«I LIKE MONEY ON THE WALL»

Film star Brad Pitt was among thousands of VIPs who attended the exclusive opening preview of Art Basel, the contemporary art fair, this week. Sporting a beige cap and Aviator sunglasses, Pitt quickly snapped up “Etappe” (1998), a painting by the Leipzig School artist Neo Rauch, from Zwirner gallery for just under $1m...Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich, who owns Chelsea football club, was circling Warhol’s “Big Retrospective Painting” (1979), a gigantic silkscreen almost 11m long, featuring Warhol themes such as Marilyn Monroe, Campbell soup cans and colourful flowers. The sole work of art on the Bischofberger stand, the Warhol was tagged at about $74m, a “competitive price”, according to Bruno Bischofberger, who said it would have been “much higher” a year ago. Trade sources indicated that the work had last sold for about $80m four years ago.

-Financial Times
June 13 2009