Louis Vuitton Supports the Red Cross & Auctions 6 Special Order Artist Editions

Louis Vuitton Celebrates 150 Years of Excellence in Savoir-Faire With a Special Tribute to the Red Cross

First off, throughout the month of November, Louis Vuitton, North America will be donating a percentage of sales on their US website of four iconic pieces; the Keepall, Speedy, Noe and Alma to the American Red Cross in honor of the 150th anniversary.



The Keepall was originally created as a back-up bag included in the Louis Vuitton trunk and quickly became the ultimate weekend tote. The Speedy was created in 1930 but became famous when it was redesigned specifically for Audrey Hepburn in the 1960s. The Noe was invented by Gaston Louis Vuitton to perfectly hold five champagne bottles. The Alma was originally inspired by the Art Deco movement and has become a recognizable symbol of Louis Vuitton.
Shop for them now here thru Nov. and support the Red Cross.

The Six Special Collaborations:



In addition to the special offering on Louis Vuitton North America's website, Louis Vuitton is celebrating the anniversary worldwide through exceptional Special Order collaborations with six different artists and designers.

Since its creation in 1854, Louis Vuitton has offered customers the possibility of producing Special Orders to cater a specific need or to fulfil a particular desire. In order to celebrate over a century and a half of exceptional savoir-faire at Louis Vuitton’s first workshop in Asnières, France, Louis Vuitton offered six masters of savoir-faire the opportunity to create a unique Special Order that embodies their exceptional expertise in their respective professions.

The six personalities are the artist Damien Hirst, the chef Ferran Adrià, the photographer Annie Leibovitz , the musician and composer Gustavo Santaolalla, the designer Marc Jacobs and Patrick Louis-Vuitton, the head of Louis Vuitton's Special Orders department and a member of the fifth generation of the Vuitton family. Each piece was designed by Patrick-Louis Vuitton in collaboration with the personality.

Annie Leibowitz and her LV Monogram Nomadic Photographer's Bag:

The bag being constructed in the Asnieres workshop:



Marc Jacobs' LV Monogram Dog Crate:

The crate being constructed in the Asnieres workshop:



Ferran Adrià and his LV Damier Graphite Travel Luggage:

The luggage being constructed in the Asnieres workshop:



Gustavo Santaolalla's LV Instrument Case:


The case being constructed in the Asnieres workshop:



Patrick Louis-Vuitton and his Compartmentalized Case:

The case being constructed in the Asnieres workshop:


Damien Hirst's Medical Cabinet:


Uniting tradition and modernity, these pieces are testament to Louis Vuitton’s savoir-faire in the domain of Special Orders. Ranging from hard-frame to soft-sided, they are interpreted in a variety of materials, from Monogram and Damier Graphite canvas, to Nomade leather and alligator.



The Asnieres workshop (above) was the sole production facility for Louis Vuitton from 1859 to 1977 and is where all hard-frame luggage, special orders, exotic leather and limited-edition bags continue to be made today. For over a century and a half the workshop has been the living symbol of the company's unique combination of tradition and innovation.

In addition to the unique special orders created by the masters of savoir-faire, the auction will also include a limited-edition Red Cross medical trunk, crafted by Louis Vuitton to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the Red Cross:

The LV Red Cross Medical Kit:


above and below: The hard-sided case in Monogram canvas, equipped with Louis Vuitton’s signature natural leather handle, brass S-lock and corners, opens frontally to reveal an array of red and grey aluminum medicine boxes arranged in such a way as to form the familiar emblem of the RedCross. The logo of the Red Cross is hand-painted on the front of the case.



You can see some more wonderful images of the Louis Vuitton Medical Chest being built here at Hypebeast.

The Special Order pieces will be offered in a charity auction held at Sotheby's in London on November 17th with proceeds donated to the Red Cross. The proceeds from the auction will be donated to the Red Cross for their Fight against Malnutrition program in Nigeria.

These Special Orders will have traveled the world to cities such as Mexico City, Hong Kong, Tokyo, Dubai, Seoul and New York between July and November 2009, for a series of exclusive viewings by clients of Sotheby’s and Louis Vuitton.

Discussing this charity auction, Yves Carcelle, President of Louis Vuitton said: “For over a century and a half, Louis Vuitton's Asnières workshop has been the living symbol of the company's unique combination of tradition and innovation. To mark this important anniversary, Louis Vuitton will celebrate ‘l’Excellence du Savoir-Faire’ through its heritage of Special Orders by partnering with some of today’s iconic figures who themselves possess a rare expertise.”

Cheyenne Westphal, Sotheby’s Chairman of Contemporary Art Europe, commented: “We are thrilled to host this gala dinner charity auction in November, the proceeds of which will benefit such a worthy cause. The auction will showcase pieces created by some of the most talented individuals in their respective professions and the sale of these limited-edition pieces will no doubt generate tremendous excitement and interest.”

All information and images courtesy of Louis Vuitton, Red Cross and Sotheby's.

