Lost Picasso Painting Sells For Over $106 Million
“Nude, Green Leaves, and Bust” Breaks World Record
In the modern world of digital photography, photo scanning, and computer back-up drives, the notion of a “lost image” seems foreign. But a Picasso painting called “Nu au Plateau de Sculpteur” (Nude, Green Leaves and Bust) was considered lost until recently, when it surfaced as part of the private collection of the late Los Angeles philanthropist Frances Lasker Brody, who died last November. Brody was the wife of real estate developer Sidney F. Brody; the couple amassed a large collection of art during the 1940s and 1950s, and most of it has remained in their home ever since.
When the “lost” painting was auctioned as part of the Christie’s Impressionist and Modern Art Evening Sale (which brought in a total of over $335 million) it fetched a record-breaking $106,482,500, the biggest sum ever paid for a single work of art. The Brody collection also broke the Christie’s record for the highest total achieved at a single-owner sale.
The sensuous painting comes from the acclaimed series of paintings from 1932 depicting Picasso’s muse and mistress, Marie-Therese Walter. As the most anticipated piece to come to market from private hands in the last ten years, “Nude, Green Leaves and Bust” had a unique appeal in that it was considered lost for many years. Experts considered the painting lost because it had never been published in color, and because its whereabouts where unconfirmed for years. Now, thanks to photo scanning technology, you don’t have to pay $106 million to get a glimpse of this stunning painting.
In 2004, a 1905 Picasso painting called “Garcon a la Pipe” (Boy with Pipe) fetched $104,168,000. But Picasso briefly lost the title of biggest money-maker when Alberto Giacometti’s 1960 work “L’Homme Qui Marche I, bronze” (Walking Man 1) sold for $104,327,006 earlier this year.
Picasso regained his title when the lead Christie’s auctioneer, Christopher Burge, sold “Nude, Green Leaves and Bust” for $95 million. After the buyer’s premium was added (the auction house fee) the total price came to over $106.5 million. The bidding included eight clients, and took only nine minutes. When the price reached 88 million, only two clients remained, and it seems this one-on-one shootout helped raise the selling price. The name of the buyer has not been disclosed at this time.
Radio and television pioneer Art Linkletter passed away in his Bel-Air home on May 26th at the age of 97. Author of the bestselling 1957 book Kids Say the Darndest Things, Linkletter was best known for hosting the daytime television show “House Party,” which ran from 1952 to 1970 and featured comically candid interviews with children. The above photo, which was digitized by photo scanning for use in the Los Angeles Times, depicts Linkletter’s uncanny talent for the impromptu child interview.
Mother’s Day has come and gone, but it’s never too late to show your appreciation for Mom. If you feel like that box of chocolates and those overpriced flowers didn’t quite cut it this year, perhaps something a little more personal would fit the bill. It’s not that your mother doesn’t like that “World’s Greatest Mom” mug you got her. And those bouquets of cleverly disguised fruit really do make great centerpieces for the breakfast table. But if your mom is anything like mine (and you’re lucky if she is!) she’d really go for something a little more sentimental, something uniquely made for her.
Newspaper publisher E.W. Scripps Co. has agreed to sell its licensing unit, United Media Licensing, to licensing company Iconix Brand Group Inc., which owns the clothing brands Joe Boxer and London Fog. United Media Licensing, which owns the rights to several comic-strip characters such as Dilbert and Raggedy Ann and Andy, pulls in the majority of its licensing revenues from the “Peanuts” family of characters, including the lovable loser Charlie Brown, and his imaginative pup, Snoopy.
As the makers of Guinness beer happily remind visitors to the brand’s Dublin museum, “everyone’s Irish on March 17th.” Indeed, St. Patrick’s Day is widely celebrated by Americans of various ethnic backgrounds, and annual St. Patrick’s Day parades in the U.S. date all the way back to 1737, when the first one was held in Boston. But for many Irish-Americans, St. Patrick’s Day is also part of Irish-American Heritage Month, which is a time to recognize and celebrate Irish history and family heritage. While many Irish and non-Irish Americans join in on the wearing of green and the merrymaking on March 17th, most of us miss out on the opportunity to explore and celebrate our family heritage throughout the month of March. One great way of doing this it to make a photo family tree on your computer.
On March 1, 2010, California Attorney General and former Governor Jerry Brown announced that he is running for governor once again. Current California law prohibits constitutional office holders from serving more than two terms in any single position, so the Republican incumbent, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger cannot run for reelection. But this two-term limit has only been in effect since 1990, and does not apply to terms served before November of that year. Democrat Jerry Brown served as the 34th Governor of the State of California from 1975 to 1983, so he is eligible to run once again in the November 2010 race. As part of his campaign to “get California working again,” Brown has launched a multimedia website dedicated to promoting his gubernatorial candidacy and cataloguing his career.
These days, photo scanning has become an integral part of the modern “digital experience.” Though many people have digital cameras, most of us also have large collections of old family photos, and a professional photo scanning service like ScanDigital is the perfect way to preserve and share those memories. But what if you’re on the go, and you need a quick scan of a receipt, a contract, or other document? These situations pop up all too often. Perhaps you’re on a business trip, and you need to submit a hefty receipt for immediate reimbursement. Or maybe you have a contract that you need to sign and send off, but there’s no fax machine in sight. Or you have a printed document, and you need to turn it into a PDF before the big meeting starts in 10 minutes. You have What do you do?
With the right tools, photo editing can be a lot of fun. When it comes to fine-tuning digital photos, the possibilities are limitless. Crop, resize, rotate. Add colors, filters, and special effects. Turn a casual snapshot into a work of art. Turn a family portrait into a holiday greeting card.
On February 23rd, 2010, CNN published a story about two men who call themselves “ethical hackers.” In an effort to highlight weaknesses in current airport security measures, Adam Laurie and Jeroen Van Beek exposed how easy it is to fool a passport scanner with a fraudulent biometric chip. Laurie and Van Beek used a doctored passport at a self-serve passport machine in Amsterdam’s Schiphol airport to clear a very special passenger for travel. That passenger’s name was Elvis Presley.
