{"id":427,"date":"2008-04-07T12:23:17","date_gmt":"2008-04-07T17:23:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.orbitz.com\/blog\/2008\/04\/new-york-auction-houses-show-finer-things-for-free\/"},"modified":"2016-12-17T21:42:31","modified_gmt":"2016-12-18T03:42:31","slug":"new-york-auction-houses-show-finer-things-for-free","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.orbitz.com\/blog\/2008\/04\/new-york-auction-houses-show-finer-things-for-free\/","title":{"rendered":"New York auction houses show finer things for free"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Nyc\"<\/a>
\nBy Samantha Chapnick<\/em><\/p>\n

Eric Clapton<\/strong>‘s Fender Stratocaster "Blackie,"; Marilyn Monroe<\/strong>‘s $1.3 million dress that she wore singing Happy Birthday to JFK, Marlon Brando<\/strong>‘s annotated "Godfather" script, Picasso<\/strong>‘s "Boy with a Pipe," and The Magna Carta<\/strong>? What do these things have in common?<\/p>\n

They’re all items you could have seen up close and personal, for free, if you went to a viewing at an auction house.<\/p>\n

Unless you happen to have many friends whose names are followed with
\nnumbers or preceded by titles, chances are you’ll never see 99% of the
\nworld’s most famous art, artifacts or popular culture items. Most of
\nthe Monets and Picassos live in the living rooms of private collectors
\nwho scooped them up from dealers and auctions.  <\/p>\n

Now the good news. Just a few blocks from your New York hotel<\/a><\/strong> are
\nthree places where you can spy the world’s best masterpieces without
\ncrowds and for free. Yes, FREE. Hey, that deserves capital letters.<\/p>\n

A week or so before an auction, Sotheby’s<\/a><\/strong>, Christie’s<\/a><\/strong> and Phillips de Pury<\/a><\/strong>,
\ndo a "viewing" whereanyone in the general public, for free, can get
\ninches away from the merchandise. Aside from art, I like to go see the
\njewelry. <\/p>\n

Although Sotheby’s and Christie’s are known for paintings, they
\nactually sell some fascinating and relatively affordable items most of
\nthe time, including cigars, arms and armor, cars, wine, manuscripts,
\neven film scripts.<\/p>\n

Insider tips<\/strong><\/p>\n