SANDY KOZEL

Harry Lillis “Bing” Crosby Jr. Born
on this day in 1903.  (Died 1977)

Vincent Van Gogh (1853 – 1890)  Painting by Australian artist John Russell.          

On December 23, 1888, Dutch painter Vincent van Gogh, suffering from
severe depression, cuts off the lower part of his left ear with a razor    
while staying in Arles, France.  He later documented the event in a
painting titled Self-Portrait with Bandaged Ear. Today, Van Gogh is
regarded as an artistic genius and his masterpieces sell for record-
breaking prices; however, during his lifetime, he was a poster boy
for tortured starving artists and sold only one painting.    

A self-portrait by Vincent van Gogh with a bandaged ear. On
display in the en:Courtauld Gallery.

Still Life with Open Bible, Extinguished Candle and Novel also Still
Life with Bible, 1885.

Wheatfield with Crows, 1890.

DALLAS (AP) — Cartoonist Jim Davis (above) is offering up more than 11,000 “Garfield” comic strips hand-drawn on paper in an auction that will stretch
into the coming years, with at least a couple of strips featuring the always-
hungry orange cat with a sardonic sense of humor available weekly.

Dallas-based Heritage Auctions began offering up the strips in August. The
auction house is selling two daily strips each week, along with longer
Sunday strips being offered during the large-scale auctions throughout
the year.

The strips span from the launch of “Garfield” in 1978 to 2011, when Davis
began drawing the strip digitally. He says he still draws it by hand but now
it’s with a stylus on a tablet instead of on paper with a pencil, pen and brush.

June, 1978

(FoxNews) – An odd piece of artwork that consists of a banana duct-taped to
a wall has sold for $120,000 at a Miami art fair. The piece, titled "The
Comedian," was created by Italian artist  Maurizio Cattelan.

Two of the three editions of the banana artwork sold for $120,000 at the Art
Basel Miami festival and a third is expected to fetch $150,000.

Italian artist Maurizio Cattelan is known for his satirical
sculptures.

First Day of School by Norman Rockwell, The Saturday
Evening Post, September 14, 1935.

Norman Percevel Rockwell
(February 3, 1894 – November 8, 1978)