hugh grant

Hugh Grant Has a Breakdown in His Ferrari California

Hugh Grant had an embarrassing incident on the way to a posh golf club in Kent, UK the other day when his $220,000 Ferrari California broke down leaving him stranded on the roadside. Grant purchased the flashy car for his 50th birthday in August but seems to have ended up with an expensive lemon. The actor was on his way to play golf at the nearby Royal St. George's club when the Italian stallion stalled out, the London Daily Mail reports. He tried to rev the engine back to life, leaving the fast lane blocked and forcing passing cars to swerve out of the way. Unable to get it started again he eventually managed to pull off to the side of the road, where he then called a tow truck. After a long wait during which the actor answered a call of nature in the bushes as drivers gawked at the spectacle, he eventually he had to beg a ride from a passing VW van in order to make his tee time. Grant later took the car in to a Ferrari dealership in London where he read them the riot act.

Tags: car crash, celebrity, Ferrari, Ferrari California, golf, Hugh Grant, London, UK

Contemporary Art Goes Over Big at Christie's

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Auctions, Art

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]

Gallery: Christie's Postwar and Contemporary Art Sale

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Tags: andy warhol, christie's, contemporary art, hugh grant, jeff koons, mark rothko, sotheby's

Hugh Grant Set To Make Big Bucks By Selling His Liz

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Celebrity Shopping, Art

Auction house Christie's big contemporary art sale in New York isn't until November 13 but the art world is already buzzing about the fact that one of Andy Warhol's iconic Liz Taylor portraits will be on the auction block. The turquoise Liz was created in 1963 and is part of Warhol's celebrity portraits that also include Marilyn Monroe and Jackie Kennedy. This work also has a celebrity owner. Actor Hugh Grant bought the painting six years ago for $3.5 million at Sotheby's in New York. He now could realize anywhere from $25 million to $35 million on his investment.

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Tags: andy warhol, art, auction, christies, elizabeth taylor, hugh grant, HughGrant, liz taylor

Hugh Hates His Houses

by Nicole Weston (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Estates, Celebrity Shopping

Apparently, Hugh Grant hates all of the 17 "horrible houses" he owns in London. He seems to keep buying the places, deciding that they are "not very nice" and moving on to buy another. One has to wonder if Hugh knows that there are people in business to prevent this sort of situation. He could call an interior decorator to redesign the homes or a contractor to gut the buildings and start over fresh. He could also call a real estate agent and sell some of the properties. The properties include a $9 million bachelor pad, which doubles as an office for his production company, but it sounds as though he might want to keep that one.