Auction Thriller: Michael Crichton's Private Art Collection at Christie's

An encaustic Stars and Stripes painting entitled Flag made between 1960-1966 by U.S. artist Jasper Johns. From the private collection of late American author Michael Crichton. [Credit: AP/Lefteris Pitarakis]

LONDON — American author Michael Crichton was well-known for his best-selling novels and popular television shows, but he was also a private and passionate art collector. Crichton, the man behind Jurassic Park and ER, died of cancer in November 2008 at the age of 66. He left behind an impressive art collection of 20th century masterworks worth an estimated $32 million. The lot will be up for auction at Christie's New York on May 11.

Crichton's collection includes works by Pablo Picasso, Robert Rauschenberg, Roy Lichtenstein and Andy Warhol. Four of the pieces went on display at Christie's London on Friday and will be on view until February 12.

The star of the show is the iconic Flag of 1960-1966, one of a series of paintings by American Abstract Expressionist artist Jasper Johns. The piece once hung in Crichton's Beverly Hills bedroom and hasn't been seen publicly since he purchased it directly from the artist in 1974. Crichton was considered such an authority on Johns that the artist asked him to write the catalog for a 1977 retrospective. The last Johns flag painting sold at auction fetched $12.1 million in 1989.

"I never really cared whether a particular piece was major or minor, typical or atypical of the artist's work, or whether the artist was fully or thinly represented in my collection," Crichton wrote of his art collecting philosophy. "I just bought images that I enjoyed looking at."

[Source: AP]
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Auction Thriller: Michael Crichton's Private Art Collection at Christie's

What Recession? Giacometti Sets All Time Auction Record

Alberto Giacometti's bronze sculpture L'homme qui marche I set a new world record for fetching the highest price ever paid for a work of art at auction, selling for $104.3 million at Sotheby's on February 3. [Credit: AP/Anthony Devlin]

LONDON — After eight minutes of "fast and furious" bidding, a new world record was set at Sotheby's London on Wednesday. An anonymous phone buyer successfully outbid at least nine other potential collectors in the battle for a rare work of art by Swiss sculptor Alberto Giacometti. When it was all over, the once hushed room burst into applause.

The six-foot-tall Giacometti bronze sculpture L'homme qui marche I ("Walking Man I")  sold for a record $104.3 million - the highest price ever paid for a work of art at auction (including the buyer's premium cost). The hammer price achieved was roughly four times the Sotheby's pre-sale estimates. Pablo Picasso's Garcon a la Pipe (Boy With a Pipe), which fetched $104.2 million in 2004, previously held the record.

The life-size Giacometti sculpture was conceived in 1960 and cast a year later. The piece was sold by Commerzbank AG, which inherited the work when it took over Dresdner Bank in 2009.

Other highlights from the Sotheby's sale were Gustav Klimt's Church in Cassone (Landscape with Cypresses), which sold for $43.2 million; Paul Cézanne's Pichet et fruits sur une table, which went for $18.9 million; and Henri Matisse's Femme couchée, which fetched $7 million.

"We are thrilled to have sold these great works...and that they have been recognized for the masterpieces that they are," said Melanie Clore, co-chairman of Impressionist and Modern Art at the auction house.

[Source: Wall Street Journal]

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What Recession? Giacometti Sets All Time Auction Record

New Feature! Top ART News Headlines of the Day

Top ART News is launching a new feature today! Aren't you glad you stopped by?!

While sifting through all the most popular, most talked about art news stories on the web, the author of this blog finds so many interesting art news articles that she wants to share with readers. Unfortunately, due to time limitations (note: the author also has a full-time job and created Top ART News for fun in her spare time), she simply can't cover every story in full. So what to do?

Well, dear readers, starting today, in addition to featured articles, Top ART News will frequently post a summary list of the best art stories making internet headlines. (And feel free to share your suggestions via email or Twitter!)

Here we go...

