Falsely Attributed Leonard da Vinci Fetches $1.5 Million

Top ART News Headlines for Thursday, January 28, 2010

La Belle Ferronniere was once attributed to Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519); the artist is currently listed as unknown.

Leonardo Pronounced as Fake Fetches $1.5 Million | NEW YORK — Even if for a little while, merely brushing elbows with an Old Master evidently has some value. The "after" Leonardo da Vinci painting known as La Belle Ferronniere sold for $1.5 million on Thursday, exceeding Sotheby's pre-auction estimates of $300,000-$500,000. The portrait was once thought to be a da Vinci and became the subject of a scandalous 1929 trial over attribution. In 1993, a da Vinci specialist ultimately ruled that the oil painting was executed in the mid-17th century, well after the master's death. [Source: AFP]

Seven-Year-Old Prodigy May Be the Next Picasso |  ENGLAND — Kieron Williamson has a waiting list of hundreds requesting commissions, he recently sold 16 paintings for $29,280 in 14 minutes -- and he's only seven-years-old! The boy from Holt, a small town in England, works in pastels, watercolors and oils to create paintings inspired by the local landscape. Williamson's artistic talents are already being compared to those of Pablo Picasso, who was himself recognized as a child prodigy. [Source: Reuters]

Candy shop co-owner Nick Adlam poses with a portrait of the Queen made from over 10,000 jelly beans. [Credit: Times Online]

Sweet Portrait of the Queen | ENGLAND — A sweet portrait of Queen Elizabeth II has gone on display at Fizziwigg's candy shop in East Sussex, England. San Fransisco-based artist Roger Rucha created the 4-foot-high mosaic entirely out of Jelly Belly jelly beans - over 10,000 of them. In 2008, the artist gave George Clooney the Jelly Belly "treat"ment; the portrait of the actor was later auctioned off for charity. [Source: The Press Association]

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Falsely Attributed Leonard da Vinci Fetches $1.5 Million