Madonna's Vanity Fair Globe On Ebay

The globe that Madonna had as cover prop for the cover of Vanity Fair's "Green Issue" (May 2008) is up for auction on Ebay. The benefit auction ends on April 18Th.

The globe, which took 10 days to complete, is made of plaster and marble dust with a recyclable polystyrene core, according to the magazine. It's going up for auction today with proceeds to benefit Madonna's Raising Malawi Charity. Madonna signed the globe as well and drew a heart over Africa.

Via Towleroad

Damien Hirst's $37,000 Napkin Doodle

I guess it should be no surprise that the most expensive living artist has very valuable doodles. This was proven recently when Damien Hirst did a little ink sketch on a linen napkin from The Ivy restaurant. It's a depiction of his diamond-encrusted skull, plus a couple of steaming coffee cups in the eye sockets and, of course, the all-important Hirst signature. He donated the sketch to MacMillan Cancer Relief's "coffee art" auction, where it sold to a private collector for £18,000. So do you think it was really just a doodle? Or a creative way to come up with something for the auction?

Via Luxist

More CowParade in Rio

A few more pictures of the charming "cowriocas" in Rio's Cow Parade, thanks to my sister, exclusively for Little-Pumpkins. There are almost 100 in total and they are displayed all over the city of Rio de Janeiro, mostly along the beaches. To see the complete cow picture gallery, list of participating artists and locations you can click here.

Found on Ebay: Frank Sinatra Paintings

Ebay can be amazing. Occasionally a very broad search in a category like art, followed by a sort from highest price to lowest price, can yield some astonishing results – like this one.

In the early 80's Frank Sinatra needed some restoration work for some of his art collection. He contacted Arthur Beeman, who was an avid painter and the head of the illustration department for the Pasadena Jet Propulsion. Impressed by Beeman's work he asked Beeman to teach him how to improve his painting techniques. As a result of this relationship several pictures were painted by Sinatra and left at the teacher's house. When Mrs. Beeman passed away these paintings were a part of her estate.
This collection entails 12 paintings, nine of them are 12" X 16", two paintings are 16" X 20" and one painting is 14" X 18". There is also a companion notarized letter confirming provenance to this collection. The bidding starts at US$525,000.00 (!) at Ebay and is scheduled to end on October 13.

Clearly, old blue eyes employed the age old “would you like to pose for a painting” line to score with the ladies. Sounds like a dirty old man to me...

Via Blu Dot News Letter

Jeff Koons' Hanging Heart @ Sothebys

The good thing about a Monet or a Van Gogh is that you can probably find space for it in your home. It's not quite so easy with some of the works by today's artists such as Damien Hirst and Jeff Koons. Case in point, Koon's big bright Hanging Heart (Magenta and Gold) which will be auctioned off on November 14 at Sotheby's New York as part of their Contemporary Art Sale. This beauty in high chromium stainless steel weighs over 3,500 pounds and is almost nine feet tall. Koons employs a large stable of artists and this work and took over 6,000 man hours to produce. The work is on display at Sotheby's this week through Sunday, October 8th, by private appointment. When it sells it is estimated to bring $15/20 million. I wonder if that includes shipping and installation.

Via The Luxist

CowParade in Rio

The "Cowriocas" are in town! Since 1999 they've been seen from New York to Tokio, passing through Sao Paulo and London, and now they've arrived to greener pastures in Rio de Janeiro. This is the biggest street event ever done in Brazil and will be on display throughout the city from October 03 - November 24. While the cow sculptures remain the same, each city’s artists were challenged by the art from past events, inspired by the cultural influences of their respective cities, and moved by their own interpretation of the cow as an art object. CowParade is not meant to be high art, however. It is first and foremost a public art exhibit that is accessible to everyone.
The lovely cows will be put up for auction individually on December 11 for the highest bidders and anyone with enough cash can park one on their backyard. The proceeds will then be donated to the city's charitable causes. The average bid at the Chicago's auction reached US$25,000 and US$18,000 in NYC. Now let's see how much our charming Cowriocas will fetch!

Rio CowParade website For the official US site click here

Images via UOL