A German court fined a thief on Wednesday for taking works discarded in a bin by famed artist Gerhard Richter -- yet estimated to be worth 60,000 euros ($67,000). Cologne district court slapped the defendant with a 3,150-euro fine for trying to sell the pieces, which Richter had thrown into a wastepaper container in front of his villa in July 2016 because he thought they were not good enough. The judge ruled that even though the pieces were unsigned by the artist, and therefore not able to be sold on the official art market, they were not worthless. The exact value of the four postcard-sized pieces -- photos painted with oil -- could not be determined, but the court estimated them to be worth around 60,000 euros. Having taken the pieces from the bin at Richter's home in Cologne, the thief contacted a Munich auction house, which initially accepted them but demanded a certificate of authenticity. The 49-year-old defendant had presented three of the pictures to the head of the Gerhard Ric

Workers renovating Notre-Dame flouted a ban on smoking at the monument, a contractor admitted on Wednesday, while denying any link with last week's devastating blaze that ripped through the cathedral. "There were colleagues who from time to time broke the rules and we regret it," a spokesman for scaffolding company Le Bras Freres told AFP, before adding: "in no way could a cigarette butt be the cause of the fire at Notre-Dame". Spokesman Marc Eskenazi said some workers "had admitted in front of the police that they did smoke from time to time," confirming a report in the satirical newspaper Le Canard Enchaine. The company Parishad a strict ban on smoking up the scaffolding, which was erected around the steeple as it underwent major renovation to restore its lead covering and joints. Notre-Dame's now mostly-destroyed roof was made of wood, and included

On April 18, runway action halted temporarily as fashionistas worldwide grabbed their mobile devices to bid in Urban Culture Auctions’ sale of original sketches by the late Chanel mastermind Karl Lagerfeld (1933-2019). After weeks of relentless media coverage, the auction of fashion drawings from Lagerfeld’s days as a budding couturier had finally arrived. By the time the hammer came down on the last lot 4½ hours later, the auction had realized $247,520 and was 100% sold. “The auction far exceeded our expectations. We had many new-bidder sign-ups, and from everywhere you can imagine – Russia, Australia, Japan, probably a dozen European countries, and all over the United States,� said auctioneer and Urban Culture Auctions co-owner Rico Baca. “Here at the gallery we served our Palm Beach-area guests refreshments of champagne, fresh strawberries and Godiva chocolates

White Cube Bermondsey presents Sarah Morris’s first solo show in the UK in six years. Featuring paintings, films, a site-specific wall painting as well as the artist’s first sculptural work, the exhibition reflects Morris’s interest in networks, typologies, architecture, language and the city. Employing an architecture of colourful and abstract forms, Morris’s paintings play on the viewer’s sense of visual recognition. She incorporates a wide range of references, from the graphic identity of multinational corporations and the structure of urban transport systems to the iconography of maps, GPS technology, as well as the movement of people within urban areas. Morris sees her paintings as being part of a larger self-generating system, always remaining open and allowing for interpretation, motion and change. Within her practice, each

Christie’s announces the spring season of Latin American Art, the only dedicated sale in the category at a major auction house, with a live evening auction on May 22, a live day auction on May 23 and an online auction running May 18-29. Combined, the sales include over 250 lots, offering a comprehensive selection from 17th and 18th-century colonial painting through modern and contemporary masterpieces, and together the sales expect to realize in excess of $17 million. Featured are works from private collections including Divine Splendor Spanish Colonial Art from The Collection of James Li, The Collection of Drue Heinz and The Collection of H.S.H. Princess “Titi� Von Fürstenberg. Works from the live and online auctions will be on view May 18-22 at Christie’s Rockefeller Plaza. Leading the sale this season is the stunning painting Simpatía (La rabia del gato) (estimate: $2-3 million) by famed Surrealist Remedios V