Not to be outdone by archrival Christie's, Sotheby's is staging its own major Contemporary Art auction in London on July 1st. With total pre-sale estimates topping $130 million, the event is being billed as "the highest value summer sale of contemporary art ever held by Sotheby's in Europe." The untitled Jean-Michel Basquiat painting belonging to Irish rockers U2 that my colleague Deidre Woollard mentioned earlier this month is a top draw in the auction, with an estimate of $8 - $12 million.

Other highlights include two important works by Francis Bacon: Figure Turning, painted 1962, est. $20 - $30 million, and Study for Head of George Dyer, painted in 1967, est. at over $16 million. Rounding out the other notable big-ticket items are Richard Prince's Overseas Nurse, 2002, est. at $8 - $12 million - more than the current Prince auction record; and Andy Warhol's 1964 Large Campbell's Soup Can (pictured right), est. $5 - $7 million. Also of interest: tennis great John McEnroe is selling his 1986 Warhol portrait with ex Tatum O'Neal, est. only $500,000 - $700,000. See the gallery for images.

A rare Francis Bacon triptych that has never before been seen in public and has never been offered at auction is expected to fetch over $20 million during Christie's Contemporary Art Sales in London at the end of the month. Painted in Paris in 1975, Three Studies for a Self Portrait (above) is similar in character to the Bacon triptych that sold for $28 million at Christie's last month. Also starring in the sales on June 30 through July 1: Lucian Freud's Naked Potrait with Reflection, one of the most important works by the artist ever to be offered at auction, est. $20 million - $30 million; Jeff Koons' Balloon Flower (Magenta), 1995-2000, the most important Koons work ever offered at auction in Europe, est. about $25 million; Andy Warhol's Nine Multicolored Marilyns, est. $5 million - $7 million; and Jean-Michel Basquiat's Trunk, painted in 1982, est. $2 - $3 million.

A Francis Bacon triptych painted in 1976 is expected to fetch about $70 million in the star sale of Sotheby's Contemporary Art auction in New York on May 14. If the work, billed as the most important privately-held Bacon extant, does max out despite all the hand-wringing going on, the price will eclipse Impressionist claptrap like this $40 million Monet while still falling far short of some puffed-up Picassos. (The middle panel is pictured here; see the image gallery for the complete piece.) Back in February, a Bacon triptych sold for $46.1 million at Christie's in London, slightly below estimate, though the one currently on offer is the better work in our opinion.

Also included in the stunning sale is Mark Rothko's 1956 Orange, Red, Yellow, expected to fetch in excess of $35 million; Jean-Michel Basquiat's beautiful Untitled (Prophet I), est. $9 - $12 million; Robert Rauschenberg's 1963 Overdrive, est. $10 - $15 million; Richard Prince's Millionaire Nurse, est. $3.5 - $4.5 million; a 1986 Andy Warhol self-portrait, est. $2 - $3 million; an untitled Cy Twombly, est. $1.5 - $2 million; and a very naughty manga-inspired sculpture by Louis Vuitton collaborator Takashi Murakami, valued at an astonishing $3 - $4 million.

On May 13, Christie's New York will stage an incredible Post-War and Contemporary Art sale that could realize close to $400 million. Several museum-quality works are on offer among the 57 lots, and Christie's expects several records to be set. Highlights include Francis Bacon's 1976 Three Studies for Self -Portrait, estimated at $25 - $35 million; a morbidly obese Lucian Freud nude, billed as the most important Freud painting ever offered at auction, also est. $25 - $35 million; Willem De Kooning's 1975 Untitled IV, est. $10 - $15 million; several major works by Andy Warhol including his 1962 Campbell's Soup Can (Pepper Pot), est. $6 - $8 million, and his 1986 Self-Portrait, pictured here, est. $2.5 - $3.5 million; Jean-Michel Basquiat's 1987 Victor 25448, est. $4.5 million - $6.5 million; and many more. Some story-hungry members of the press may be rooting for an art market crash, but we're not buying it.

The online market in high-end modern and contemporary furniture in design is really heating up.. A couple of months ago I mentioned that Christie's rebranded its House Sales as Christie's Interiors to help decorators, collectors and newcomers acquire one-of-a-kind objects and collectibles. Another antiques and design site, 1st Dibs also helps people access a world full of vintage design finds without combing through antique stores.

