s nightlife or the emerald-green seaside hills of Kerry. And two years ago, the crystal factory shut down, leaving Waterford without its most famous attraction.

Then last year, a Waterford Crystal-themed tourist center reopened. Now visitors can again explore Waterford Crystal’s history and the art of crystal-making, an unexpectedly fascinating and intricate process.

House of Waterford allows visitors to tour a new production facility where they can see master craftsmen at work. The new location, which produces high-end pieces and has crystal for sale in an expansive showroom, is far more central than the previous factory in Kilbarry. From molds to glass-blowing and sculpting, visitors see all the stages of crystal-making as the furnaces burn before their eyes and pieces take shape, emerging from hot glass to meticulously engraved collectibles. Guests can even don goggles and smash some crystal as guides discuss the fate of flawed pieces, an opportunity eagerly grabbed by the children on my tour. Also on view are replicas of some of Waterford Crystal’s work, from a Super Bowl trophy to a Sept. 11th memorial.

The experience is similar to the old factory tour but spiced up with more multimedia. It marks the continuation of a brand that has made its home in Waterford since 1783.

“Waterford Crystal is the marquee icon attraction, and within that, the city wants to harness the heritage it has adjacent to us within this quarter,” commercial director David McCoy said of the new location.

“We’re fortunate in the sense that the way we designed the facility, we want people to see every aspect of what we do. We’re very proud of the work and effort that goes into producing the crystal.”

After seeing the crystal center, visitors may continue the pursuit of all things luxurious at Waterford Castle, located on its own island, with access by ferry. The secluded castle dates back centuries but has been converted into a four-star resort with 19 elegant rooms, including fixtures like freestanding bathtubs with carved, ornate legs. If you prefer more modern accommodations on the island, the 320-acre property also offers three- and four-bedroom lodges. A restaurant offers afternoon tea and gourmet meals, and there is an 18-hole golf course designed by former Ryder Cup player Des Smyth.

Another way to experience Waterford is to get a taste of hurling, a 2,000-year old, lightning-fast Irish field sport similar to field hockey, using a ball and flat, curved wooden sticks called hurleys. It’s especially popular in counties Tipperary, Waterford and Kilkenny. Though it’s an all-amateur sport, many loyal fans travel to away games and matches in Dublin, and there is no greater buzz than in Waterford City when the county team plays. National league games are played from winter until April, and All-Ireland qualifying matches follow until the end of September.

The city comes alive in a sea of Waterford blue-and-white jerseys, with pubs like Alfie Hale’s drawing particularly big hurling crowds shouting “Up the Deise” (pronounced day-shuh), as Waterford is known as An Deise in Irish.

Waterford is also home to several shops where hurleys are still made. Hurley-maker Frank Murphy learned the craft from teachers and relatives, meticulously fashioning the hurleys from wood such as ash and often personalizing them for new owners. Other hurley-makers include Peter Flanagan, who is newer to the trade but comes from a carpentry background. It’s worth a visit to their home workshops for a chat and a look at the process.

And while a hurley from Waterford won’t sparkle like a crystal bowl, it’s a worthy souvenir of your visit.

___

If You Go…

GETTING THERE: Waterford is located about 115 miles from Dublin. The city has its own airport.

HOUSE OF WATERFORD: The Mall, Waterford City, Ireland; http://www.waterfordvisitorcentre.com. Open daily March-October (closed St. Patrick’s Day, March 17). Factory tour, 9 a.m.-4:15 p.m. (retail store until 6 p.m.) Hours vary by season. Adults, $16 (11.50 euros).

WATERFORD CASTLE: http://www.waterfordcastle.com. Overnight lodging rates range from $95 to $485 (69 to 350 euros) depending on accommodation and season, with some rates per person and others by the room. Dinner menu, $90 (65 euros) a person. Reachable by ferry.

HURLING: http://www.upthedeise.com/waterfordhurling/. For links to Waterford hurley makers, go to http://www.handcrafthurleys.com and click on “Handcrafted Hurleys” and “Munster Hurley Makers.” Hurleys sell for up to about $42 (30 euros).

AP-ES-03-01-11 1436EST

ADDITIONAL IMAGE OF NOTE

Historic 1816 musket to be displayed at Bullock museum in Austin

The Bob Bullock Texas State History Museum in Austin, Texas.

JACKSONVILLE, Texas (AP) – Nearly two centuries after flintlock muskets weighed heavy in the hands of soldiers of the Republic of Texas, while defending the Lone Star frontier from Mexican encroachment, only a handful the historical firearms are left.