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Top ART News Headlines for January 26, 2010

Art Attacks: From Vomiting on Mondrian to Elbowing a Picasso | Thus far, the week's most overwhelmingly popular art news story is the report of the art student who fell and tore into a Picasso at the Met. Of course, she wasn't the first person to cause major damage to a treasured work of art. From the gal who smeared lipstick across a Cy Twombly to the guy who attacked a Michelangelo with a hammer, check out these top ten art attacks. [The Independent]

A rendering of Mexico City's Soumaya Museum, funded by telecom magnate Carlos Slim and currently under construction. [Credit: Fernando Romero]

Mexico's Carlos Slim Builds a Dazzling Art Palace | MEXICO CITY — One of the world's richest tycoons, Carlos Slim, is building an 183,000 square-foot, 5-level art museum in Mexico City.  A telecom billionaire, Slim has amassed an impressive art collection of 66,000 pieces, which includes the second-largest private collection of sculptures by Auguste Rodin outside of France. The Soumaya Museum, scheduled to open in late 2010, was designed by Mexican architect Fernando Romero, who is coincidentally married to Slim's daughter. [BusinessWeek]

Baz Luhrmann to Paint a Mural on Mumbai Wall | INDIA — Australian screenwriter, producer and director of Moulin Rouge, Baz Luhrmann will be in Mumbai this week but not to shoot a movie - he'll be painting. Luhrmann has teamed up with artist and fellow Aussie Vincent Fantauzzo to paint a new dance-themed mural on a wall at Le Sutra art hotel. [LittleAbout.com]

The 350-year-old Klencke Atlas, recorded as the largest book in the world, will be displayed this summer. [Credit: British Library]

Largest Book in the World Goes on Show for the First Time | LONDON — Measuring 5x6-feet, the 350-year-old Klencke Atlas is recorded as the largest book in the world. For the first time ever, the giant tome will be on view with its pages open at the British Library this summer. The exhibition will show that prior to 1800, great maps were considered to be great works of art, displayed as prominently as paintings or sculptures in palaces and homes of the wealthy. [The Guardian]

A Cultural Agony in a Nation Where Art is Life | HAITI — A report on the damage to cultural treasures in the suffering Caribbean country, including the status of the Nader Art Gallery, the largest single collection of Haitian primitive art, and Port-au-Prince's main art museum. "Every Haitian is an artist. Art, it is us, it's what we are. Even our children are artists," one museum board member told reporters. [LA Times]

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New Feature! Top ART News Headlines of the Day

Oops! Museum Visitor's Fall Damages Rare Picasso

Pablo Picasso's Rose period painting "The Actor" (1904-1905) was accidentally damaged by a visitor to the Met on Friday, Jan. 22. [Credit: Metropolitan Museum of Art]

NEW YORK — It probably could've happened to any of us, so just be thankful it wasn't you! A visitor attending a class at the Metropolitan Museum Art on Friday afternoon lost her balance and fell directly onto a Pablo Picasso painting. And yes, the rare artwork was damaged in the process.

In a statement released Jan. 24, the Met said, "The accident resulted in an irregular vertical tear of about six inches in length in the lower right-hand corner. The painting was taken immediately to the Museum's paintings conservation studio for assessment and treatment. Fortunately, the damage did not occur in a focal point of the composition, and the curatorial and conservation staffs fully expect that the repair — which will take place in the coming weeks — will be unobtrusive."

The painting entitled The Actor was created in the winter of 1904-1905, during Picasso's famous Rose period, a time when the artist's palette consisted of cheerful orange and pink hues as opposed to the cool, somber tones of his previous Blue Period. The image of the costumed acrobat was painted on a nearly 6x4-foot canvas which Picasso had already used for another painting.

Museum officials expect to have The Actor restored in time to include the painting in their forthcoming exhibition Picasso in The Metropolitan Museum of Art, slated to open April 27.
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Oops! Museum Visitor's Fall Damages Rare Picasso

Alleged Con Sells Fake Picasso to Buy a Real De Kooning

A fabricated chalk drawing "La Femme au Chapeau Bleu" (1902) allegedly by Pablo Picasso was seized by the FBI. [Credit: FBI]

LOS ANGELES — An alleged con named Tatiana Khan could serve up to 45 years in federal prison for masterminding an art forgery scheme, according to a criminal complaint filed Jan. 7 by the FBI. Khan, the owner of the Chateau Allegré gallery in West Hollywood, is charged with paying an artist $1,000 to fabricate a 1902 Pablo Picasso pastel drawing entitled La Femme au Chapeau Bleu ("The Woman in the Blue Hat"); she then sold the piece to an unsuspecting art collector for $2 million.

The complaint maintains that Khan convinced an artist that the real Chapeau Bleu had been stolen from one of her clients and she needed a forgery drawn to be used in catching the thief. Khan later sold the fake for $2 million, by purportedly convincing an art collector that she was acting as a broker for the estate of late magazine publisher Malcolm Forbes. The art collector eventually contacted an expert who recognized the drawing as a copy.

