master forgery: fake Bugatti Type 51 fetches £250,000

“this is a very skilfully executed replica of a 1931 bugatti which won the casablanca grand prix”. the copy of a bugatti type 51 had been lying unused in a garage in hartlebury, worcestershire for nine years. the car had been owned by car enthusiast alan riley, who believed it to be the original bugatti driven by count stanislas czaykowski in races in the 1930s, but the car was recently examined by david sewell, a bugatti expert, who decided it was a replica made using a mixture of genuine and reproduction parts, including some from the czaykowski vehicle. despite this, the car fetched £250,000 at an auction… an original would have been worth over £2,000,000. fortunately, admiring it is for free. by dd

Mon petit ami: Bonnie and Clyde guns up for auction

bonnie and clyde’s guns are finally up for sale. for the life of me, i can’t find out how such personal property as bonnie’s make up bag has made it to an auction, and who is actually pocketing the funds off of the death of the notorious gangsters. that being said, parker’s colt detective special .38 revolver and clyde barrow’s 1911 army colt .45 pistol, are the two that will steal the show. both of which have estimated $150,000 to $300,000 (£93,000 to £185,000) price tags.

retired history professor ER milner says it is clear why the couple is still so intriguing. “americans and, i think, most people love a lover… and here were these young people in the midst of the worst depression in the history of the world striking a blow for what they thought was right – and loving one another. it was almost a shakespearean tragedy on a dusty road in louisiana.” well that is especially true today of bank robbers since we have lost all our sympathy for any poor old bank. the irony of it all is that the guns will probably be purchased by some banker after all. by dd

Notations: contemporary drawing as idea and process

figure 1. richard serra, ‘titled arc,’ 1986. oil crayon on paper, 19 x 24 1/2 inches.

figure 2. hadi tabatabai, df-29, 2007. colored pencil with acrylic and vinyl paints on .005 drafting film, 12 x 11 inches.

figure 1. sol lewitt, three-part variations on three different kinds of cubes 331, 1967. ink and graphite on paper, 11 3/4 x 23 3/4 inches.

william anastasi, untitled (subway drawing), 2009. graphite on paper, 8 x 11 1/2 inches.

it is through drawing that artists open their field for imaginative elaboration, in which concepts and ideas can emerge and change with relative ease. notations: contemporary drawing as idea and process brings together over sixty works by thirty-nine artists from the postwar decade to today. they include carl andre, mel bochner, dan flavin, eva hesse, nancy holt, william anastasi, sol lewitt, agnes martin, richard serra, hadi tabatabi, and robert smithson, among many others. if you get a chance to stop by st. louis during september-january  don’t miss this show at the kemper art museum, garen gallery.  by cp