LOS ANGELES – Julien’s Auctions will stage “Music Icons: The Beatles In Liverpool,” their annual auction extravaganza of the Fab Four’s most iconic and historic memorabilia, on Thursday, May 9. The auction will be held for the first time at the Beatles Story Museum in Liverpool, UK, the birthplace of the Beatles. Bid absentee or live online through LiveAuctioneers.
ATLANTA – At the start of each month, ACN columnist Ken Hall gathers top auction highlights from around the United States and beyond. Here’s what made headlines since last month’s Gallery Report (prices include the buyer’s premium unless stated otherwise):
‘Wizard of Oz’ movie poster, $108,000, Heritage Auctions
A half-sheet style A poster for The Wizard of Oz (MGM, 1939) sold for $108,000 at a movie posters auction held March 23-24 by Heritage Auctions in Dallas. Also, an insert for The Wolf Man (Universal, 1941) achieved $96,000; an insert for The Bride of Frankenstein (Universal, 1935) brought $90,000; original set continuity photos for Casablanca (Warner Bros., 1942) rose to $55,200; and a German magazine promotional ad for Nosferatu (PranaFilm, 1921) made $52,800.
MOSCOW (AP) – A court in Moscow on Tuesday sentenced a Russian man to 2 1/2 years in prison for vandalizing a famous painting by the renowned Russian artist Ilya Repin.
LOS ANGELES (AP) – A federal judge in Los Angeles ruled Tuesday that a Spanish museum that acquired a priceless, Nazi-looted painting in 1992 is the work’s rightful owner, and not the survivors of the Jewish woman who surrendered it 80 years ago to escape the Holocaust.
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) – The Philadelphia Museum of Art will be loaning works to eight Pennsylvania museums under a new program designed to broaden public access to art.
COLOGNE, Germany – Fine instruments of science and communication, industry and entertainment are among the highlights at Auction Team Breker on May 18. One of the earliest devices under the hammer is a scarce 18th century Islamic astrolabe bearing the engraved latitudes of thirty-eight cities, including Baghdad and Isfahan. Absentee and Internet live bidding is available through LiveAuctioneers.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – An array of events in conjunction with Memorial Day Weekend, including free admission for veterans/active duty military personnel and half-price general admission for the public, and programs on how the Great War affected the environment, railways and journalism are among the May offerings at the National WWI Museum and Memorial.
NEW YORK – Seventy-five lots of Viking and medieval jewelry will be offered in an online auction conducted by Jasper52 on Wednesday, May 8. Featured are rings, amulets and pendants once worn by Viking warriors, sorcerers, Crusaders and pilgrims during the Middle Ages. Bid absentee or live online exclusively through LiveAuctioneers.