Les enchères sont ouvertes

The eccentric Polish artist Tamara de Lempicka counts Madonna among her fans. But will the stars turn out for a sale of de Lempicka’s work in New York? In London, one of JMW Turner’s greatest painting masterpieces goes under the hammer. A 1930’s sportscar that every bachelor desired is sold at Blenheim Palace, while Paris sees an auction of unique images by photographer Jeanloup Sieff.

A limestone carved head by the tragic sculptor Amadeo Modigliani is up for sale in Paris. It is estimated at six million euros, but certain art experts expect it to fetch much more. But will it make that much? In London, the art of travel goes under the auctioneer’s hammer, a rare violin is estimated at half a million and Earl Spencer clears out his stately home in the yard sale of the century.

A grand silver wine cistern is the headline lot in a sale of exquisite ‘treasures’ in London. Elsewhere, Princess Diana’s black dress, discovered by its designer in a trash bag, gets the bidders excited. American radios from the 1930s spark interest from collectors and, in Paris, the art collection of Ambroise Vollard is sent to auction 70 years after it was locked in a bank vault and forgotten.

In London, the entire contents of one man’s apartment, designed to replicate an 18th century period piece, are offered up for sale. Elsewhere, an Irish nobleman decides to sell off some of the family silver to keep his castle wind and watertight. And, in Paris, a bicycle made in 1941 by a hero of the French resistance fetches a record price.

The cars are the stars in a sale of classic automobiles at the Goodwood Festival of Speed. They include an immaculate pre-war Bentley, dubbed the ‘Silent Sportscar’. In London, twentieth century British art goes under the hammer featuring a painting by Winston Churchill and a little-known work by the artist Lowry, bought in 1946 for $35. But what will it fetch today?

Would you pay over £30,000 for a handbag? Some people will, especially if it’s connected to the actress Grace Kelly. The splendor of Venice comes to London in the sale of a collection amassed from the palazzos of La Serenissima. In Connecticut, all eyes are on the yellow Rolls Royce which Robert Redford drove in The Great Gatsby. But what will a collector pay for this star of the silver screen?