"It's not that the younger clients are purchasing the new photographers--we have stable collectors going after fresh new talent," said Vanessa Kramer, worldwide director of photographs at Phillips. "The price point is more accessible--you can buy a really important photograph for $3,000."

In a shift in taste, the photographers who sold well often seemed to feature either striking, ethereal imagery or wildlife themes. Dutch photographer Erwin Olaf specializes in sleek, lonely interior scenes (think Edward Hopper meets Apple). He sold three of five works for sale--impressive for a basically unknown name. His Grief, Troy, an image of a man leaning against a window in despair, brought in $11,500, well above the high estimate of $7,000. And the price of a single work offered by artist Dash Snow, who died tragically in 2009 of a heroin overdose, also soared.

All told, the three auctioneers sold about four out of every five works offered and raised more than $16 million. (The biggest prices were made by classic photographers; Christie's got $80,500 for a 1950 Irving Penn, for example.) The totals were at least half a million dollars higher than last year at every house, though Philips de Pury, which specializes in more contemporary photography, showed the most improvement.

Wildlife and fashion photographer Peter Beard was a breakout star. Born in 1938, he's far from a newbie, but "he's getting stronger and stronger. This is just the beginning for him," said Phillips' chairman, Simon de Pury. Mr. Beard's works brought in a total of almost $950,000 to the three houses last week.

But British photographer Adam Fuss, who had work added to the collections of the Israel Museum and the Whitney Museum of American Art a few years ago, didn't make a splash. One Fuss piece, Woman Weeping From My Ghost, returned to Phillips for the second time since 2009--but now with an estimate $2,000 lower. (It went for $11,250, just above the low estimate.) The New York-based artist and former waiter at the Metropolitan Museum of Art specializes in carefully constructed photograms. Several of his works sold at the low end of their estimates, and two were passed over entirely "We don't have to offer work again--we'll only do it if we think it's important," said Ms. Kramer. German photographer Loretta Lux also didn't sell strongly. The artist, who specializes in dreamlike, creepy images of children, was regularly selling at auction in excess of $30,000 five years ago.

Photographs by Ms. Neshat, known for her provocative images of Muslim women and a superstar within the art world, performed unevenly. Perhaps it was too much of a good thing. Sotheby's sold one Neshat a few thousand dollars over estimate--Rebellious Silence (1994) sold for $18,750--but Phillips, who had several, had mixed results. "One thing that you need to be careful [of] with recent work is having too much of it on the market," said Christopher Mahoney of Sotheby's. "It undermines people's assurance of the specialness of the material."

British filmmaker-turned-wildlife photographer Nick Brandt, relatively new to auctions, saw both of his works up for sale bring well over their high estimates. Mr. Brandt filmed Michael Jackson's "Earth Song" music video in Kenya, and now works in East Africa. His Elephant with Exploding Dust, a majestic black-and-while image, sold for $59,375, well above the presale estimate of $35,000.

editorial@observer.com

Tyson, a former card shark himself, famously won more money betting he would win the Turner Prize in 2002 than he ended up receiving in actual prize money. The Observer caught up with Tyson and gallery director Marc Glimcher at the opening of the exhibition to find out why the back of a playing card might be more interesting than the front. 52 Variables closes Feb. 4.

Keith Tyson @ Pace Gallery from The New York Observer on Vimeo.

Produced by Amir Shoucri, Elyse Mickalonis, and Julia Halperin

MoMA announced this morning that it has acquired a complete version of the film—both its original 13-minute version and a 7-minute excerpt made by the artist. With the purchase, MoMA seems to be sending a pointed political message to the Smithsonian, which took down the video after pressure from the Catholic League and Congressional Republicans.

But MoMA didn't just purchase the video. In what is more like a middle finger than a finger wagging to the Washington institution, the museum announced the work would go on view—today—in its massive Contemporary Art from the Collection exhibition. (New acquisitions are rarely displayed immediately.) The video will join a group of other art works made, like A Fire in My Belly, during the AIDS crisis in the late 80s and early 90s.  

In a statement, MoMA called the late Wojnarowicz "one of the most influential artists to have emerged from New York in the 1980s." A Fire in My Belly will be the 13th Wojnarowicz work to join its collection.

MoMA's acquisition will certainly frustrate those who hoped to limit the video's viewership. MoMA serves a much larger volume of visitors than the National Portrait Gallery, where the video was originally on view.

A spokesperson for Representative Eric Cantor once called the video, which features ants crawling on a crucifix, "an outrageous use of taxpayer money and an obvious attempt to offend Christians during the Christmas season." But while the Smithsonian exhibition closes in February, the offending work will now be on view for Easter, too. MoMA's exhibition runs through May 11.

