NEWSMAKERS

NEWSMAKERS

Art sale to feature Munch’s ‘The Scream’

NEW YORK

A New York City art auction will feature the Edvard Munch masterpiece, “The Scream.” Sotheby’s announced Tuesday that the work will lead its Impressionist & Modern Art Evening Sale on May 2.

The work, which dates from 1895, is one of four versions of the composition. The auctioneer says it’s the only version still in private hands.

The head of Sotheby’s Impressionist and Modern Art department in New York, Simon Shaw, says the price could exceed $80 million.

The consignor is a Norwegian businessman, Petter Olsen. His father, Thomas, was a friend, neighbor and patron of Munch’s.

Olsen says proceeds from the sale will go toward the establishment of a museum, art center and hotel in Hvitsten, Norway.

Colbert to release a children’s book

NEW YORK

With the blessing of Maurice Sendak, Stephen Colbert is releasing a children’s book.

Grand Central Publishing said Tuesday that it will publish “I Am a Pole [And So Can You!]” on May 8.

In a two-part “Colbert Report” segment that aired last month, Colbert previewed the book with “Where the Wild Things Are” author Sendak.

Claiming he was looking to “cash-in” on celebrity children’s books, Colbert penned an illustrated story about a flagpole.

Sendak called the book “terribly ordinary” but acknowledged, “The sad thing is, I like it.”

In a statement, Colbert said he hopes the minutes spent reading it “are as fulfilling as the minutes I spent writing it.”

After a two-episode hiatus due to his ailing mother, Colbert returned to “The Report” on Monday.

Bieber’s 2nd book set for Sept. release

NEW YORK

He’s only 17, but pop sensation Justin Bieber is back with his second book.

HarperCollins said Tuesday it will publish “Justin Bieber: Just Getting Started.” The book is described as “the second official photographic book” from the multiplatinum-selling superstar.

The company says it will be released worldwide in September.

The new book promises a look inside the world of Bieber: touring the globe, making a movie and recording his new album.

His first book, titled “First Step 2 Forever: My Story,” was published in October 2010. It has sold more than a million copies in 25 languages.

‘Mona Lisa’ copy draws crowds at Prado

Madrid

Crowds are gathering at Madrid’s Prado Museum to view a copy of the “Mona Lisa” for the first time since a restoration revealed it was almost certainly painted by one of Leonardo da Vinci’s apprentices as he worked on the original.

The painting was put on display at the museum Tuesday, where it will stay until it moves to Paris’ Louvre museum next month to hang alongside the original as part of an exhibition on da Vinci’s work.

Although the precise author of the copy hasn’t been determined, the Prado and Louvre believe it is probably the earliest known copy of “La Gioconda.”

The copy has been part of Spain’s art collection for hundreds of years.

It had previously been on display in the Prado, but no one paid much attention as it was considered a mediocre copy.

Vindicator wire reports