One in Jacksonville at Lon Morris College will be displayed beginning in May or June at the Bob Bullock Texas State History Museum in Austin.

“The musket is one of only five in the world,” said Scott Gilpin, vice president of development at Lon Morris.

The 1816 Model .69 caliber flintlock, muzzle-loaded musket is a hair shy of 58 inches long, with a barrel length of 41-5/8 inches, and is made of mild steel finished in a grey patina, with a stock made of American Black Walnut. It weighs 10 pounds.

“It has a flint mechanism which sparks a spark into the pan which goes into the barrel which sets the gun off. They fired a charge of black powder and a .69 caliber lead ball,” said David Jackson. “It was in the days of the muzzle-loaded era, somewhat like the Davy Crockett time when flintlock muskets were used.”

On the lock is a five-pointed star with “Texas” stamped below it. The weathered words “Tryon, Philadelphia” are marked on the steel beneath the hammer.

“Very few people have probably even seen one,” said Elizabeth Appleby, curator of the San Jacinto Museum of History. “What makes this so important is that it was actually ordered by the Republic to arm the troops.”

The musket, valued at $100,000, is one of 1,500 muskets ordered in 1839 from Tryon Son & Company in Philadelphia by the Republic of Texas. To add to the musket’s exclusivity, only a few hundred were delivered.

“There were lots of little problems with the ordering and canceling,” Appleby said.

Due to a cholera epidemic in the eastern United States, only 860 muskets were delivered by 1841 to Galveston, where they were then given to soldiers in Houston and Austin. The Republic was also suffering financially and could not afford to purchase the remaining 640 muskets. Records are unclear if the Republic later fulfilled the contract.

The Republic needed arms during the era because of the constant strife between Texas and Mexico, Jackson said.

“Texas was subject to being taken back by the Mexicans even though we won the battle of San Jacinto and Santa Anna signed the treaty of Velasco,” he said. “He had been a prisoner when he signed it so when he got back to Mexico when he was released he abrogated the treaty and said that he had signed it under duress. So a state of war existed between the Republic of Texas and Mexico for its entire existence.”

The muskets were carried during the Texas-Santa Fe Expedition of 1841. Republic of Texas muskets being preserved today are in Texas and New Mexico.

“The Texans were forced to surrender to (New Mexico) Governor (Manuel) Armijo and they were ordered to fire their rifles into the air and lay them on the ground at the surrender,” Appleby said. “The New Mexicans gathered up the long rifles, placed them in a wagon and carted them off and possibly destroyed them as only a few are known.”

The musket has been in East Texas since it was shipped from Philadelphia in 1841 and given to an ancestor of Sen. John Tower, according to a newspaper article of unknown origin published October 5, 1929, furnished by Gilpin.

“Senator John Towers’ dad (Joe Tower) used to be the minister of the First Methodist Church here and that’s how Lon Morris got it,” said Shelley Cleaver, vice chairman of the Cherokee County Historical Commission. “John Tower was a United States senator from Texas that was raised here in Jacksonville.”

The Tower family donated the musket to Lon Morris in the 1970s, where it stayed for three decades in the president’s office, its worth unbeknownst to anyone. The musket was then sent to Jackson Armory in Dallas to be authenticated. It has been in a vault at Jackson Armory for five years.

The musket is one of only a few in their original condition, flintlock, Jackson said.

“They converted some flintlocks to the percussion system (during the Civil War) because it was a more reliable method of ignition of the powder, but this particular one escaped being converted to percussion which makes it very valuable,” he said.

AP-WS-03-02-11 0635EST

ADDITIONAL IMAGE OF NOTE

An example of the Springfield Model 1816 flintlock musket, .69 caliber. Photo taken May 11, 2005.

Princess Diana exhibit set to open in Kansas City

Diana, Princess of Wales, at the Cannes Film Festival, 1987. Photo by Georges Biard. Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) – While many around the world are looking toward the upcoming royal wedding of Britain’s Prince William, an exhibit celebrating the life of his mother – including Princess Diana’s wedding dress – is opening this week in Kansas City.

Union Station officials hope the timing will help attract visitors from across the Midwest to “Diana, A Celebration,” which opens Thursday, March 3, 2011, and runs through June 12.

The dress Diana wore when she married Prince Charles in 1981 arrived at the station Monday and was carefully prepared to become the centerpiece of the exhibit, which features more than 150 items. The dress, with its enormous train, requires a glass case more than 25 feet long.

“The most famous dress in the world, for the moment,” announced handler Graeme Murton, referring to whatever wedding gown Prince William’s bride-to-be, Kate Middleton, wears this spring.

