A big auction with major pieces actually beat the top-end estimate – when's the last time you heard that? Wednesday night at Sotheby's, the Impressionist sale brought in $181.8 million, thrashing the high estimate of $163 million and almost tripling the Christie's auction from November 3, 2009. It's also around three times the last equivalent sale by Sotheby's, which was back in May.

The Sotheby's auction was packed with notoriety. Conde Nast's top dog, S. I. Newhouse Jr., sent some work under the gavel, as did Louis Reijtenbagh. Artwork by Giacometti, Picasso and Renoir was sold. Sixty-six lots were offered, with only 10 failing to sell.

New York art dealer Helly Nahmad told Bloomberg News, "The art market is back," but that may be premature. Bidders were chasing the high-quality pieces, and it is tempting to believe that what auctioneer Tobias Meyer calls "a year of abstinence" is over. The fact that the Sotheby's auction was so much greater than that at Christie's, though, makes me want to see a few more sales before calling it a trend.

Sotheby's and Christie's are heading east to seek their respective fortunes. The two auction houses are offering more than $26 million of Asian art this week in London. The lots themselves are attracting record numbers of buyers from mainland China, a section of the market that has shown signs of life this year. Chinese buyers were quite active in Hong Kong last month.

Nicholas Chow of Sotheby's told Bloomberg News, ""We've seen a really aggressive push from mainland Chinese collectors during the last season of sales" and that "they're buying things at the very highest level." An Imperial jade seal, for example, moved for GBP3.6 million on Tuesday, six times the high-end presale estimate.

On November 3, Christie's sold an aggregate GBP5.7 million, beating the presale estimate of GBP5.2 million. Of the 319 lots, a third didn't move. The top seller was an eighteenth century enamel model of a Buddhist shrine, which beat its presale range of GBP60,000 to GBP80,000 with a hammer sale of GBP229,250. Nine of the top 10 most expensive items went to buyers from Asia.

Collectors from mainland China are quite eager to repatriate art and other objects from their heritage, particularly the Qing and Ming dynasties ... a fact of which the auction houses are fully aware. Christie's sent 210 invitations to mainland Chinese for its 12th annual Asian Art in London event, which ends November 7, 2009. Sotheby's pursued a similar number of collectors. Bonhams has invited 30 new buyers from mainland China.

In October, the Sotheby's Hong Kong art auction was good for $170 million, with plenty of bidding and buying by mainland Chinese buyers.

Ukraine is about to get a new contemporary art center. Victor Pinchuk is shooting to make Kiev a major art destination, so the wealthy art collector is creating a new center that will be larger than the existing PinchukArtCentre, which was the first private contemporary art center in the former Soviet Union and has had more than 830,000 visitors since its doors swung open in 2006.

Pinchuk, a steel billionaire, is an avid collector, with pieces by Jeff Koons, Damien Hirst and Andreas Gursky. His new endeavor, he tells Bloomberg News, "will make Kiev and Ukraine a fantastic place for contemporary art." Pinchuk made the proclamation at a show for 20 Ukrainian artists who were nominated for the first Pinchuk Art Center Prize, which comes with a cash component of $12,200 and a one-month internship with an artist from the international scene. Hirst himself will announce the winner on December 4, 2009.

Pinchuk has a strong relationship with the artist celebrity and owns "probably half" of the skull paintings (by the collector's own estimation) in the current Hirst show at the Wallace Collection in London. He also participated in Hirst's solo auction in September 2008 but wouldn't tell what he bought.

It is hard to believe that it is already the first anniversary of Barack Obama's election as the first African-American President of the United States. In honor of this historic occasion Taschen books New York is holding a book signing to celebrate the publication of Design for Obama. Posters for Change: A Grassroots Anthology. Taschen a publishing house originally started in Cologne, Germany 1980 by 18 year-old Benedikt Taschen, who found himself with a huge collection of comic books, has become renowned for being the premier international publisher of stunning art books.

Unbeknown to many, hundreds of artists and designers supported Obama's campaign in an unusual way, with their talent at DesignforObama.org founded by one of the books editors Aaron Perry-Zucker. This web-site built upon the concept of volunteerism during a history making campaign provided an online forum where artworks could be uploaded and downloaded for free.

Filmaker Spike Lee and Aaron Perry-Zucker chose the best of the submissions and have compiled them into a book commemorating the 44th President and the artistic creativity that helped him win the historic election last fall. In addition to curating the artwork in the book, Lee, Perry-Zucker and design historian Steven Heller wrote essays to complement this collection of over 200 pro-Obama posters designed by everybody from renowned graphic artists to those who practice their art on the streets of our cities.

If you want to have your copy personally signed by the editors head to Taschen's New York SoHo location where the editors including Spike Lee will be on hand on November 4th, 2009 from 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm.