The FBI reported that they also seized from Khan a painting by abstract expressionist artist Willem de Kooning, allegedly purchased with $720,000 of the proceeds derived from the sale of the fake Picasso drawing.
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Alleged Con Sells Fake Picasso to Buy a Real De Kooning

String of Art Thefts Hits Southern France

Thirty artworks were reported stolen from a private villa in La Cadiere d'Azur, France.

DRAGUIGNAN, FRANCE — Just days after a Degas pastel was reported stolen from the Cantini Museum of Marseille, another theft of artwork has occurred in the southern coastal town of La Cadiere d'Azur, France. The owner of a private villa was vacationing in Sweden at the time of the break-in but returned home after a caretaker reported the burglary. A preliminary inventory estimates around 30 artworks were taken, valued at a reported $1.4 million. The stolen collection includes pieces by Pablo Picasso and Henri Rousseau.

The medieval Provencal town of La Cadière d'Azur is a charming hilltop village surrounded by wooded hills of olive trees and famous vineyards. An investigation is being carried out by officials in nearby Marseille as well as by France’s Central Office for the Fight against Traffic in Cultural Goods. There is no indication that the two art crimes are linked.
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String of Art Thefts Hits Southern France

Police Seize Stash of Masterpieces Hidden by Disgraced Parma Dairy Owner

ROME —  The Italian police have recovered 19 masterpieces hidden in attics and basements of three apartments in the city of Parma. Valued at more than $149 million, the art stash belonged to Calisto Tanzi, the disgraced founder of the recently-collapsed dairy company, Parmalat Finanziaria SpA.

With the help of Tanzi’s relatives, the former billionaire was able to hide away an impressive trove of paintings by some of the world's most famous artists. On Saturday, police seized a pencil on paper portrait of a ballerina by Degas, two van Goghs, including a depiction of a trunk of a willow tree and a still life, a watercolor by Cezanne and a pencil-work by Modigliani. There was also a self-portrait by Italian rock star Ligabue and other masterpieces by Picasso, Monet and Manet.

Tanzi, who is currently on trial for fraud linked to Italy’s biggest bankruptcy, had previously lied to authorities by telling them he had no other assets. Police said that Tanzi was preparing to sell at least one painting. “We had some suspicions about a few individuals,” said Gerardo Laguardia, the Parma chief prosecutor. “We were able to tap their phones. We were lucky. We realized that there were negotiations to sell one of the paintings, the Monet.”

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Read More - Italy Police Seize Secret Stash of Masterpieces | AP

[Photo: Italian tax police officers hold a Giuseppe De Nittis painting, one of 19 masterpieces seized in Parma on Dec. 5, 2009. Courtesy AP Photo/Marco Vasini ]

Police Seize Stash of Masterpieces Hidden by Disgraced Parma Dairy Owner

Top ART News: Week In Review | Nov. 29 - Dec. 6

■ A Day With(out) Art | World AIDS Day 2009 | NEW YORK (11/29/09) — Tuesday, December 1 is World AIDS Day, dedicated to raising awareness of the AIDS pandemic caused by the spread of HIV infection. The theme for 2009 is "Universal Access and Human Rights" and people everywhere will be wearing red to show their support. Raising money, increasing awareness, fighting prejudice, and improving education are just some of the ways to observe the day; those in the art community will honor the annual A Day With(out) Art. More >

■ Medieval Times and Renaissance at a London Museum | LONDON (12/2/09) — A major unveiling took place in London on Wednesday as the Victoria and Albert Museum opened its doors to a new $53 million wing of remarkable treasures. Ten new galleries at the V&A feature more than 1,800 objects spanning the Middle Ages to the Renaissance eras. One of the collection highlights is five of Leonardo da Vinci's small notebooks (1487-1505) on permanent display for the first time. More >

■ Art Basel Miami Beach: Comfy Shoes Required | MIAMI BEACH (12/3/09) — An estimated 40,000 art enthusiasts, art collectors, artists, dealers, curators and critics will attend the eighth annual Art Basel Miami Beach, America's preeminent contemporary art fair. From December 3-6, the fair, held at Miami Beach Convention Center, will offer contemporary art and rare museum-caliber artworks. In the city known for its all-night parties, Art Basel Miami Beach always attracts its share of celebrities. So far, early sightings include Lenny Kravitz, Sylvester Stallone, Calvin Klein, Naomi Campbell and John McEnroe. More >