It's Hammer Time: 2007 's Record-breaking Auctions

Some people shelled out some serious dough for their favorite collectibles this past year. Here are just a few of the record-breaking auctions from 2007.

1. A copy of the Magna Carta sold for $21,321,000.



There are about 20 in the world, but only two outside Britain. The new owner immediately arranged for it to go back on view at the National Archives in Washington, D.C. It was last sold in 1983 by an English family and bought by Ross Perot, who had also placed it on display.

2. The Rothschild family's pink Faberge egg auctioned for $18,500,000.


The Faberge Egg sold for a price of 18.5 million US dollars ($8.98 million pounds or 12.5 million euro).

3. A Philadelphia Chippendale carved mahogany tea table with a piecrust edge was $6,761,000.

Previously unknown, the Fisher Fox family Chippendale mahogany piecrust tea table sold for $6,761,000, an auction record for Philadelphia furniture, to C.L. Prickett Antiques underbid by G.W. Samaha.

4. A Hertford jewel cabinet from England sold for $3,176,000.

John Webb, Hertford jewel cabinet, commissioned by John Rutter in Paris for the 4th Marquess of Hertford, 1855–1857, sold for $3,176,000, establishing a new record for Nineteenth Century furniture.

5. The rare Honus Wagner 1909-1911 T206 baseball card went for $2,350,000.

The Mona Lisa of all trading cards was put up for auction Feb. 27, 2007 and sold for an unprecedented $2.35 million. The T206 Honus Wagner is recognized by collectors and industry experts as the most famous and valuable baseball card in existence.The card was purchased by a private California sports collector.

6. Two decoys by A. Elmer Crowell, a pintail drake and a sleeping Canada goose, each sold for $1,130,000.


Above: A. Elmer Crowell's preening pintail drake decoy, $1.1 million.


Above: Stephen B. O'Brien Jr with antique preening pintail drake and sleeping Canada goose decoys by renowned carver A. Elmer Crowell.

7. "Inverted Jenny" stamp sells for $825,000



One of the famous error stamps, the "Jenny," a 1918 24-cent stamp showing an upside-down biplane, was sold privately to a Wall Street executive for $825,000. It seems like a bargain. The buyer had tried to buy another of the "Inverted Jenny" stamps a month earlier, but it sold to another collector for $977,500.

8. A Santa Barbara art pottery vase by Frederick Hurten Rhead with a stylized landscape sold for $516,000.

A Rhead Santa Barbara pottery masterpiece, an 11 1/4-inch vase with mirror black glaze and stylized trees, auctioned at a Rago Craftsman Auction in New Jersey for the astounding record price of $516,000 on March 10.

9. Vacheron Watch Sets Record For Christie's

Watches sold well; one of the highest was a vintage 18k pink gold Vacheron Constantine wristwatch with the complications of minute repeating, triple calendar and phases of the moon that brought $457,000.

10. A mechanical bank, "Jonah and the Whale, Jonah Emerges," one of dozens of very high-priced banks, auctioned this year for $414,000.


11. A comic book, the Amazing Fantasy No. 15 that introduced Spider-Man, auctioned for a record $227,000.


Publisher: MARVEL
Condition: CGC 9.4 NM
Census Rank: 2nd Highest CGC Graded
Page Quality: Off-White to White Pages
Type of Holder: Universal
Degree Of Restoration: Unrestored
Pedigree or Highlight: WHITE MOUNTAIN PEDIGREE
Item description: 1962, 1st Spider-Man and Original Jack Kirby and Steve Ditko art.

12. The original art of a Peanuts strip by Charles Schulz auctioned for $113,525.


It showed Charlie Brown at a rainy baseball game.

13. The first electric typewriter, the Blick Electric made in 1902 in the United States, set a world record price of $100,000 at a German auction.



World's first electric typewriter, the »Blick Electric« from 1902, (Lot 172) – invented by the world famous American Charles Blickensderfer, Stamford, CT – as part of the 1st Session of auctioning off the traditional »Remington Typewriter Museum« from the OHA-Onondaga Historical Association, Syracuse, NY – made an absolute world record price of $ 100,000 (Euro 67,600) at world's leading specialty auction of AUCTION TEAM BREKER in Cologne, Germany.

14. A rainbow spatterware Festoon pattern plate brought a record $37,400.

Hirst Buys Bacon, Sothebys Makes Bread

Above: Tobias Meyer with Bacon's Self-portrait

There's been a lot of talk about art prices falling and auction houses suffering. However, just the other night, on November 14th, Sotheby's Evening of Contemporary Art Auction in New York set several records and hopes soaring.

Below is a reprint of an article written by Colin Gleadell for the UK's Daily Telegraph. I added the images for your entertainment and information.

Art sales: Damien Hirst's £16m for a slice of Bacon
Colin Gleadell on Damien Hirst's expensive purchase

Damien Hirst may have lost his title as the most expensive living artist at auction to Jeff Koons in New York last week, but he can still claim to be not only the richest artist in the world but also the one who spends the most on art.