Another chapter in the history of Lehman Brothers is now closed. At yesterday's auction, the artwork held by the once mighty financial institution fetched $1.35 million, almost double the $760,800 presale estimate by Freeman's Auctioneers. Nonetheless, it puts hardly a dent in the $250 billion that Lehman owes its creditors.

The auction lasted six hours and featured both fast-paced bidding and generous prices. Unsurprisingly, Roy Lichtenstein's Statue of Liberty print, titled "I Love Liberty," was the top lot at $49,000 (the presale estimate was only $25,000). Robert Indiana's "Polygons" prints brought in $23,750, almost four times the expectation. Every lot moved, the first time we've seen a 100 percent auction (high profile, at least) in a while.

Alasdair Nichol, vice chairman and auctioneer at Freeman's, cites "trophy hunting" as the driver behind Sunday's result. "What's not to like?" he said to Bloomberg News." "It's nice boardroom art, presented nicely, ready to go up on the walls. People lapped it up."

If you want art with an unique history, go to Freeman's auction house in Philadelphia tomorrow. More than 200 contemporary and modern art pieces formerly owned by Lehman Brothers will be going under the gavel. The efforts of David Hockney, Robert Indiana, Frank Stella and Roy Lichtenstein will be represented at the auction. The collection is valued at between $500,000 and $750,000, and most of the lots do not have reserve prices. Those that do (there are only around a dozen) only have minimums of $10,000.

This is an auction that's sparked some interest among art collectors.

Anne Henry, vice president of Freeman's, told The Associated Press, "Our phones have been ringing off the hook," continuing, "The pieces are interesting, in great condition and appeal to all kinds of collectors." Specific lots include an Alexander Calder print estimated at $800 to $1,200, a set of nine Walker Evans photographs which are estimated at $1,000 to $1,500 and a Roy Lichtenstein print of the Statue of Liberty, which is expected to go for between $15,000 and $25,000.

Lehman Brothers didn't get much time to enjoy the pieces it purchased. Some were acquired only a few months before the storied investment bank collapsed in September 2008, crushed by the weight of $600 billion of debt.

Of course, this auction pales in comparison to that of former Lehman CEO Richard Fuld. He sold 16 pieces at a Christie's auction last year, bringing in only $13.5 million, nowhere close to the $20 million estimate.

If you can't make tomorrow's auction, Freeman's will be holding two more: one for paintings and sculpture on December 6, 2009 and a no-reserve auction of 450 prints on February 12, 2010.

While the New York Yankees might be thought of as favored to win the 2009 World Series, we can all use a healthy reminder that the Philadelphia Phillies mean business. After all they are the 2008 defending champs, talented and hungry for the title too. The Game 1 win might be a sign of things to come.

Already the Phillies are ahead of the game compared to the prior match up between these two teams. The last time these two teams met in the World Series, in fact the only other time, was in 1950 when the Yankees swept the Phillies 4-0. That was when the Yankee dynasty was in full throttle and their triumph over the Phillies was just the second win in what would be a streak of 5 consecutive World Series titles.

If you need a physical reminder of the success experienced by last year's Phillies team just check out the collectors' items and memorabilia offered for sale by Steiner Sports. A signed photograph of the team celebrating their 2008 victory is a great image of the joy the whole city experienced. This was the first major championship win for any Philadelphia team in any sport for over 30 years. The 16" x 20" 2008 team signed photograph has 20 signatures from the 2008 championship team. A limited edition of 100 retails for $2,500 each.

Ryan Howard, the National League MVP, hit two doubles an drove in the final run of the first game of the series. I bet some little league player would love a chance to swing an autographed bat in the privacy of their own backyard. Howard has signed a black game model bat that can be picked up from Steiner Sports for $700.

Given the bat is black, some lucky fan might even be able to win the argument that it qualifies as home decor and hang it in the living room as an elegant piece of art.

Gallery: More Phillies Memorabilia

November 2008 was pure living hell for the art auction houses. The bottom had just fallen out of the market ... and they were still saddled with pieces for which they'd offer guaranteed minimums. This is exactly what happened with Roy Lichtenstein's "Half Face with Collar."

The 48 square inch painting went under the gavel at Sotheby's almost a year ago, with the seller, Italian art dealer and collector Gian Enzo Sperone, protected by a $15 million minimum by the house. Now, it's on display at FIAC, right next to Andy Warhol's "Green Disaster," in the Projet Moderne section.

For many, the question of who owns the Lichtenstein painting has been raised. Is the fact that it's hanging as an entry from the Gagosian Gallery meaningful? A source at FIAC tells Bloomberg News that it is: "Larry owns it and it's definitely for sale."

It would be poetic, of course, for the piece to fetch the $15 million it failed to reach last November, but for now, all we can do is wait for the result (if any).