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.

"Flesh was the reason oil painting was invented," proclaimed Dutch-born painter Willem de Kooning in 1950. It's no secret the influence women had in his work or in his success. In the early 1950s de Kooning began experimenting with the female form and landscapes, until the two subjects became inseparable. His painting Woman I launched him into overnight stardom when it was exhibited in New York in 1953.

Bonhams New York is presenting a rare work from 1965 that stems out of this period, Woman in a Landscape, in their upcoming Contemporary and Modern Art Sale. The painting builds on his previous work, but also reveals later influences such as contemporary Hollywood stars and Mesopotamian fertility goddesses. While de Kooning's own inner demons are clearly present in this work, it remains one of his gentler, more romantic portraits of the female sex. The fully-executed painting is rare for this period of de Kooning's work, and is thought to be a study for his 1966-67 painting, The Visit, which is housed in the Tate collection.

Woman in a Landscape is estimated at $400,000-$600,000.

The public is invited for a pre-sale viewing and reception of all works in the sale:
Monday Nov 9th 6-8 PM
Bonhams
580 Madison Avenue
New York, NY 10022

Sale takes place November 10th at 12 PM.

For more information visit Bonhams.com/contemporary.

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.

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."

The International Fine Art & Antique Dealers Show is the Luxist Awards' Readers' Choice winner for the best antiques resource category.

Since 1989, The International Fine Art & Antique Dealers Show has been recognized the world over as a premier showcase for exceptional quality works of art from antiquity to the present day. The show features some of the world's top dealers and consistently attracts large crowds.

A superb variety of high-quality items are for sale at the fair, including furniture, paintings, sculpture, textiles, ceramics, glass, clocks, watches, arms, armour, rare books, manuscripts, jewelry, objets de vertu, Fabergé, silver, antiquities and ethnographic art. Many of the pieces are of museum quality. Prices start from as little as a few hundred dollars but rise into the millions.

All works are for sale under the strictest vetting conditions. In fact, at its launch the International Fine Art & Antique Dealers Show was the first fair in the United States to introduce vetting; a stringent set of guidelines designed to maintain the highest standards of quality and authenticity in the works of art on view and for sale. The great value of vetting at art and antiques fairs lies in the safeguards and reassurance it offers to buyers. The vetting committees for the International Fine Art & Antique Dealers Show combine both academic and commercial expertise in their membership, including museum personnel as well as other eminent specialists.

The show is organized each year by Haughton International Fairs. In 2009, it was held from October 16th until the 22nd with 65 exhibitors from around the world. The fair was held at the Park Avenue Armory, which is located on Park Avenue at 67th Street in New York City.

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.

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).

Christie's has been expanding its services lately. The auction house has been growing its art storage service business and now it will offer complete coverage for collectors who want to insure their valuables, homes, cars and other possessions under a single policy. Christie's Insurance Services is s partnership with Heath Lambert and Chubb Insurance and will be offered to Christie's private clients who have specialized needs when it comes to storing and transporting valuable art. The service will also offer automatic coverage on any new pieces purchased through Christie's.

The Times Online quotes Adam Prideaux, an art insurance broker at Heath Lambert, who indicated that there was a need for the service because, due to the economic downturn "there have been considerable problems for the art insurance market due to pressures on capacity against the exceptional prices of certain works."

Christie's already offers a valuation service and will now have risk management advice for those needing counsel on how to preserve the value of their collections. At first the insurance will be only be available clients in London and those in Europe who are serviced from London.

The big numbers and grand auction centers around the world remain under pressure, but small local art scenes are finding ways to thrive. Like the small cap stocks that lead financial markets out of a recession, maybe it's the emerging artist and local art scene that will deliver us from this slump.

Grand Rapids hosted ArtPrize, a new art show this year, and it was so successful that the organizers are going to do it again in 2010. Businesses in town got a bump, and Grand Rapids was able to boost its cred as an art destination. The 18-day competition commenced on September 23, 2009 and drew tens of thousands of visitors to the Michigan city. Some restaurants ran out of food, because they weren't expecting such a large influx of guests. Doug Small, president of the Grand Rapids/Kent County Convention and Visitors Bureau, told The Associated Press, "Nobody had any clue this would happen."

The competition attracted 1,262 entries, varying in size, shape, style and medium. They were displayed in lobbies, on bridges, in parking lots and in the Grand River -- anywhere in town where they could find a place to exhibit. The winners were chosen by the voting public, using the event's website and text messaging, with 37,264 people participating.

The winner was Ryan Ortner of Brooklyn, New York, with the oil painting "Open Water No. 24, measuring 19 feet wide, taking first place, with Tracy Van Duinen taking second and Eric Daigh coming in third. Ortner lent his painting to the Grand Rapids Art Museum, which is going to display it until January.

