Art Auction

A week of contemporary art auctions here got off to a tepid start Tuesday night at Sotheby's with a $27.3-million sale that brought $5.2 million for a Jackson Pollock drip painting but toted up less than the predicted sales total of $33.7 million to $46.7 million. The biggest blow to the auction house was its failure to sell the most expensive item, "Minutiae," a mixed-media stage set by Robert Rauschenberg.

The trouble with an Elizabethan mansion that has been in the family for nearly 450 years is that it can start to look a little down-at-the-mouth without proper upkeep. But then you do a little stonework on the north wing here, some reupholstery in a state dining room there, and suddenly the 100-room house is eating up a noble purse. It's a real dilemma. "Something's always cropping up that needs repair," lamented Alexander Thynn, a.k.a. the 7th Marquess of Bath.

Two men accused of selling fake masterpiece paintings on an online auction site and inflating the bid prices pleaded guilty Tuesday to fraud charges in federal court. Kenneth Walton, 33, pleaded guilty to three counts of wire fraud and four counts of mail fraud. Scott Beach, 31, pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud and three mail fraud charges. Walton, a Sacramento attorney, was accused of having nearly 20 different EBay log-in identities that he used to sell paintings and bid on paintings.

Victims of the 7.6-magnitude earthquake in El Salvador will soon receive direct relief from a local art gallery and community activists in Santa Ana. La Galleria president and owner Rene Mancia and director Omar Perez raised $1,400 through door-to-door donations and a silent art auction last week to help buy corn, rice, beans and tortillas.

Daric Warneke did not think twice about paying $600 at an auction to buy a lithograph reprint of a painting by his late friend, John Santistevan. Not only does he like the artwork, Warneke likes the idea that its sale helps to keep Santistevan's memory alive. After Santistevan, then 18, was killed in a hit-and-run accident in Hollywood in 1993, his parents established the John C. Santistevan Memorial Scholarship Fund. It is supported by the annual art sale and auction.

For those facing serious illnesses, the unconditional love of a pet has proven to provide physical, emotional, healthy and healing benefits. Pets Are Wonderful Support/Los Angeles, a nonprofit founded in 1989, provides veterinary care, pet food and supplies to people with serious illnesses such as HIV and AIDS, so they can keep their pets. Volunteers make house calls to deliver pet food, walk dogs and clean cat litter boxes.

Sotheby's Holdings Inc. said Monday that its two top executives stepped down as an antitrust probe involving the high-brow auction house and its main rival, Christie's International, widened. The company said A. Alfred Taubman stepped down as chairman of the 225-year-old auction house and Diana Brooks resigned as its president and chief executive.

A preview exhibition of highlights from this fall's New York art auctions will be held at Sotheby's Beverly Hills showroom, 9665 Wilshire Blvd., on Oct. 14-15, 10 a.m.-4 p.m. and 7-10 p.m.

* Etchings by Rembrandt, hand-signed paintings by Picasso and prints by Chagall will be among the items up for bid in a Park West Gallery auction to benefit United Way of Ventura County today at the North Ranch Country Club, 4761 Valley Spring Drive, Westlake Village. An art preview with hors d'oeuvres, wine and cheese will begin at 5 p.m., with the auction at 6:15 p.m. Admission is $30 per person or $50 per couple. Information: 485-6288.

"The 1998 Art Auction" will be May 9 at 7 p.m. at the Frank Romero Studio, 1625 Blake Ave., Los Angeles, to benefit the nonprofit Friends of the Junior Arts Center in Barnsdall Art Park. Hosted by Frank Romero, the auction will feature paintings, sculpture and printmaking by well-known and emerging local artists. Proceeds from the event will support arts education programs for underserved audiences and at-risk youth in the Los Angeles area. Tickets for the auction and reception are $25.