freud's large nude sets art world record

LONDON, England (CNN) -- A picture of an overweight woman lying naked on a couch, painted by the British artist Lucian Freud, set a record Tuesday night for the most money paid for any work by a living artist. The 1995 life-size painting -- "Benefits Supervisor Sleeping" -- fetched $33.6 million during bidding at Christie's auction house in New York. The previous record was for "Hanging Heart," a painting by Jeff Koons that sold for $23.5 million, said Rik Pike, a spokesman for Christie's.

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James Garner undergoes surgery after stroke.

"Actor James Garner, best known for starring in the classic television series "Maverick" and "The Rockford Files," underwent surgery this week after suffering a minor stroke, his spokeswoman said on Tuesday.

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A rather affecting 3D exploration of Picasso's Guernica by Lena Gieseke. (thanks to Bob Morales)
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High drama on Ebay:
Bob Kane's personal bound copy of thef irst issues of Batman up for grabs

Some of the best-known comic creators simply didn't hang onto their comics very well. Marvel legend Stan Lee's golden age collection was reportedly destroyed by flooding in his basement. Superman creators Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster went through such a financial downturn they couldn't hold onto things.
But Bob Kane's story beats them for melodrama. Kane tried to hang onto his Batman comics and original art. But he didn't try hard enough to hang onto his marriage, and ended up losing both. Kane's wife, tired of his philandering, purposely destroyed as much of Kane's comics and art she could get her hands on. And she got to just about all of them.
But she didn't get to these. These copies were bound for Kane by D.C. comics and used as reference in his studio, where Kane worked in 1939 and 1940 with artists Jerry Robinson and Sheldon Moldoff and Batman writer co-creator Bill Finger.
These copies didn't get destroyed, but got left behind when Kane's family moved. These were headed for the trash when they were reportedly rescued by a domestic who worked for the Kane family.

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“The best fame is a writer's fame. It's enough to get a table at a good restaurant, but not enough to get you interrupted when you eat.” — Fran Lebowitz