Christie's is looking for a thrill on November 10, 2009. The auction house is sending an Andy Warhol portrait of Michael Jackson under the gavel, with a presale estimate of between $500,000 and $700,000. The piece, measuring 30 inches by 26 inches, is one of a small collection of silk-screens the King of Pop Art created of the King of Pop in 1984.

The Jackson piece is being sold by an anonymous collector in New York, according to Brett Gorvy, the deputy chairman of Christie's. The current owner purchased it from the Andy Warhol foundation sometime in the 1990s.

Forty-six lots will be auctioned along with the Jackson portrait, and there will be two other paintings by Warhol.

Back in August, a similar Jackson painting by Warhol was sold. The buyer chose to remain anonymous, and nobody will reveal the price ... except to say that it went for more than $1 million.

Award-winning furniture designer and nominee for a Luxist Readers' Choice Award for Decor, Vladimir Kagan, has collaborated with mannequin artist and sculptor Ralph Pucci, on a limited edition fiberglass chair that is both functional and a work of art.

The endeavor initiated during a simple conversation between Kagan and Pucci who were examining sketches of Kagan's 1950's era designs. Though never produced, the sketches were of pieces in a variety of materials, including fiberglass.

Kagan had long wanted to create a plastic chair, as his designs were so ideally suited for the medium. When Pucci saw Kagan's sketches, his realized his sculptor and mannequin workshop was equipped to produce the concept. Pucci also felt the project was very current because of an exhibit of noted Israeli designer Ron Arad's carbon fiber armchairs at the Museum of Modern Art in New York.

Kagan designed a new chair and produced a miniature clay model of it. Shortly thereafter, he and Pucci started to build a full-scale mockup in clay.

For Kagan, working with a pliable material was a totally liberating experience. For Pucci, it made common sense to utilize the facilities of his mannequin workroom and create something new and different, all in keeping with his thoughts of moving forward.

The result is the fiberglass collection in a limited edition of 100 now on view at the Ralph Pucci Showroom in New York, the Los Angeles Pacific Design Center in West Hollywood, Ca., and the J. Bachelor DCOTA Design Center in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. The chairs have been produced in foundry black, foundry grey and white ($9,000 each) as well as clear ($15,000 each).

The successful collaboration gave birth to a new collection of limited edition sculptures by Kagan which were produced and sculptured by Pucci at the Ralph Pucci workroom. The sculptures will be introduced at the Ralph Pucci showroom in New York in December. The chairs will also be on display following a lecture by Pucci and Kagan at the Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum at 2 East 91st Street in New York on October 29, 2009.

Collectors are looking and thinking. They might take action, but it's still too soon to tell. The action at Foire Internationale d'Art Contemporain (FIAC) in Paris is deliberate: nobody's rushing to put their cash on the table. However, there are signs that some pricey and prestigious pieces may sell.

Last week, a painting by Piet Mondrian was put on reserve, at a price between $30 million and $40 million. One of Pablo Picasso's works was reserved, as well, at $24 million. Back in the art boom, these pieces would have been snapped up already, but dealers are saying that it's taking longer to complete sales at FIAC this year than last year. Even billionaires need convincing in this market, it seems.

Also, there's a greater desire to stay under the radar. Whether it's to maintain some privacy or hide the fact that they have the means to spend more than they like, some owners and buyers are turning to private sales. Bargains, thus, won't make it into the public record – sparing sellers the embarrassment and preventing the other holdings of all collectors from sustaining a measurable decline in value. If premiums are paid, buyers won't have to reveal that they have the cash to pay more, preventing prices from increasing broadly.

About a year-and-a-half ago I highlighted a great PBS show, Moment of Luxury With Bill Stubbs. The show is back for Season 2, and episodes began airing on October 1. (I regret not getting this information out there sooner...catch up with Season 1 online; if we're lucky, Season 2 episodes will appear soon!)

Stubbs, recognized by Architectural Digest on its list of top 100 designers, makes the experience of "luxury" -- excellence, comfort, and high quality -- accessible to Americans on any budget by offering tips on how to bring good, yet affordable, living into their homes and lives through home design, food, culture, and art.

"Our message that luxury does not have to be a fabulous home or an expensive piece of jewelry ... it can be a lush garden, an embroidered pillow, or a simple cup of tea ... has resonated with viewers," says Stubbs. "We are delighted to be back for a second season to continue our search for those places, people, and things that inspire me the most and to offer our viewers the tools to apply these secrets for affordable luxurious living."

This season, Stubbs finds luxury close to home in the United States and Canada. Filmed in high definition, the series brings Stubbs' design philosophy to life in 13 half-hour episodes. Take a look at some highlights of the series after the jump.