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BRIT-PACK ARTISTS ACHIEVE $2.6 MILLION

(with one photo)

LONDON, ENGLAND -- A landmark sale of contemporary art at Christie's on

December 8 saw works from the collection assembled by Charles Saatchi realize

$2,638,824. Over 90 percent of the sale was sold by value (85 percent by lot).

Auction record prices were set for a host of Contemporary artists including

Rachel Whiteread, Thomas Schutte, Cindy Sherman, Sarah Lucas, 1998 Turner

prize winner Chris Ofili, and Damien Hirst, among others.

All proceeds of the sale will go to create bursaries for young artists at four

of London's schools of art: Chelsea, Goldsmiths', The Royal College, and The

Slade as well as a Young Artists' Sponsorship Bursary to support artists'

projects and commissions.

Amid a standing room only crowd that packed the sale room in a disused

warehouse in Clerkenwell, London, lot after lot was sold to private collectors

and members of the Contemporary art trade.

Among the most outstanding were those achieved for Rachel Whiteread, Thomas

Schutte, Cindy Sherman, Sarah Lucas, Chris Ofili, and Damien Hirst among many

others.

Top prices were realized for works by Thomas Schutte whose two metres high,

aluminum cast figures entitled "Grosse Geister," sold for œ139,000 against a

pre-sale estimate of œ80/120,000.

"The Lovers (Spontaneous, Committed, Detached, Compromising)" by Damien Hirst,

four cabinets measuring over five feet each, contained assorted jars of

internal organs from two cows, was the most significant of the artist's series

of animals in formaldehyde to have appeared at auction. It sold for œ139,000

well ahead of pre-sale estimates, becoming the second most expensive work by

the artist sold at auction.

Rachel Whiteread's "Untitled (Square Sink)" (est œ40/50,000), one of the

artist's best-known works sold for œ133,500, again setting an auction record

for the artist and Damien Hirst's "Acctic Anhydride" one of the artist's

`spot' paintings sold for œ122,500, six times its pre-sale estimate and a

record for a painting by the artist.

Other record prices were achieved for the 1998 Turner prize winner Chris Ofili

whose work "Them bones" realized œ21,850 and a color photograph, "Untitled No

122 (Angry Blond)" by the American artist Cindy Sherman, sold for œ87,300. The

first mature work at auction by British artist Jenny Saville realized œ51,750,

well ahead of its pre-sale estimate of œ10/15,000.

After the sale, the Saatchi Gallery said "Christie's has done a wonderful job

and produced an interesting exhibition and catalogue which captured people's

imagination. We are pleased to see that the art has done well as this will

enable us to extend and broaden the bursaries."

Graham Southern followed, "This was a unique initiative and one that truly

establishes Charles Saatchi as one of the leading patrons of Contemporary art

this country has ever seen. The proceeds of the 130 artworks offered in this

sale will go in their entirety to create a Young Artists' Sponsorship Bursary

to support artists' projects and commissions, and Scholarship Bursaries to be

awarded to four London art schools: Chelsea, Goldsmiths', The Royal College

and The Slade. This was a landmark event for the Contemporary Art scene across

the world."

The Scholarship Bursaries will be applied to four London art schools which are

among Charles Saatchi's favorites and with whom he has had long standing

contact. It is intended that these Scholarship Bursaries will be awarded on a

regular basis and reviewed annually.

The majority of the 97 artists represented in the sale have a large number of

works in the Saatchi collection and are still being actively acquired by

Charles Saatchi. In the run up to the sale Charles Saatchi acquired further

works by Ron Mueck, Damien Hirst, Jenny Saville, Chris Ofili, Jason Martin,

Nicky Hoberman, Garry Hume and others.

DUTCH PAINTING AT NATHAN

MANCHESTER, VT. -- The Eric Nathan Auction Company, Inc., conducted a November

22 sale which attracted a standing-room-only crowd.

The event was highlighted by a Nineteenth Century Dutch marine scene by

Lodewijk Johannes Kleijn, which attracted a lot of pre-sale attention. Five

telephone bidders, including three from Europe, lost to a participant on the

floor who offered $23,650.

A ten-inch Steif clown bear fetched $5,280; a Federal period bow front

sideboard realized $9,350; and a carved English mahogany library table reached

$2,090.

Notable prices for carpets were $2,420 for a 1950s 11 by 16 Kashan, and $1,320

for a primitive Caucasian.

Nathan conducts periodic auctions in the Manchester and Dorset areas. For

information, 802/362-3194.

SANDY SMITHS WORKS ON PAPER SET 12/10

NEW YORK CITY -- The 11th annual Works on Paper with 90 international dealers

exhibiting watercolors, fine prints, photography, drawings, posters, and

illustrated books from Old Master to Contemporary, will open with a preview on

Wednesday, March 3, and continue through Sunday, March 7, at the Park Avenue

Armory, Park Avenue and 67th Street.

Admission to the preview is $35, and includes a catalogue and one readmission

to the show.

Among the exhibitors showing Old Master drawings and prints will be Colnaghi,

London, Galerie de Loes, Geneva, Switzerland; Jorg Maass Kunsthandel, Berlin,

Germany; and Hill-Stone, New York. Exhibitors showing contemporary art will be

Pratt Contemporary Art, Sevenoaks, Kent, England; Forum Gallery, New York and

Ledbetter Lusk Gallery, Memphis, Tenn.

Poster dealers will include Mark Weinbaum, New York and Nicolas Bailly, New

York. Japanese art can be found at Tobai International, Chicago, Herbert

Egenolf, Venice, Calif. and Dusseldorf, Germany; and the Verne Collection,

Cleveland, Ohio. James Cummins, New York and Antiquariat Reinhold Berg,

Berlin, Germany, will feature illustrated books.

The show will again include photography dealers such as Bonnie Benrubi

Gallery, New York; Robert Klein Gallery, Boston, Mass.; Peter Fetterman, Santa

Monica, Calif; A Gallery for Fine Photography, New Orleans, La.; The Halsted

Gallery, Birmingham, Mich.; The Platinum Gallery, New York; Winter Works on

Paper, New York; Glen Spellman, New York; Charles Schwartz, New York; and

Andrew Smith Gallery, Santa Fe, N.M.

Show hours are Thursday and Friday, noon to 9 pm; Saturday, 11 am to 7 pm; and

Sunday, noon to 7 pm. Daily admission is $12; a three day pass is $25. The

Armory is wheelchair accessible. For group rates and tours, 212/777-5218.