Bono Buys Matthew Barney Photograph

Matthew Barney donated the photograph New Sun (pictured above) to the (Red) Auction, held on Valentine's Day at Sotheby's New York. The auction was organized by Damien Hirst and singer Bono to benefit Bono's (Red) Charity, which combats AIDS in Africa. Barney's photograph (from Drawing Restraint 9) sold for $137,500, well above the pre-sale estimate of $70,000 - $90,000. Reportedly, the purchaser was Bono, himself, who also placed winning bids on works by Robert Rauschenberg and Sean Scully.

Cremaster 2 Fetches Half a Million Dollars

Matthew Barney's Cremaster 2 sold for $571,000 at the Sotheby's Contemporary Art Evening Sale on November 14, slightly over the low estimate of $500,000 - $700,000. For that price, the winning bidder received not only a DVD of the film, but also a hi-tech vitrine and packaging made from hand tooled saddle leather and sterling silver (photos at http://cremasterfanatic.blogspot.com/2007/10/cremaster-2-on-sale-at-sothebys-new.html).