Hirst artwork fetches $19.1m

By Carol Beggy & Mark Shanahan, Globe Staff  |  June 23, 2007

A stainless steel cabinet containing 6,136 handcrafted and painted pills has set a record for the highest price paid at auction for a work by a living artist, an auctioneer said. Damien Hirst's "Lullaby Spring" has sold for $19.1 million, Sotheby's, the auction house, said in a statement. The sale propelled Hirst past previous best seller Jasper Johns, whose "Figure 4" netted about $17 million last month in New York. A leading member of the so-called Young British Artists , Hirst (inset) is best known for his work involving slicing up and pickling animals and fish in formaldehyde. His works have consistently attracted controversy -- and huge sums of cash. Earlier this month, the artist unveiled a platinum cast of a human skull encrusted with more than 8,000 diamonds at the opening of his latest exhibition at London's two White Cube galleries. The glittering skull was valued at about $24 million. (AP)

Wait, a magazine devoted to all things Harvard has hired a Yalie as editor? Apparently. The fledgling glossy 02138, which likes to describe itself as a "lifestyle magazine for educated, affluent, and influential readers" -- i.e. Harvard alums -- has put Richard Bradley in charge. Bradley, whose birth name is actually Richard Blow, is the author of "American Son: A Portrait of John F. Kennedy, Jr.," a book that sold remarkably well considering how badly trashed it was by many critics. He also wrote "Harvard Rules: Lawrence Summers and the Battle for the World's Most Powerful University." Bradley didn't respond to an e - mail yesterday.

Colin Rhys, the 20-something wunderkind behind Rhys Gallery, was doing more than greeting artists, collectors, and assorted hipsters at his opening the other night. He was acting as tour guide. A massive, whale-shape installation -- created by Chicago artists Juan Chavez, Mike Genovese, and Cody Hudson -- dominates the space, and Rhys was Jonah for a night. "We were driving around the city for two weeks picking stuff up and putting it in my Jeep," Rhys said of how he and the artists collected random odds and ends for the piece. "It's like a time capsule of the last 150 years of Boston." Taking in the scene were former Peres Projects director Andrea Cherkerzian, artist Evelyn Rydz, and architect David Handlin.

With his own band on permanent hiatus, Gang of Four drummer Hugo Burnham is about to hit the road with another post-punk act. The British-born Burnham, who lives in Gloucester now, has been asked to keep the beat for Richard Butler's band, the Psychedelic Furs. "I'm deep in rehearsals, learning all the stuff," said Burnham, who also teaches at the New England Institute of Art. "They want a good thumper, which is certainly my style." (The Furs' month long tour with the Fixx and the Alarm is at Avalon July 10.) Burnham has seen the set list and many of the band's best numbers are on it. "We'll do 'Pretty in Pink,' " he said. "Like Gang of Four couldn't appear without playing 'Damaged Goods,' the Furs have to play 'Pretty in Pink.' "

David Hasselhoff has demanded an apology from a British tabloid for publishing a story that claimed he was drunk at a Hollywood nightclub while celebrating his victory in a child custody battle. Hasselhoff, who starred in TV's "Baywatch" and "Knight Rider," was awarded custody of his daughters Hayley, 14, and Taylor, 17, by a Los Angeles judge on June 15. The 54-year-old actor, nicknamed The Hoff, had been in a long-running legal battle with his ex-wife Pamela Bach. The Sun's story, published Tuesday, claimed a "boozy" Hasselhoff was knocking over tables and demanding drinks from strangers at Les Deux nightclub in Hollywood. Hasselhoff denied the allegations and is demanding a printed apology stating the article was false. "He would not behave like that in public," said Hasselhoff's British lawyer, Simon Smith. (AP)

A DNA test has confirmed actor-comedian Eddie Murphy is the father of the newborn daughter of Spice Girl Melanie Brown, People magazine reported yesterday, citing Brown's representative. Brown, 32, gave birth to Angel Iris Murphy Brown in April and listed Murphy as the father on the child's birth certificate, but the star of movies "Beverly Hills Cop" and "Dreamgirls" has never publicly acknowledged paternity. Murphy's spokesman declined to comment. (REUTERS)

A writer who created the alter ego of a male prostitute to pen an autobiographical novel defrauded a production company that purchased the movie rights to the story, a Manhattan jury decided yesterday. The federal jury, after a short deliberation, awarded $116,500 to Antidote International Films Inc. in its lawsuit against San Francisco writer Laura Albert, who went to strange lengths to hide her identity behind a nonexistent male prostitute named JT LeRoy. LeRoy was identified as the author of "Sarah," the tale of a truck-stop hooker that was marketed as being based on his life. The jury ordered $110,000 paid to Antidote, along with $6,500 in punitive damages. To extend the ruse, Albert's friends donned wigs and posed as the fictitious LeRoy at book signings. (AP)

Donald Trump has upset his upscale neighbors -- again. First he erected an unauthorized 70-foot flagpole at his Trump National Golf Club in Rancho Palos Verdes, Calif., then he built a tee 8 feet higher than allowed. There was also a mysterious but illegal freeway sign pointing to the ocean bluff golf course. Now, it's ficus trees. Hundreds of them , planted without city permission in rows to screen the driving range from multimillion-dollar homes. Affluent peninsula neighbors are fuming. Trump downplayed the controversy. "They're bushes," the billionaire real-estate developer said. (AP)

Is it possible that New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg is considering a third-party run for the presidency? That's been the speculation since the Medford native ditched the GOP after six years and this week registered as unaffiliated. Figuring that his 98-year-old mom might know something, we rang up Charlotte Bloomberg. "The last I talked with him about it, he said he didn't have to make a decision for quite a while," said Charlotte, who has lived in Meffa for 60 years. "As a child, Michael was a bright kid and did well in school. . . . But I don't know whether he really wants to [run for president] or not." The matriarch, who speaks to the mayor almost daily, says he'd make a crack commander-in-chief. "He'd be very good," she said, "but then any mother would say that."

It figured that folks around here would enjoy Dave McLaughlin's Boston-based flick, but it looks like "On Broadway" has legs -- and we're not talking about co star Eliza Dushku. At the recent Hoboken International Film Festival, "On Broadway" received four nominations, including one for best film and best actor. (Alas, former New Kid Joey McIntyre didn't win.) The film travels to the Galway Film Fleadh in Ireland next month, and then to the Woods Hole Film Festival in August.

Ken Casey and his band the Dropkick Murphys hit the bricks the other day with a film crew from HBO. They checked out locations featured in "The Departed" for a piece that'll air when Martin Scorsese's movie makes its cable debut in the fall. The band's song "I'm Shipping Up to Boston" was used in the film.

There were some lovely lids on display at the annual Rose Garden Party, held Thursday at the Kelleher Rose Garden in the Fenway. The crowd included hat designer Marie Galvin, the award-winning milliner, and Kathleen McDermott.

'I have no idea what I am doing.' Woody Allen, who will make his operatic directorial debut with the opening event of the LA Opera's 2008-09 season.

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