Many a time it is the background story that lends a work of art its true fascination. This once again proves to be the case with one of the top lots at the auction of 19th century paintings, to be held on 1st April 2009 during the Vienna Dorotheum first auction week of 2009.
Originally painted [...]

A painting by Henri Matisse sold Monday for euro32.1 million, a record auction price for a work by the artist at an art sale in Paris from the estate of Yves Saint Laurent.
Matisse’s 1911 oil painting “Les coucous, tapis bleu et rose,” (The Cowslips, Blue and Rose Fabric) sold for a total of euro35.9 million, [...]

Sotheby’s Europe, has announced that the company has opened an office in Istanbul and appointed Oya Delahaye as Head of the office to direct the company’s operations in the region. The move, which will make Sotheby’s the first international auction house to have an incorporated office in Turkey, demonstrates the company’s commitment to providing a [...]

Auction houses Ketterer Kunst and Quittenbaum are taking the 90th anniversary of the founding of the Bauhaus by Walter Gropius as an occasion to hold a joint auction, a first for both. The venue for the joint auction on 20 June 2009 will be the new Ketterer Kunst House for Art, directly at the Munich [...]

The Bonhams Retromobile sale witnessed some extraordinary results including €3,417,500 for the Ex-Earl Howe 1937 Bugatti Type 57S Atalante; €2,427,500 for ‘Black Bess’ – the ex-Roland Garros Bugatti Type 13; and a quite astonishing €337,500 for a Citroen DS23 EFi Cabriolet.
A packed saleroom at the second annual Bonhams Retromobile sale witnessed spirited bidding resulting [...]

The European Union is launching an environmental auction in which potential donors can bid on international environmental projects that the 27-member bloc cannot afford to fund.
“We are trying to find funding partners for some of the project proposals that were carefully selected under the European Commission’s evaluation process but that have not, despite their high [...]

RM Auctions, in association with Sotheby’s, will present one of the most historically significant and valuable Ferrari racing cars ever offered at auction, the legendary 1957 Ferrari 250 TR (chassis no. 0714TR), when the famed Ferrari Leggenda e Passione event returns to Maranello, May 17, 2009. Held during the final stretch of the Mille Miglia [...]

IronPlanet, who auction used construction and agricultural equipment, sold €3.22 million of equipment in its first European online auction, held on January 28.
The auction featured equipment from leading suppliers throughout Europe, including Finanzauto, SA of Spain, McCormick & McNaughton of Ireland and Pon CAT Rental of Denmark.
Auction info http://www.ironplanet.com

On February 8, 2009, Artcurial, one of France’s premier auction houses, will present a spectacular auction of “Classic and Racing Cars” in Paris. Can’t be there? No problem. Bidders anywhere in the world are now able to bid live online through Artfact’s next-generation bidding platform, Artfact Live! Not ready to bid $1 million for a [...]

On Thursday, February 5th, 2009, the Künker Auction House will be holding an auction of high-value historical coins and medals in Berlin’s Estrel Convention Center.
The 38th World Money Fair, which is the world’s largest coin exhibition, begins a day later in the same location (February 6th to 8th, 2009).
Up for auction are approximately 1,522 lots [...]