David Wojnarowicz "A Fire in My Belly" - Smithsonian, National Portrait Gallery Edit from ppow_gallery on Vimeo.

Connections, the museum's newest online initiative, launched today. The institution's shiny new digital media department invited conservators, curators, executives, and other staff to discuss how certain works of art in the collection relate to a particular theme or personal passion. The interviews—played over a slideshow of images—will be presented in weekly, four-minute episodes throughout the year.

Connections is the latest in a long line of "new media" projects aimed at making New York museums appear less elitist and more hip and accessible. (MoMA recently released its very own iPad app.)

Connections seeks to capture staffers' personal relationships to works at the museum. "These journeys through the collection are not driven so much by art history as by broad, often personal themes," MET Director Thomas P. Campbell said in a statement. (Museum curators: they're just like us!)

Topics of the first four episodes range from why one curator thinks maps are interesting ("Is it about grasping the world in a single glance or is it about setting off on a journey? It's a little of both") to a painting conservator's affection for technical virtuosity ("It's like a virtuoso musical performance where the ability to throw in that extra at the right moment turns the painting into poetry"). Upcoming episodes unpack pesky arty dichotomies like the colors black and white and the ideal man and woman.

On Monday, Saltz began soliciting blizzard photos on his Facebook page, which would be uninteresting except that some of the photos are quite good and Saltz seems to be leaving comments on most of them.

Most of the people posting photos are emerging artists—many have New York representation but aren't particularly famous. Julie Harvey, whose work has been displayed at the Museum of Modern Art's research center, submitted a photo of a Virginia marina covered with snow. ("Beeyouteefull," commented Saltz.) Jon Rappleye, who participated in PS1's studio visit program and has shown at Invisible Exports and the Wassaic Project, posted a photo of the view from his studio in Jersey City. "Gooood one," said Saltz. (Wonder if that qualifies as an official Saltz rave?)

Although the critic had pledged to take a break from the old FB until after New Year's, it seems he can't help but comment on particularly good shots.  And the photos keep on coming. Who ever said artists weren't good at networking?

Shock-jock artist Damien Hirst is notorious for his 2007 sculpture “For the Love of God,” a human skull cast entirely of diamonds which he tried (unsuccessfully) to sell for £50 million.

Now, he’s at it again. Perhaps out of deference to leaner times, however, Hirst’s new version is smaller. His cast of an infant’s skull—made with platinum and pavé and set with pink and white diamonds—will be the centerpiece of Gagosian Hong Kong’s inaugural exhibition, according to The Art Newspaper.

TAN reports that Science Ltd, Hirst's main art-producing company, declined to comment on the price of the new work at this time. But bargain hunters, stay alert: a smaller skull probably means a smaller price tag.

(via Artinfo)

The nearly 10-foot-tall poster, by the well-known Belgian poster designer Henri Privat-Livemont, depicts a beautiful (and quite curvy) woman swathed in a transparent gossamer veil and holding up a tambourine. "Rajah," the name of a popular turn-of-the-century Belgian coffee and tea company, is emblazoned across the top.

In the last few decades of the 19th century, Privat-Livemont did several posters for Rajah, and also for absinthe distributors, theaters and casinos. But copies of this particular one, and historical information about it, are scarce. Other than a single image of it in the December 1990 issue of The Poster, it has rarely been reproduced and has never been included any exhibition or bibliography on the artist. The model is also not known.

There's speculation that it was originally designed for the Belgian Pavilion at the 1900 Exposition Universelle in Paris, but there are no records, said Nicholas Lowry, president of Swann and its poster specialist.  Mr. Lowry said he last saw a copy--titled Rajah--up for sale 30 years ago. "Perhaps they didn't survive because they were so big," he said. "You can keep 1,000 stamps in a book, but with 1,000 posters, you're talking about an entire room in your house."

The image, somewhat racy for it's time, was a hit a century ago. British art critic Edgar Wenlock wrote in 1900 that a discussion of Belgian art was not complete without Livemont's "huge poster of 'Rajah Teas and Coffees.'" He said of the work: "The whole forms a glowing and insistent mass of colour." Swann's copy, grade "B," is relatively well preserved, with slight creases and abrasions and repaired tears and other fixes, said Mr. Lowry. The presale price estimate is $12,000 to $18,000.