■ The Ten Most Popular Oil Paintings of 2009 | WICHITA, KS (12/5/09) — Quick! Think of an artist, any artist. Who did you think of? Pablo Picasso? Vincent van Gogh? Claude Monet? Many of you probably did. So it's not too surprising, then, that those three artists, along with Gustav Klimt, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Georgia O'Keefe and Wassily Kandinsky, were all listed in Overstock Art's Top 10 Oil Paintings rankings for 2009. More >

■ Mysterious Letters: Art Project or Mail Fraud? | PITTSBURGH (12/5/09) — "We intend to write to everyone in the world..." say artists Lenka Clayton and Michael Crowe on their website, Mysterious Letters. Last week, 620 residents of the Polish Hill community in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania received letters from Clayton and Crowe. But while some think the art project is an inspiration, others aren't so excited by it. More >

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Top ART News: Week In Review | Nov. 29 - Dec. 6

The Ten Most Popular Oil Paintings of 2009

WICHITA, KS — Quick! Think of an artist, any artist. Who did you think of? Pablo Picasso? Vincent van Gogh? Claude Monet? Many of you probably did. So it's not too surprising, then, that those three artists, along with Gustav Klimt, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Georgia O'Keefe and Wassily Kandinsky, were all listed in Overstock Art's Top 10 Oil Paintings rankings for 2009.

Each year, the online art gallery Overstock Art releases their Top 10 Oil Paintings list due to popular demand. “A lot of people want to know what’s selling best because it helps them stay up to speed with the latest trends and allows them to know which paintings are the hippest and most desirable on the market,” said overstockART.com CEO David Sasson. “In the business world especially, where image is everything, many companies strive to keep up with the latest interior décor trends to maintain a modern appeal that will impress customers and clients."

So which painting was most in demand this year? Of the 45,000 oil paintings (reproductions) sold by overstockArt.com in 2009, the most popular was...drumroll please...Vincent van Gogh's Starry Night. The popular painting reclaimed its title a year after Gustav Klimt's The Kiss snatched the title away. "Van Gogh consistently remains the most popular artist in the world, his total sales numbers have left everyone well behind," said Sasson.

The Top 10 Oil Paintings of 2009 according to Overstock Art are:

1) Vincent van Gogh "Starry Night"

2) Vincent van Gogh "Café Terrace at Night"

3) Gustav Klimt "The Kiss"

4) Claude Monet "Poppy Field at Argenteuil"

5) Pierre Auguste Renoir "Luncheon of the Boating Party"

6) Claude Monet "Garden Path at Giverny"

7) Pablo Picasso "The Rest"

8) Georgia O’Keeffe "Red Cannas"

9) Wassily Kandinsky "Farbstudie Quadrate (Color Study of Squares)"


10) Pablo Picasso "The Dream"

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The Ten Most Popular Oil Paintings of 2009

Top ART News: Week In Review | Nov. 22 - Nov. 29

■ Intrigued Art Collector Discovers Galileo's Relics | ROME (11/22/09) — Relics taken from the "Father of Modern Science," Galileo Galilei (1564-1642), have been rediscovered and will go on display sometime next spring.  Experts have examined the provenance of three items - two fingers and a tooth - found inside an 18th-century container and determined the specimens indeed belonged to Galileo... More >

 

■ Sex and the City's Kim Cattrall to Play Nude Diana in Titian Painting | EDINBURGH (11/23/09) — Actress Kim Cattrall, best known for her role as Samantha Jones on Sex and the City, announced that she will pose nude once again in the name of art. This is the second time the English-born Cattrall has volunteered her body to raise funds to keep classic Renaissance paintings on display in the U.K... More >

 

■ Study Shows Artists Remain Inspired Despite Recession Challenges | NEW YORK, NY (11/24/09) — The results of an art survey, released Tuesday, indicate that despite being hit hard by the economic recession, artists remain optimistic about their importance in society. In fact, 89% of those who participated in the Artists and Economic Recession Survey believe they play a special role in helping strengthen their communities during these tough times. 75% of those polled believe that overall this is an inspiring time to be in an artistic profession... More >

 

