A sale of works by an artist who is said to have collaborated with Andy Warhol has been postponed for a week while the auctioneer gathers evidence that he actually existed.
Pietro Psaier has become a familiar name in auction catalogues over the past 12 years. The works, seemingly influenced by or purportedly made with Warhol, have appeared at sales in New York, the UK and in Madrid. Sotheby’s, Christie’s, Bonhams and Phillips de Pury & Co have all sold works by Psaier, as have country auctioneers Cheffins in Cambridge and John Nicholson of Fernhurst, Surrey, who has sold the most and who was preparing his latest auction of Psaier’s work for tomorrow.
Prices have ranged from £100 to £14,000 for a painting of Marilyn Monroe, and buyers have come from as far afield as Egypt and Kuwait. Many of the works, bought by dealers, have since been exhibited and sold in galleries and at art fairs in London, Cumbria and Harrogate.
But during the summer, a specialist website (warholstars.org) began to investigate claims made in Nicholson’s catalogues that Psaier worked with Warhol. It quoted officials at the Andy Warhol Foundation who said they had never heard of Psaier, and asked whether the whole Psaier story was an elaborate hoax.
Nicholson, a big man with more than 30 years’ experience in the auction business, had the air of a wounded bear when I met him last week to try to unravel the truth. “I’ve sold nearly 1,500 of Psaier’s works since 2004, and no one has complained. But suddenly, last month, I got a call from a journalist saying they were going to publish an article based on the information on the warholstars website with quotes from the Warhol Foundation, and could I prove that Psaier existed. (Telegraph)

The agenda of art lovers in the month of September will be full of important appointments for the art market, with regard to both ancient art and modern and contemporary art.   Various sales will be held by the different international auction houses.  All ready to start a second semester wondering what it will be like.

This summer great plans and a lot of movement in Beijing, chosen as the capital for the Olympic games 2008, where athletes from all over the world are landing as well as a special team of sportsmen selected by Andy Warhol. Indeed, the Chinese city has decided to host, from the 26th July in the venue of the Faurschou gallery, a famous collection of portraits by Andy Warhol dedicated to some very notorious athletes.

New York, NY – Christie’s New York leads its fall season with the eighth edition of First Open on September 9, which includes over 230 lots of Post-War & Contemporary Art and is expected to realize in excess of $6-8 million. First Open displays another stunning array of works for this highly anticipated and successful sale. Highlights of the sale include an exciting assortment of paintings, sculpture, drawings and photographs from both well-known and emerging artists. With estimates ranging from $1,500 to $500,000, First Open is an exceptional opportunity to acquire works at a variety of price points, whether you are building an existing collection or starting anew.

The first semester for the art market is about to come to an end and before its conclusion Christie’s auction house is going to try itself out with an auction completely dedicated to author prints. Indeed, on 31st July Christie’s New York is going to propose a very interesting sale that will attract many neo-collectors, thanks to the very low estimates that vary from 300 to 18 thousand dollars. “Prints & Multiples” will auction 357 lots, including 29 works by Pablo Picasso, 23 by Joan Mirò and 5 by Marc Chagall. If we look through the catalogue we will see many interesting works that could give an excellent result to this sale dedicated to prints and multiples, a sector considered as one the minor sectors of the art market.

Last 1st June the world of fashion came to a halt to commemorate the death of Yves Saint Laurent, the French fashion designer considered one of the greatest fashion creators of the twentieth century who started his career at the Christian Dior maison to then found the homonymous label (Yves Saint Laurent) with his life and business partner Pierre Bergè.
His mark in the world of fashion and luxury remains recognizable and his name will always be symbol of style, becoming symbol of sophisticated but also innovative elegance.