Monday, April 07, 2008

"What experts described as the largest private sale of art ever"

In Friday's New York Times, Carol Vogel reported that "the heirs of the legendary dealer Ileana Sonnabend have parted with some $600 million worth of paintings and sculptures in two transactions to cover their estate taxes."

More from Kate Taylor in the New York Sun.

Vogel's story included this interesting tidbit:

"Perhaps the most famous painting she owned — Mr. Rauschenberg’s 1959 'Canyon' — will never leave the collection .... In its center is a stuffed bald eagle that cannot be sold because of a federal prohibition on trafficking in endangered species."