■ Giant Finger Painting Sets World Record | HONG KONG (11/27/09) — As American children were celebrating Thanksgiving on Thursday, around 3,300 students were setting a Guinness World Record in China. The children created a giant finger painting carrying the anti-drug slogan, "Not Now, Not Ever, Say No to Drugs"... More >

■ Surreal or Cubist? The Science of Objective Art Classification | KYOTO (11/28/09) — Have you ever wondered which characteristics of a painting classify it as a certain artistic genre? How do we know a Picasso piece conforms to the properties of Cubism, and what makes Dali art Surreal? Placing artwork into its proper genre is a pretty subjective task, but researchers in Japan are working to make the work of art historians a bit more scientific... More >

Top ART News: Week In Review | Nov. 22 - Nov. 29

Surreal or Cubist? The Science of Objective Art Classification

KYOTO — Have you ever wondered which characteristics of a painting classify it as a certain artistic genre? How do we know a Picasso piece conforms to the properties of Cubism, and what makes Dali art Surreal? Placing artwork into its proper genre is a pretty subjective task, but researchers in Japan are working to make the work of art historians a bit more scientific.

A study at Japan's ATR Computational Neuroscience Laboratories, led by Yukiyasu Kamitani, examined the patterns in brain activity of twelve students who were shown works of art by Pablo Picasso and Salvador Dali. Using an MRI, scientists identified certain brain patterns generated by the students that were unique to each artist. Students were then shown another set of paintings by the same artists.

Both sets of brain patterns were fed into a computer program to determine whether the first set of data could be used as a basis in identifying the genre of paintings viewed in the second set. The results: the program was correct 83% of the time among the six students who were art majors and 62% of the time among the others. The study indicates that the human brain has "abstract codes" for different artistic styles, codes which could soon be used to revolutionize art classification into a more objective process.

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Read More - Brain Scanner Can Tell a Dali from a Picasso | New Scientist
[Image: Salvador Dali, "Portrait of Picasso" (1947)]

Surreal or Cubist? The Science of Objective Art Classification

Le Cirque du Pompidou Is Coming to Town

PARIS — Move over Ringling Brothers, the "Pompidou Mobile" is coming to town! But there's no need to buy tickets - this circus will be free. And instead of a ringleader, animals and clowns, there will be a curator and fine art masterpieces.

Provided it can raise the estimated $4.43 million necessary, starting in late 2010, France's Pompidou Center will hit "la rue" with 10-15 paintings from its permanent collection. Picassos, Matisses and Calders will be displayed in a 10,700-sq. foot high-tech canvas-like structure being designed by architect Patrick Bouchain. Every few months the big top will pick up, clear out and move to a different French town, concentrating on rural regions and poor, crime-ridden suburbs. "It's about bringing art to the people to awaken their desire to go toward the art," the Pompidou's president, Alain Seban, said in a statement.

Museums collections travel all over the world for special exhibitions at other museums, that's nothing new. But bringing modern art to less fortunate areas, setting up a makeshift museum in a field or parking lot, and charging no entry fee - that's a pretty great concept.

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Read More — Art Under the Big Top: The Roving Pompidou | AP
[Photo: The Stravinsky Fountain outside the Centre Pompidou]

Le Cirque du Pompidou Is Coming to Town

Top ART News: Week In Review | Oct. 25 - Nov. 1

■ Garage Sale Picasso: Is a Two Dollar Purchase Worth 2 Million? | More >

■ Andy Warhol's King of Pop Portrait Enjoys Its "15 Minutes" | More >

■ Artists Hope Ice House Makes a Chilling Statement in Detroit | More >

■ The 82-Story MoMA Monster Is Coming to New York City | More >

■ The Guggenheim Museum Celebrates 50 Years | More >

■ Met Museum Repatriates the Naos Egyptian Artifact | More > 

■ Attention Mall Shoppers: World's Largest Mona Lisa On View | More >

■ A Night at the Museum: Guggenheim's First Annual Art Awards Ceremony | More >

Top ART News: Week In Review | Oct. 25 - Nov. 1

Garage Sale Picasso: Is a Two Dollar Purchase Worth Two Million?

SHREVEPORT -- Antique furniture, used clothing, old books...those are the typical garage sale offerings. Once in a while you even find an item worth bargaining for, and for just one dollar another person's trash becomes your treasure. For two dollars, you can have that painting in the cheap little frame, the one over there with the fake "Pablo Picasso" signature scribbled across the front of it.

