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One of David Hockney's famous "pool paintings" is coming to auction and is expected to sell in the $80 million range, easily breaking the record for a work by a living artist sold at auction. The British artist's "Portrait of an Artist (Pool with Two Figures)," to be auctioned at Christie's in November, is considered one of his premier works. Christie's has estimated the work at about $80 million, but says it expects it to sell for more. The previous record for a work by a living artist was set by Jeff Koons' "Balloon Dog," which sold for $58.4 million...

Dog rescuers, flush with donations, buy animals from the breeders they scorn An effort that animal rescuers began more than a decade ago to buy dogs for $5 or $10 apiece from commercial breeders has become a nationwide shadow market that today sees some rescuers, fueled by Internet fundraising, paying breeders $5,000 or more for a single dog. The result is a river of rescue donations flowing from avowed dog saviors to the breeders, two groups that have long disparaged each other. The rescuers call many breeders heartless operators of inhumane “puppy mills” and work to ban the sale of...

Estimate: $800,000 - $1,300,000 Description: Extremely Well-Documented, Historic and Iconic, Only Known Original Cased Colt Civilian Walker Percussion Revolver, Known as "The Danish Sea Captain Walker" Offered here is, without question the rarest, most historic and finest Colt Walker revolver Rock Island Auction Company has had the privilege to offer at auction. Known by the collecting fraternity as the Danish sea captain Walker, it is a type of revolver that gun collectors usually can only fantasize about owning. The story of the Walker revolver forever changed the course of American history and firearms design. It involves a young gallant...

The British branch of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) have called for Maureen O’Hara’s fur coasts to be withdrawn from the auction set to take place in Durrow, County Laois. The auction, hosted by Sheppard’s auctioneers, will include furniture, furs and jewelry once belonging to the late, great “Quiet Man” star, Maureen O’Hara. Ahead of Wednesday’s auction PETA has sent an urgent letter to the Irish auction house calling for the late actor’s mink and sable coats to be removed from sale and donated to its fur amnesty program instead. The collection, formerly held by Maureen O’Hara...

Estimate: $375,000 - $550,000 Description: Extremely Rare Documented, Winchester First Model 1873 "One of One Thousand" Lever Action Rifle with Factory Letter This is an exceptional example of a Winchester One of One Thousand Model 1873 Rifle with extensive documentation. Winchester manufactured 136 One of One Thousand Model 1873 rifles between 1875 and 1879. A letter of evaluation of this rifle by Winchester expert R.L. Wilson states that only about 30 of these rifles had been located by collectors and historians. In 1950 as part of the promotion for the movie "WINCHESTER 73", the Winchester Repeating Arms Company attempted...

You can’t put a price on beauty; you can put a price on a name. When the National Gallery in London exhibited a painting of Christ in 2011 as a heretofore lost work by Leonardo da Vinci, the surprise in art historical circles was exceeded only by the salivating of dealers and auctioneers. The painting, “Salvator Mundi,” is the only Leonardo in private hands, and was brought to market by the family trust of Dmitry E. Rybolovlev, the Russian billionaire entangled in an epic multinational lawsuit with his former dealer, Yves Bouvier. On Wednesday night, at Christie’s postwar and contemporary...

A painting by Italian Renaissance master Leonardo da Vinci that depicts Jesus Christ holding an orb sold for a world record $450.3 million at Christie’s auction house in New York Wednesday night. The painting, called "Salvator Mundi," Italian for "Savior of the World," is one of fewer than 20 paintings by Leonardo known to exist and the only one in private hands. The buyer was not immediately identified. The highest price ever paid for a work of art at auction had been $179.4 million, for Picasso's "Women of Algiers (Version O)" in May 2015....

On Saturday, 19 August, 2017, the Wagoner County, Oklahoma, Sheriff auctioned off 300 firearms, a number of vehicles, and other items that have been taking up space in their property room. You can view images of the vehicles and the gun on line at the rockinmauction.com website.A list of the available firearms is available here, but the information is not completely accurate.  For example, the make of an RG10 pistol is listed as “Bohm”, a simple misreading of Rohm. There are numerous plain Jane hunting rifles and shotguns, some more desirable than others. The list shows 15 Marlin .22...

923. Camelot Richard Harris “King Arthur” prop “Excalibur” sword. (Warner Bros., 1967) In Camelot, the romantic Lerner and Lowe musical telling of “King Arthur” (Richard Harris) and his beloved “Guenevere” (Vanessa Redgrave), the most important prop must be the Excalibur sword. This 40 in. long sword was made in Spain for production. Consisting of steel blade with an ornate 8.25 x 10.25 in. brass handle, grip and pommel. One side of the blade is engraved with, “Whoso Pulleth Out This Sword Of This Stone Is Rightwise King Born Of All England”. Excalibur is visible in three pivotal scenes in the...