Those who don't have the space or the funds for the Rajah can turn to the more affordable examples by other preeminent draftsmen of the era, including posters by "the father of the modern poster" Jules Cheret. Hugely popular in his lifetime, the artist's lithesome, carefree French girls, spotted on walls all over Paris, were called "Cherettes."

At Swann, Mr. Cheret's poster for the operetta "La Cigale Madrilene" has a low estimate of $800. Several other large-scale Cheret images are for sale in the $400-to-$4,000 range.

At the launch party, Johnson invited 10 NYC bands to incorporate the album into their live music; audience members included performance artist Nate Hill (in a trademark white sailor outfit) and former Bravo Work of Art contestant Judith Braun. "I don't think too many people are going to be listening to the album all the way through," said Johnson. "It's difficult listening."

"The Sound of Art" Record Release @ Santos Party House from The New York Observer on Vimeo.

Produced by Amir Shoucri and Julia Halperin

According to Artinfo.com, the heiress and girlfriend of Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich will open a satellite of her Moscow Garage Center for Contemporary Culture on Abramovich's New Holland development, an 18-acre former military base near St. Petersberg for which he won a tender last week. The project's estimated date of completion? 2017. 

The Observer reported last week on Abramovich's recent purchase of the development and the rumor that the island might become home to a museum devoted to Abramovich's fast-growing art collection.

The original proposal for New Holland included plans for offices, galleries, apartments, a hotel. Looks like those galleries will have some high profile company!

The original Moscow GCCC earned insta-cred with its high-profile opening party in 2007, which featured a performance by Lady Gaga and boasted Jeff Koons, Larry Gagosian, and top-tier collectors Ronald Lauder and Steven A. Cohen as guests. Although there was speculation that Moscow's GCCC might close after its lease expired next year, Zhukova recently dispelled the rumors by releasing a 2011 schedule for the space. The program, according to Artinfo, includes a survey of New York art called "New York Minute" and a photography show called "Cuba and the Revolution."

Abramovich's spokesman John Mann declined to comment on the possibility of a museum or offer additional information on Zhukova's new GCCC branch.

The investment company of art collector and Russian businessman Roman Abramovich has won a tender for New Holland, an 18-acre, long-derelict island adjacent to St. Petersburg. Mr. Abramovich, 41, won't technically own the island, a former military base, but he has committed to invest at least 12 billion rubles (almost $400 million) into "restoring the historic buildings on the island as well as some new construction," said Mr. Abramovich's spokesman, John Mann. The proposal includes space for offices, apartments, a hotel and art galleries.

The project is huge, but the profile of the billionaire (and Chelsea soccer team owner) is already so considerable in Russia that Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin called on him earlier this week to help finance a 2018 World Cup bid in Russia. A memo also appeared on WikiLeaks recently that linked the two men's finances. But that's not what's got the art lovers excited.

Art dealers who've done business with Mr. Abramovich said the New Holland development might include a museum--one where his fast-growing art collection could make a public appearance. Such rumors are delighting art-market players, since the pressure and challenge of building a world-class museum would likely keep the billionaire buying at the top of the market--his purchases have often set artists' records.

"At the moment, we're just getting started" with the project, said Mr. Mann, who declined to confirm plans for a museum. "The next step is to hold a contest for architects to come up with the master plan."

Mr. Abromavich, whose net worth is estimated at $11.2 billion, emerged as a force on the auction circuit about five years ago. In two days in 2008, he spent $120 million at Christie's and Sotheby's. Prizes included a painting by Lucian Freud--still the most expensive work by a living artist ever sold--and a Francis Bacon triptych, a record also for that artist.

Many attribute his new lust for art to his girlfriend, Dasha Zhukova, 29, recently spotted shopping at Art Basel Miami Beach, where she co-hosted a dinner with Larry Gagosian and Wendi Murdoch. She began dating Mr. Abramovich around 2006. A son, the youngest of Mr. Abramovich's six children, was born last year.  The big-eyed, brown-haired beauty is on the board of trustees at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art and, in 2008, founded the Garage Center for Contemporary Culture in Moscow.

The Garage was partially funded by Mr. Abramovich, though additional funds came from private donations and corporate sponsorship. (Ms. Zhukova is independently wealthy.) The opening party featured a performance by Lady Gaga and boasted Ronald Lauder, Steven A. Cohen (collectors Mr. Abramovich has sometimes outbid at auction), Jeff Koons and Mr. Gagosian as guests. The fact that the GCCC does not intend to have a permanent collection has fueled speculation that the pair might be looking for a place to display their personal holdings.

But art lovers won't be invited to any opening for some time. The entire construction project, said Mr. Mann, will take an estimated seven years to complete.