Famous Bidding Wars

First of all, bidding wars can be exciting to watch. The way they can go on and on makes a lot of sense. Additionally, human beings have been enamored with showing off wealth for as long as we’ve been around. It’s one reason a suburbanite might choose a Mercedes over a Prius.

What are some famous bidding wars that have been recorded, outside of sports memorabilia? Keep reading.

According to Art Fix Daily, it got heated on March 22 last year, when some highly sought out Asian paintings went up for bid. Paintings and Calligraphy by H. H. Dorje Chang Buddha III were auctioned off for one million bucks a foot, surpassing auctions from such world renowned artists like Cezanne and Van Gogh! In addition, the Buddhist’s works are expected to only go up in value. The reasoning? They are rare, and, furthermore, the artist will no longer be pursuing painting.

In 2011, the longest bidding war to take place was over an Andy Warhol painting, according to Time Magazine Online. The artist’s self portrait reportedly sold for $38 million! Pretty exceptional, considering a lot of his famous works include celebrities like Marilyn Monroe. Apparently, the entire auction was for 62 paintings in all and brought in 300 million altogether. Not bad for a day’s work. The item was sold at a Christie’s auction and features four panels the artists painting of himself in 1963-1964.

Take a peek at our CSD HGA calendar for silent auctions coming soon near you!