The traveling exhibit includes personal objects from Diana’s life, including family heirlooms, photos, home movies and 28 outfits she wore while she was princess. It also highlights her humanitarian work, including helping AIDS victims and a campaign against land mines.

And there is Bernie Taupin’s handwritten lyrics to Goodbye England’s Rose, which was performed by Elton John at Princess Diana’s 1997 funeral after she died at age 36 in a car accident.

The tiaras were installed during the weekend but the finishing touches won’t be complete until hours before a VIP gala Thursday night that already has raised more than $100,000 toward staging the exhibit.

Crews have been working seven days a week to construct the nine galleries in the 12,000-square-foot exhibit, including laying new carpet, erecting 400 sheets of drywall and painting, the Kansas City Star reported.

“Everything is predetermined in their layout,” Union Station Operations Director Duane Erickson said.

Union Station officials said the exhibit will break even with 60,000 to 75,000 ticket sales, but they hope it will be more popular.

“This is a very big exhibition for Kansas City, for the region and for the resurgence of Union Station,” Station CEO George Guastello told the Star when the exhibit was announced in January.

The station has struggled financially since it was restored in 1999, but in February reported that 2010 was its best financial year ever.

After its run in Kansas City, the exhibit will be returned to the Althorp estate, Diana’s ancestral home in England.

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Information from: The Kansas City Star, http://www.kcstar.com

AP-CS-03-01-11 1247EST

Mexico’s Carlos Slim unveils new art museum in capital

Mexico City's Museo Soumaya, designed by Fernando Romero and now home to 66,000 artworks. Image courtesy of Museo Soumaya.

MEXICO CITY (AP) – The world’s richest man, telecom tycoon Carlos Slim, gave a sneak peek Tuesday at the new museum where he plans to show his vast collection of art and collectibles, including priceless pieces by Mexican muralist Diego Rivera, French sculptor Auguste Rodin and Italian master Leonardo da Vinci.

The Soumaya museum – named after the tycoon’s late wife – opens to the public on March 29 and admission will be free.

The museum “will be important for the Mexican people … it will be a place for them to enrich themselves with international history, with art history, with the history of Mexico,” Slim said at a ribbon-cutting ceremony attended by President Felipe Calderon, Colombian author Gabriel Garcia Marquez, and U.S. television host Larry King. Hundreds of guests packed the Soumaya late Tuesday.

Slim led a small group of special guests through the museum, which will display a rotating selection of his 66,000 artworks, including pieces by Mexican artists Rivera and Rufino Tamayo, as well as European masters.

“There are few, very few spaces where Mexicans can learn about the great masters of all time,” Calderon said. “With this museum, Mexico is at the forefront when it comes to world art and architecture.”

Slim’s fortune was estimated at $53.5 billion by Forbes magazine last year, topping Microsoft founder Bill Gates and investor Warren Buffett. He is said to especially admire Rodin, and his collection of the French sculptor’s work is one of the largest outside France.

Designed by Slim’s architect son-in-law, Fernando Romero, the six-story, anvil-shaped building cuts a dramatic arc through the skyline of the capital’s upscale Polanco district. Some 16,000 aluminum panels make up the museum’s bending exterior, reflecting sunlight onto broad stairs leading to the entrance.

Inside, the Soumaya features 183,000 square feet (17,000 square meters) of exhibition space encompassing six halls.

One hall will house Slim’s collection of coins, bills, gold and silver, for the first time on display to the public. The others will showcase his collection of portraits, fashion and furniture; works by European masters such as da Vinci and El Greco; as well as 19th- and 20th-century paintings by Monet, Cezanne, Toulouse Lautrec and Van Gogh.

It replaces a smaller museum also named Soumaya in southern Mexico City.

Slim, 71, is the son of a Lebanese-born merchant whose conglomerate of retail, telecom, manufacturing and construction companies dominates Mexico’s commercial landscape.

So vast is his empire that it is common for Mexicans to find themselves talking over a Slim-operated cell phone at a Slim-owned shopping center while waiting to pay a bill to a Slim-owned company at a Slim-owned bank. If the line is too long, they can catch a quick coffee at a Slim-owned restaurant.

His Telmex telephone company controls 83 percent of land lines in Mexico and is the leading Internet service provider. Another of his firms is the top cell phone operator. He also controls the Sears and Saks retail operations in Mexico.

In 2009, he announced a $250 million investment in The New York Times.

AP-ES-03-01-11 2337EST

ADDITIONAL IMAGE OF NOTE

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