Artifacts connected to some of the nation's most notorious gangsters are being auctioned this weekend. A handwritten musical composition by Al Capone, a letter written by John Gotti, and jewelry that belonged to Bonnie and Clyde are among the items up for bid Saturday in the "Gangsters, Outlaws and Lawmen" auction in Cambridge, Massachusetts, by Boston-based RR Auction. The musical piece entitled "Humoresque" shows Capone's softer side. Written when Capone was in Alcatraz in the 1930s, it contains the lines: "You thrill and fill this heart of mine, with gladness like a soothing symphony, over the air, you gently float,...

A private jet once owned by Elvis Presley has been auctioned after sitting on a runway in New Mexico for 30 years. The plane sold for $430,000 on Saturday at an Agoura Hills event featuring celebrity memorabilia, GWS Auctions Inc. said... The auction house says Elvis designed the interior that has gold-tone woodwork, red velvet seats and red shag carpet. But the red 1962 Lockheed Jetstar has no engine and needs a restoration of its cockpit...

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — A private jet once owned by Elvis Presley is set to be auctioned after sitting on a runway in New Mexico for 30 years. Elvis designed the interior that has gold-ton woodwork, red velvet seats and red shag carpet. But the red 1962 Lockheed Jetstar has no engine and needs a restoration of its cockpit. Liveauctioneers.com says the 1962 red Lockheed JetStar was owned by Elvis and his father, Vernon Presley. end snip

COLT SINGLE ACTION ARMY SN 5773 POSITIVELY PROVEN TO HAVE BEEN USED BY ONE OF CUSTER'S MEN DURING THE INFAMOUS BATTLE OF THE LITTLE BIGHORN. Estimate: $175,000 - $275,000

If you consider thousands of dollars for a tiny patch of decades-old mold a tad too pricey, well, maybe you're just not cut out for the high-stakes world of mold auctions. Because not even that hefty bit of green wouldn't have brought home the other bit of green that just sold Wednesday at a London auction house. The mold in question — which actually outpaced early expectations to be sold for a whopping $14,617, according to The Associated Press — is a capsule of the original Penicillium chrysogenum Alexander Fleming was working with when he discovered the antibiotic penicillin. Encased...

An old pair of knickers have been sold at auction for £2,900 (about $3,600.00 USD). The lilac panties belonged to Eva Braun, the mistress who married Adolf Hitler before she committed suicide by cyanide capsule as Nazi Germany faced collapse in April 1945. It is unlikely she was wearing them at the time. Originally expected to bring in £400, the silk knickers were sold for £2,900 when they went under the hammer at the Philip Serrell auction room in Malvern alongside some other personal items belonging to Eva Braun and monogrammed with her initials. The knickers were reportedly found by...

SALE INFORMATION Sale: 3114 Location: Normandy Tank Museum, Catz Date: 18 Sep 2016 14:00 VIEWING INFORMATION 16-17 September, 11am-7pm 18 September, de 10am-2pm Normandy Tank Museum P.A. La Fourchette Avenue du Cotentin 50500 Catz

Description: Well-Documented, Historic Incredibly Rare, and Desirable Ira Flanders Factory Inscribed 1 of 1,000 Winchester Model 1873 Lever Action Rifle with Factory Letter, and Winchester Advertisement History Relating to Owner There were actually only 133 Model 1873 1 of 1,000 rifles manufactured by Winchester, and according to "Winchester's New Model of 1873: A Tribute Vol. 2" by James Gordon only 63 were uncovered for their survey. This particularly rifle is noted on page 460 in their list of personal inscriptions by serial number and notes "I Flanders:" and "One of a Thousand." The personalized inscription is pictured on page...

Earlier this summer, we reported on a “Celebration Edition” Apple I that would be going up for auction. Initial estimates pegged a value of over $1 million for the computer, but the auction today came to a close with a final selling price of $815,000. 10 percent of the proceeds from the Charitybuzz auction will benefit the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. Near the end of the auction, the Apple I reached a peak of $1.2 million, but the final bid was apparently cancelled at the very last second, giving the device a final sale price of $815,000 with 39 bids.The...

The hackers have offered sample files, which some security researchers say appear to contain legitimate exploits. An anonymous group claims to have stolen hacking tools that might belong to the National Security Agency and is auctioning them off to the highest bidder. resume makeover multimedia IT resume makeover: Don’t try to please everyone Writing a resume means knowing your audience. If you try to please everyone, you’ll only wind up with Read Now It’s a pretty bold claim, but the hackers have offered sample files, and some security researchers say they appear to contain legitimate exploits. The files were allegedly...

The latest auction in California's cap-and-trade market for greenhouse gases fell sharply below expectations, as buyers purchased just 2% of the carbon credits whose sale funds a variety of state programs -- notably, the proposed high-speed rail project. The quarterly auction, conducted May 18 and announced Wednesday, will provide just $10 million for state programs, including $2.5 million for the bullet train. The rail authority had been expecting about $150 million. Whatever prompted the lack of buyers, the auction is a stark example of the uncertainty and risk of relying on actively-traded carbon credits to build the bullet train. The...