Setting a new record for the category of world’s most expensive living female artist is a South African born artist Marlene Dumas. And this is made possible via her painting, popularly known as “The Visitor,” that generated sales of £3.1 million at a Sotheby’s auction. The painting was picked up by the New York private dealer Nancy Whyte during Sotheby’s Contemporary Art Evening Sale scheduled on 1 July. The sales figure overshadowed Dumas’ preceding testimony of £1.8 million marked in February 2005.

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Masterpieces and artworks by artists who have passed away are eternal and invaluable. It is one arena that keeps its doors open even for deceased one’s to make their entry into the Guinness book of world records. And lately, this has been exemplified by a celebrated artist Lucian Freud. His depiction of an overweight nude woman (Sue Tilley, 51, Supervisor of Jobcenter) snoozing has summoned more than a few dough notes to be exhausted. The lady masquerade for this 85-year-old painter for long four-years and to say the utmost she tagged herself his muse. She was christened as “Big Sue” and got introduced to Freud by Mr. Leigh Bowery.

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One can’t assist but speculate number of nattily decent citizens sitting countless nights at International auction houses viz. Sotheby’s, Christie’s and Phillips de Pury in coming next two weeks. A good percentage could be of serious bidders and others would be voyeurs eager to observe an implosion of $$$$ art market. It’s now being years that collectors and media have been waiting for the day when prices would finally top. But this time auction houses are hopeful that time will take a toll and things will play out well as they did three months ago in London, when, in spite of global economic nausea, a Francis Bacon triptych painting fetched $51.6 million.

Some highlights of the upcoming auctions:

Artist: Francis Bacon

Artwork: “Three Studies for Self-Portrait,’’ Triptych 1976
Auction House: Christie’s
Ballpark Figure: $25 million and $35 million

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“Sunset over the Atlas Mountains,” a circa 1935 oil painting by Winston Churchill is all set to go under hammer during Bonhams New York auction in 23 April. This is one painting that Winston adored so much that he invited President Franklin D. Roosevelt to see it even after years later. This vivacious countryside depicting Churchill’s balcony at the Mamounia Hotel in Marrakech is anticipated to fetch $600,000. Churchill invited Roosevelt to travel with him to Marrakech after a conference in Casablanca in 1943 so he could experience the beautiful view for himself.

Via MSNBC

An elite painting by 20th Century French artist Fernand Leger is all set to undergo a hammer for $45 million at New York based Sotheby’s impressionist sale scheduled for 7 May. “Etude pour La Femme en Bleu” (1912-13) is a brew of arithmetical shapes hued in blue and white with intonations of pale yellow, red and black. The canvas dates back to the family compilation of German collector Hermann Lange, who purchased it from Galerie Neumann-Nierendorf in Berlin in 1920s. If this painting happened to fall near the expected sale i.e. $35-$45 million, then it would top the lot of the evening sale that would in total count to be $284 million. Leger’s earlier record was set in 2003 when his 1914 painting fetched him $22.4 million at Christie’s International in New York.

Via Bloomberg