Top Ten Art Auction Sales of 2009

With only a couple of days remaining in 2009, writers everywhere are compiling all sorts of Top Rankings for the past year, spanning categories from music to movies to art.

This week, Bloomberg published a list of the Top 10 art auction sales for 2009. And although the economy took a turn for the worse this year, these million dollar sales give hope to an already struggling art market.

The Top 10 Art Auction Sales of 2009 (in descending order):

1) Raphael, "Head of a Muse" (1508-11), chalk drawing on paper.

Sold Dec. 8 at Christies, London - $47.6 million.

2) Henri Matisse, "Les coucous, tapis bleu et rose" (1911), oil painting on canvas.
Sold Feb. 23 at Christie's, Paris - $45.6 million.


3) Andy Warhol, "200 One Dollar Bills" (1962), silkscreen ink and pencil on canvas.
Sold Nov. 11 at Sotheby's, New York - $43.8 million.

4) Constantin Brancusi, "Madame L.R. (Portrait de Mme L.R.)" (1914-17), sculpture on wood.
Sold Feb. 23 at Christie's, Paris - $37.1 million.


5) Rembrandt van Rijn, "Portrait of a Man with Arms Akimbo" (1658), oil painting on canvas.
Sold Dec. 8 at Christie's, London - $32.9 million.


6) Eileen Gray, "Fauteuil aux Dragons" (1917-19), sculpted wood armchair upholstered in leather.
Sold Feb. 24 at Christie's, Paris - $28.1 million.

7) Piet Mondrian, "Composition avec bleu, rouge, jaune et noir" (1922), oil painting on canvas.
Sold Feb. 23 at Christie's, Paris - $27.4 million.

8) Wu Bin, "Eighteen Arhats" (1615), hand scroll in ink and color on paper.
Sold Nov. 24 at Poly International Auction Co., Beijing - $25 million.

9) Alberto Giacometti, "L'homme qui chavire" (1950), painted sculpture in bronze.
Sold Nov. 4 at Sotheby's, New York - $19.4 million.

10) Edgar Degas, "Petite danseuse de quatorze ans" (1881), sculpture in bronze.
Sold Feb. 3 at Sotheby's, London - $19.2 million.

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Top Ten Art Auction Sales of 2009

Two Old Masters Set Auction Records in London

LONDON — An auction Tuesday night in London earned the largest recorded total at a sale of its kind. Artists Raphael and Rembrandt were the stars of the Christie's Old Masters and 19th Century Sale, which fetched an impressive $112.4 million.

Raphael's drawing Head of a Muse sold for double its pre-sale estimate, earning a winning bid of $47.5 million. That figure established a record, making the work the most valuable drawing ever sold at auction and the second highest price ever paid for an Old Master painting or drawing. The 16th century work was done as a study for one of the artist's frescoes in the Vatican.

Rembrandt's painting Portrait of a Man, Half-Length, with his Arms Akimbo also fetched a record price for the artist and was the fifth highest price paid at auction for an Old Master painting or drawing, selling for $33.2 million. The 17th century piece was previously part of a private collection, and until Tuesday, had not been seen in public for forty years.

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[Images: Left - Raphael, "Head of a Muse" (1508-11). | Right - Rembrandt, "Portrait of a Man with Arms Akimbo" (1658).]

Two Old Masters Set Auction Records in London

Met Museum Tells Visitors to Please Touch the Paintings

The Onion, a tabloid newspaper known for intentionally inaccurate reporting, recently published a satirical article that had the art world chuckling (and made those unfamiliar with The Onion, really confused). In these tough economic times, many art museums are struggling for patrons, but the Metropolitan Museum of Art has devised a new strategy to attract more visitors.

NEW YORK /TheOnion/ — Hoping to boost attendance and broaden its base of supporters, the Metropolitan Museum of Art launched a new initiative this week that allows patrons, for the first time ever, to prod and scratch at the classic paintings in its revered collection.

Prod and scratch the classic paintings? Imagine! The Met's Director, Thomas P. Campbell is quoted as saying this behavior is encouraged:

"Please, bring the whole family and smudge up our paintings as much as you want."

It seems the response from the community has been overwhelmingly positive. 

Gerard Schmidt, a retired banker who lives near the Met, said he had never much cared for museums until he was given the chance to manhandle one of Monet's Water Lilies. "At first it just looked like a picture of a bunch of lily pads, but then I started scraping at it with my pocket knife and the whole painting just sort of spoke to me," Schmidt said. "For the first time, I finally understand what Monet was trying to get across in her work."

 In her work! The story continues...

Art students also took advantage of the Met's relaxed rules, with many photocopying Cézanne canvasses or trying to gain insight into Rembrandt's techniques by tracing over Aristotle With A Bust Of Homer with soft pencils and charcoal.

Museum officials confirmed that many new visitors have given donations to the museum to get special member benefits, such as being allowed to remove works of art from the walls and sit down with them while enjoying food or drinks in the café.

And what do other museums think of the Met's success? They're anxiously experimenting with their own new initiatives.

The Guggenheim Museum now allows customers to swing from its Calder mobiles, while the American Museum of Natural History has begun charging $2 to ride atop its famed brontosaurus skeleton.

So how will the Met follow up on their new found success? Director Campbell explains:

"Next year we're going to let people grab any masterpiece they like and just take a shit on it."

If you think something stinks about this story just remind yourself - it's only The Onion.

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[Read More - Struggling Museum Now Allowing Patrons To Touch Paintings | The Onion]

Met Museum Tells Visitors to Please Touch the Paintings