Above: Francis Bacon, Self Portrait 1969, sold for $33,081,000 Sotheby’s New York, Nov. 14, 2007

Artist to artist: A 1969 self-portrait by Francis Bacon, which was bought by Damien Hirst bidding anonymously by telephone last Wednesday, he splashed out $33 million (£15.9 million) at Sotheby's on a 14" by 12" in self-portrait by Francis Bacon – easily a record for a small painting by Bacon, and surely one for an artist buying at auction.


Above: Damien Hirst's Platinum and diamond skull which received lots of press

In his excitement, the auctioneer Tobias Meyer, who knew Hirst was bidding, forgot the normal routine of noting down the buyer's registration number on the winning paddle. "I was too happy," he said. And why not?


Above: Tobias Meyer at Sotheby's

With that purchase, Hirst, who now owns four Bacons, joins an elite group of big spenders who last week allayed fears of a slump in contemporary art prices. The group includes the diamond dealer Laurence Graff and the hedge-fund manager Steve Cohen.


Above: Francis Bacon's Second Version of Study For A Bullfight #1, sold for $45.9 million

It is thought that Cohen bought the top lot of the week, Bacon's Study for Bullfight, for $46 million. And Graff spent nearly $30 million on two paintings by Warhol and one by Jean-Michel Basquiat.


Above: Basquiat, Untitled (Electric chair) 1981 - 1982, acrylic, gold spray paint and oilstick on canvas, Sold For 11,801,000 US$

He may have been in partnership with Larry Gagosian when the dealer bought a big Koons sculpture at the sales - the 8ft stainless-steel Blue Diamond, for $11.8 million.


Above: Koon's 8ft stainless steel Blue Diamond, sold for $11.8 million

On the surface it was a glittering display by the art world. More than 100 records were broken and $950 million was spent on contemporary art during the week.

This was itself a new record, close to the highest estimates for the sale set in the balmy early summer when credit crises were barely a glimmer in the eye of far-sighted Wall Street analysts.

Adding style to the occasion were the fashion designers Marc Jacobs, resplendent with blue hair and green scarf, and Valentino. Outbid as a buyer, Valentino successfully sold two paintings by Mark Rothko and a Hirst.

One of the Rothkos, which was sold for $21 million, cost $1.7 million at auction nine years ago. The Hirst made a record for a spot painting in 2003, selling for $438,000; Valentino sold it for $1.6 million last week.


Above: Jeff Koons' Hanging Heart, presently the world-record for art auction sales by a living artist; $23.6 million

The biggest mark-ups, though, came for Koons's $23.6 million Hanging Heart, for which the seller, the US property developer Adam Lindemann, had paid $4 million last year, and for Richard Prince's 2002 painting, Piney Woods Nurse, which was sold by the West coast collectors Nora and Norman Stone for $5.4 million.


Above: Richard Prince's Piney Woods Nurse, 2002, sold for $5.4 million

Bought by the London dealer Jay Jopling, the painting would have cost less than $100,000 when first shown four years ago.


Above: LUCIAN FREUD, Ib and her Husband (1992) ©The Artist, Oil on canvas, 16.8 x 14.7 cm Private Collection, sold for $19.36 million

Older generation artists in demand included Lucian Freud, whose portrait of his daughter, Ib and Her Husband, sold for $19.36 million, making him the most expensive living European artist at auction (in dollars), just ahead of Hirst; the American "Pop" artist Ed Ruscha, whose classic Burning Gas Station was sold by the collector Kent Logan for a record $6.98 million; and the junk-sculpture artist John Chamberlain, whose twisted wreck of car parts sold for a record $4.6 million.


Above: Ed Ruscha's Burning Gas Station, sold for $6.98 million

Among the rising stars attracting accelerating prices were the young Americans Mark Grotjahn and Jules de Balincourt, and the German Anselm Reyle, in all of whom Charles Saatchi has wisely invested.

However, there were some warning signs. At the main Christie's sale, 39 per cent of lots were sold at or below low estimates or not at all.

Nearly half the lots, carrying a combined low estimate of $173.5 million, had been guaranteed, and they realised just $176 million excluding auctioneer's commission. So profit levels must have been minimal.

US buying was also relatively low at around 50 per cent. In recent seasons this has been as high as 82 per cent for New York contemporary art sales, which are aimed mainly at the American market.

Sotheby's had made an even higher level of financial guarantees to sellers, regardless of the outcome of the sales, but, in contrast to last week's Impressionist sales, met it comfortably. The $316 million sale was Sotheby's largest of any kind, ever.

But there was sufficient evidence to predict that, come the next series of important Impressionist and contemporary art sales, in London in February, estimated prices and guarantee levels will be more conservative.

The bubble has not burst. But clouds are still gathering ominously.
__Colin Gleadell for the UK's Daily Telegraph




Click here to see Artnet's illustrated catalog of the Sotheby's Art Auction On November 14, 2007