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Psst, wanna buy £10m art?
Anna Davis, Evening Standard12.10.07
Some of Hollywood's biggest names led the bidding at an extraordinary auction of contemporary art in Soho.
An estimated £10 million of works by artists including Banksy and Damien Hirst went under the hammer in the sale held by the Lazarides gallery.
The buyers included Dennis Hopper - Hollywood's leading exponent of British art - as well as Ashley Olsen, Paul Young and Sean Pertwee. Although not present, Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie spent £1 million on works by Banksy.
After the sale, the paintings were loaded onto a scruffy truck in the back streets of Soho with the only clue to their worth the presence of security guards. The auction catalogue included three new Hirsts, a Basquiat priced at £800,000 and three Andy Warhols.
One of the Hirsts was a spot and spin painting entitled: "Beautiful Lazarides Inc Auction Spinny Thingy Where Will It All End, Money For Old Rope, Buy This You B****r, Its Got Kline Blue Bloody Splashes In It for F***'s Sake, Love You Really Painting (with xxxxx)."
The auction at The Shadow Lounge was organised by photographerturned-gallerist Steve Lazarides, who is largely responsible for making Brit art popular in Hollywood.
This summer he held a sell-out Los Angeles show featuring other Banksies which saw £3.2 million of art sold in two hours.
Mr Lazarides said of last night's auction: "The idea is to inject a little anarchy back into the staid, serious business of buying art.
"There is a whole new set of buyers. Whether they're rag trade, City boys or celebrities, they tend to be under 45. They've got money and they don't particularly want to spend it on a Picasso - they want to buy something that relates to their lives, their time and their culture."
