In Tribeca Snowstorm, Parker Posey Makes Us Melt

Last night, Parker Posey said she had a cold.

“Can you tell?” the actress asked in an earnest tone. No, we assured her. And it was true. Considering the flight of otherwise red-faced, smooshy-coiffed guests who had just braved a blizzard to attend the New York Academy of Art’s Tribeca Ball, Ms. Read More

Basquiat on the Beach

Recently, I found myself sitting at a small, child-size table at a hotel in Istanbul with a short but well-built 44-year-old American wearing pookah shells. He was a native New Yorker—grew up in Rockland County, spent weekends at his grandparents in Brooklyn—but had lived for many years in Hawaii, on the island of Maui. He Read More

Anonymous, Mythic Heads Sculpture Playing for Big Stakes

Looking at the recent sculptures of Philip Pavia-an array of terra-cotta heads on display at the OK Harris Gallery-I was reminded of recent and current exhibitions devoted to Georg Baselitz’s immense wood carvings and the paintings and drawings of Jean-Michel Basquiat. Mr. Pavia doesn’t necessarily benefit from the comparison; the high-profile efforts of Mr. Baselitz Read More

Tri-Borough Art Fest: From Guggenheim to P.S. 1

Before Norman Rockwell, before Giorgio Armani, before Harley Davidson, Matthew Barney and his umpteen gallons of Vaseline, the Solomon R. Guggenheim was known, in its initial incarnation, as the Museum of Non-Objective Painting. Established in 1939, the institution dedicated itself to a mystical brand of abstraction favored by Hilla Rebay (1890-1967), a baroness who served Read More

Warhol’s Rife Photos Augur Our Crummy Era

It was Barbara Rose, writing in New York magazine some 30 years ago, who described the late Andy Warhol (1928-87) as “the wealthy and fabulous queen of the New York art and fashion world,” and spoke of his studio, which he called the Factory, as “The Mirror of Our Time.” Well. It was certainly a Read More

For $15,000, Collectors Line Up to Meet Damian Loeb

Love Boat producer Douglas Cramer has placed an order to buy the next thing that 28-year-old painter Damian Loeb does.

Mr. Cramer, a board member of the Museum of Modern Art, would have liked to have bought one of the paintings in Mr. Loeb’s current show at the Mary Boone Gallery on Fifth Avenue and Read More

Peter Brant Opens Mouth, Inserts Entire Art Community

“Great artists are like loaded guns. They are dangerous in anybody’s hands.” After spitting out that bit of philosophy, Peter Brant sat back in his seat and let a wry little smile work its way across his dark face. The tousle-haired reveler, newsprint tycoon, polo player and husband to supermodel Stephanie Seymour was referring to Read More

Art Darling Basquiat Earns Picasso-Style Bidding War

On Wednesday, Nov. 19, at 12:35 P.M., Barbara Strongin, a Christie’s auctioneer, came to the final lot of the morning session in a sale of contemporary art. An untitled drawing by Jean Michel Basquiat-one of those packed madman creations with strong calligraphy and an electrified figure-swung into view on the revolving stage of the salesroom. Read More