That was the scenario at Edith Parker's garage sale - except in this case, the Picasso painting may be real. Parker, who resides in a Shreveport, Louisiana trailer park, inherited a pile of leftover junk from her recently deceased neighbor. She knew her neighbor was an art collector, but his family assured her the painting in the pile was just a fake. So Parker sold the item to Teisha McNeal for $2.

Most of us use the internet to find answers to our most curious questions; McNeal got home with her $2 purchase and curiously searched for it on the web. What she found led her to believe the painting was not only authentic, but stolen. While the FBI has since confirmed the work is not stolen, "They told me that it looks like an original," McNeal said in an interview.

Whether the painting is worth two dollars or two million remains to be seen, but maybe we'll all think twice before skipping out on our neighbor's next yard sale.

[Read More - Finding Art Treasure in the Trash | ABC News] 

* * * * * UPDATE * * * * *

10/29/2009 -- "Looks like an original" does not mean is an original. The Shreveport Times has reported that the $2 garage sale painting is NOT an authentic Picasso. "As far as we can tell, the painting does not appear to be an original," said Steve Hall, supervisory senior resident agent of the FBI's Shreveport office. "The dimensions of the print do not match the dimensions of the original Picasso painting."

The outcome isn't as surprising as it is disappointing. Still, you never really know what treasures you may find if you don't at least look...

[Read More - $2 Yard Sale Acquisition Spurs Frenzy of Calls | Shreveport Times] 
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Garage Sale Picasso: Is a Two Dollar Purchase Worth Two Million?

Contemporary Art Rendez-Vous at the FIAC in Paris

PARIS -- Art aficionados have gathered in "The City of Light" this week for the 36th annual FIAC ("Foire internationale d'art contemporain"), the most prestigious contemporary art fair in France. Following on the heels of London's Frieze Art Fair last week, Paris' FIAC is hoping to capitalize on the momentum of this year's reported upswing in art sales achieved at the Frieze. Despite 28 dealers and more than 40 galleries from last year not returning, FIAC 2009 will present over 200 exhibitors representing thousands of artists.

At FIAC's VIP preview on Wednesday night, Femme Ecrivant, a $24 million painting by Pablo Picasso of his mistress, Marie-Therese Walter, was put on reserve. Fine art by other modern masters such as Francis Bacon, Piet Mondrian and Fernand Leger, will also be up for bid. More than 65,000 visitors are expected to stroll the picturesque locations around the Tuileries Gardens, Grand Palais and the Louvre Museum, where the FIAC will display some of the world's finest modern masterworks.

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FIAC (Oct. 22 - 25, 2009) | Website
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[Read more - $24 Million Picasso Reserved as Arnault Joins Browsers at FIAC | Bloomberg]

Contemporary Art Rendez-Vous at the FIAC in Paris

Irving Penn, Celebrity Fashion Photographer (1917-2009)

This week, the fashion world mourned the loss of one of the 20th century’s most prolific and influential photographers; Irving Penn passed away on October 7th. His "signature blend of classical elegance and cool minimalism was recognizable to magazine readers and museum-goers worldwide," (New York Times, Oct. 8). Penn's famously striking photo of Pablo Picasso captured the artist peering apprehensively from beneath a wide-brimmed hat [above].

NEW YORK /EarthTimes/ -- US photographer Irving Penn, whose pioneering work blurred the line between fashion and art photography, has died at his Manhattan home at the age of 92, the New York Times reported Wednesday. Penn was a known for his blend of elegance and minimalism and his photographs included sensuous portraits of fashion icons like Marlene Dietrich, close-ups of cigarette butts and other street debris.

He was also known for his meticulous photographs of indigenous people around the world, and his work was shown at major galleries including the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the National Gallery of Art in Washington DC.

His series of more than 250 photos of butchers, bakers and others in The Small Trades was acquired by Los Angeles' J. Paul Getty Museum in 2008 and is on display until January 2010.

Called a "grand master of American fashion" by the Los Angeles Times, Penn was born in 1917 and started contributing to Vogue magazine in 1943. He was married to his favorite model Lisa Fonssagrives from 1950 to her death in 1992 and is the brother of film director Arthur Penn.

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Read More -
US Photographer Irving Penn Dies | EarthTimes
Parting Glance: Irving Penn (photo slideshow) | Lens Blog - NYTimes.com

Irving Penn, Celebrity Fashion Photographer (1917-2009)