Auction Blog

A French court has dismissed a lawsuit against eBay by cosmetics firm L’Oreal SA that charged the online auction site with selling counterfeit goods, according to wire reports. The ruling follows one in Belgium last August that found EBay does not have a general obligation to monitor what is on sale at its site. “This is a clear legal victory for EBay and important victory for French consumers,” said Mary Huser, general counsel for EBay. “We welcome the invitation to resolve the outstanding matters in an amicable way as we have always believed that cooperation is the best way to fight counterfeits.” L’Oreal had been looking for $4.8 million in damages

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Two exceptional drawings by Georges Seurat, consigned from a private Parisian collector, will head the Impressionist Modern Art sale at Sotheby’s in Paris on May 28th. After the record €5 million ($6.3 million) achieved by Seurat’s extraordinary drawing Au Divan japonais last December, Sotheby’s Paris will again highlight Seurat’s work by offering two exceptional drawings from a prestigious Paris private collection: Femme avec Deux Fillettes, 1882-84 (est. €1-1.5 million/$1.3-2 million) and Assis, 1881 (est. €100,000-150,000/$133.000-200.000).

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Seurat Drawings for Paris Auction

BOSTON, Mass. – Skinner, Inc., will host an auction of Fine Wines on May 21st at 5 p.m. in its Boston gallery. In partnership with Lower Falls Wine Company, Skinner will offer stellar consignments of Bordeaux, Burgundy and Napa and Port wines.
Featured in the sale are full cases from the 2000 vintage […]

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Boston Fine Wine Auction May 21

Sotheby’s Paris has announced it will stage a 126-lot, two-session sale of Contemporary Art on May 27/28 (total estimate €5.6-7.8 million).

The Evening Sale on May 27 will be the only one of its kind in Paris this season, and include major works by Nicolas de Staël, Joan Mitchell, Yves Klein and François-Xavier Lalanne. The Day Sale on May 28 runs to 100 lots, with works by Arman, François Morellet, Jean Fautrier, Zao Wou Ki, Christo, Gerhard Richter and rising contemporary artists like Vik Muniz, Ivan Navarro, Philippe Ramette and Keith Tyson.

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Shakespeare Festival/LA (SF/LA), a professional and community-based non-profit theater company, is auctioning off a speaking role alongside Rita Wilson and Tom Hanks in the “2009 Simply Shakespeare” adaptation of “The Comedy of Errors” under the direction of Ben Donenberg, founding Artistic Director, SF/LA. The winner will participate in rehearsal, gain admission to the VIP post-show party and take a group photo with the cast, which the cast will all sign. The auction began May 1 and will end at 7pm PDT on May 11, 2009.

The winning bidder not only gets to perform with Rita & Tom, but also with the host of other notable talents who have graciously donated their time to take part in the play, including Christina Applegate, Martin Short, Shirley Jones, Peter Graves, Arte Johnson, Eugene Levy and more.

All proceeds from the eBay auction support Shakespeare Festival/LA and its nationally replicated summer youth employment and enrichment initiatives targeting young people living under severe economic strains.

Shakespeare Festival/LA’s performance of “The Comedy of Errors” will take place on Monday, May 18th at The Geffen Playhouse in Los Angeles.

The Shakespeare Festival/LA auction site is www.ebay.com/shakespeare.

The charity auction is being managed by Auction Cause, a premier online auction management agency specializing in high-profile design, strategy, and cause marketing for corporations and nonprofits worldwide. For more information, please visit http://www.auctioncause.com/.

About Shakespeare Festival/LA
Since 1985, Shakespeare Festival/LA has been a cherished community resource. Whether it’s through nationally recognized youth and education programming or award-winning, free, professional outdoor productions that uniquely reflect the people, landscape and history of Los Angeles SF/LA is committed to making the Bard’s works accessible, relevant and enriching for people from all walks of life.
www.ShakespeareFestivalLA.org.

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Rita Wilson and Tom Hanks Sponsor eBay Giving Works Auction to Benefit Shakespeare Festival/LA