December 10, 2010 /
PN/ The sale of part of Playboy's substantial art archive took place Wednesday night at Christie's New York on December 8 in an auction titled
"The Year of the Rabbit."
Wednesday's sale included 80 photos and 24 cartoons. Nearly all the items in the sale have appeared in the publication, a cultural icon that helped liberate American sexual mores.
One of the top draws was the iconic Mouth No 8, an oil of a scarlet-lipstick mouth by pop artist Tom Wesselmann. It sold for US$1.87 million.
Wednesday's sale marked the second time Christie's has sold items from Playboy. On its 50th anniversary in 2003, Christie's offered memorabilia and ephemera from Playboy's collection.
 |
| Brigitte Bardot, cover, March 1958. Photographer unknown |
 |
| Stephanie Seymour, March 1991. Herb Ritts |
 |
| Stephanie Seymour, March 1991. Herb Ritts |
 |
| Stephanie Seymour, March 1991. Herb Ritts |
 |
| Marilyn Monroe, 'Marilyn Monroe Remembered', January 1964. Lawrence Schiller and William Woodfield |
 |
| Marilyn Monroe, 'Marilyn Monroe Remembered', January 1964. Lawrence Schiller and William Woodfield |
 |
| Marilyn Monroe, 'Marilyn Monroe Remembered', January 1964. Lawrence Schiller and William Woodfield |
 |
| Marilyn Monroe, 'Marilyn Monroe Remembered', January 1964. Lawrence Schiller and William Woodfield |
 |
| Sandra Settani, centerfold Playmate, April 1963. Bunny Yeager |
 |
| Cindy Crawford, 'Skinsuits', July 1988. Herb Ritts | | |
needless to say, playboy used to be so much better then than now