Displaying items by tag: westspiel

With the continued controversy surrounding the sale of two Andy Warhol paintings, "Triple Elvis" (1963) and "Four Marlons" (1966), having been sold by the Westspiel casino conglomerate. Museum directors in North Rhine-Westphalia sent a petition to the regional government in an attempt to prevent the paintings' sale at Christie's New York last November.

In the ongoing storm of protest is emerged that the casino chain Westspiel is in fact a subsidiary of the State Bank of North Rhine-Westphalia. A fact that prompted German culture minister Monika Grütters of the center-right CDU party to accuse North Rhine-Westphalia's center-left-led regional government of selling the artworks in order consolidate state debts.

The state bank of Germany's North Rhine-Westphalia has decided against selling two Sigmar Polke works of art following a countrywide controversy over the deaccessioning of two Andy Warhol works of art - reported by "Monopol."

The German casino conglomerate Westspiel, which is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the bank, announced the decision to sell the pair of works, estimated at €100 million or £78 million, in September. The works will be up at auction at Christie's New York and have generated considerable controversy in Germany, the story has even graced the front pages of German newspapers. The bank has now subsequently dropped plans to sell the pair of Polke works, in a move, which some have seen as an effort by the state to avoid yet further criticism from the public.

In mid-september the German casino conglomerate Westspiel announced their plan to sell "Triple Elvis"(1963) and "Four Marlons" (1966) at Christie’s, New York in November. The paintings are expected to fetch over €100 million or £80 million. A petition has since been sent by twenty-six museum directors in Germany’s North Rhine-Westphalia to the regional government, demanding it prevent the auction of two works by Andy Warhol, reports "Die Welt."

In the petition, the directors claim that the sale “contravenes international conventions” whose ultimate goal is to “protect public cultural heritage.” They fear the sale could set a very dangerous precedent that could become a “controversial political issue with considerable ripple effect.”

Christie’s has announced that two monumental works by Andy Warhol will lead its highly anticipated Post-War and Contemporary Art Evening Sale on November 12. The silkscreen paintings, “Triple Elvis [Ferus Type]” (1963) and “Four Marlons” (1966), are expected to fetch around $70 million each. Brett Gorvy, Chairman and International Head of Post-War and Contemporary Art at Christie’s, suspects that interested buyers could try to acquire both works and keep them as a unique pair. Warhol’s current record at auction was set last November at Sotheby’s when his two-panel painting “Silver Car Crash (Double Disaster)” sold for $104.5 million.

“Triple Elvis” and “Four Marlons” are being offered for sale by the German casino company WestSpiel.