The latest entry into the market is Artnet's Design Marketplace which shows furniture and decorative art from over 150 galleries in 75 countries. The site shows over 3,000 works for sale from over 1,000 renowned designers including Carlo Mollino, Isamu Noguchi, Jean Royère, Marc Newson and Zaha Hadid, among many others. You can search by designer, object type, style/period, price and location of the item. The prices range from a couple hundred dollars for a vase to pieces like this "room-within-a-room" inspired by a traditional Dutch bedstee by designer Hella Jongerius. The walls and cupboards of Jongerius's Bedstee are loosely upholstered and there is also a soft sculpture of a candleholder. The piece is being sold through NY shop Moss and sells for $80,000.

[via Dexigner]

Bad news for the Los Angeles County Museum of Art and other institutions, billionaire Eli Broad has announced that he is not giving away any of his 2,000 art works to them. Instead Broad has decided that his art will be retained by his Broad Art Foundation. His foundation, which was established in 1984 and has made 7,000 loans of art to institutions around the world. Broad, who is 74 and a founder and former chief executive officer of the homebuilder KB Home and insurer SunAmerica Inc., sees his foundation as an art lending library which could be a model for other collectors who are worried that their pieces, once donated, will end up in storage rather than taking pride of place in a museum. Broad's foundation in Santa Monica currently has 20,000 square feet for showing the art that is not loaned out.

Broad's status as a collector (he is one of the world's top ten collectors) means that his decision will have an impact on how other aging collectors think about their future plans for art, wondering if they too should find an option that will make sure that their accrued works don't end up in a museum's storage. What makes Broad's decision particularly interesting is the timing, next month the Los Angeles County Museum of Art is opening the $56 million Broad Contemporary Art Museum, a building designed by Renzo Piano and financed by Broad, ostensibly for the purpose of showcasing his art. The new museum will still have favored nation status so much of the art will hang there but there is a big differenc between loaned art and owned art, especially in terms of the leverage that a large and important collection provides. Museums often go through elaborate courting processes with big fish donors spending a great deal of time and money in the hopes of getting a valuable donation.

One thing I wonder is whether or not Broad will get the same tax breaks for leaving the art in his own foundation versus donation.

Could it be a coincidence that the stock market rebounded and Christie's had a great night at their postwar and contemporary art on Tuesday in New York? After the rather iffy returns after the Sotheby's auction last week mainly people were afraid that the numbers on the postwar and contemporary art auctions this week might not be so strong, especially since the contemporary is often the most volatile end of the market. No worries at Christies, they brought in $325 million, smack in the middle between the presale estimates of $271 to $373 million.

The stars of the show were a blue-and-ornange painting by Mark Rothko which sold for $34.2 million. Other top-selling artists included media darling Richard Prince, the nearly always bankable Lucian Freud and the art world's clown prince Jeff Koons whose "Blue Diamond" went for $11.8 million.

This sale even had a Hollywood angle in the form of a 1963 turquoise Andy Warhol portrait of actress Elizabeth Taylor that belonged to Hugh Grant. The painting sold for $23.6 million which was below its $25 million low estimate. Last week, Christie's had a strong night followed by a disappointing evening at Sotheby's. Judging by today's stock market dip, they just might be in for a bumpy night.

[Thanks, Lana]

If you aren't ready to invest in contemporary art, how about drying yourself off with it? Target and Art Production Fund have created this set of four beach towels for the Artist Towel Series 2008. The artists featured are Kehinde Wiley, Elizabeth Peyton, Cindy Sherman, and Jeff Koons. The towels are part of Works on Whatever items which are designed by contemporary artists to bring art into everyday life The 60 x 70-inch cotton towels will be available for $50 on Target.com and worksonwhatever.com starting November 19. The towels will also be the official pool towels at the Raleigh Hotel during Art Basel Miami Beach December 5 to 9. Proceeds from sales benefit Art Production Fund's support of major civic artwork projects and half of all proceeds from Koons' towel will also support the Koons Family Institute, which is a resource of the International Centre for Missing and Exploited Children.