oddly enough

oddly enough

Francis Bacon’s brushes among oddities in auction

LONDON

Art lovers who can’t afford a painting by Francis Bacon can bid on the late artist’s paintbrushes at an auction of unusual items.

The eight brushes — given by Bacon to fellow artist Clive Barker in 1978 — are in a paint-splattered butter bean tin inside a clear box. They have an estimated price of $31,000 to $46,000.

Bacon’s paintings have sold for as much as $86 million at auction.

Also among the 150 lots in Christie’s Out of the Ordinary sale: a rocking horse as tall as a house; a flying machine from Steven Spielberg’s “Young Sherlock Holmes”; a stuffed ostrich; and a Triceratops skull.

The sale will take place Sept. 5 in London.

Cardboard officer cuts crime at subway stop

CAMBRIDGE, Mass.

The burly officer watching over the bike racks at a Boston-area transportation hub is a real stiff.

As part of an effort to cut crime at the Alewife MBTA subway and bus station in Cambridge, transit police placed a cardboard cutout of a police officer in the bicycle cage. Hundreds of people use the racks daily.

Deputy Chief Robert Lenehan says the fake cop, along with video cameras and a new lock, has cut bike thefts by 67 percent.

It’s also a money saver. Lenehan estimates it would cost $200,000 a year to have an officer watch over the cage full-time.

The cutout is actually a picture of real MBTA Officer David Silen.

Silen says the split second thieves take to glance at the cutout is enough to discourage them.

Pa. man wins sideburns contest honoring Navy hero

ERIE, Pa.

The winner has been named in a Pennsylvania sideburns contest that honors a U.S. Navy commodore known for his impressive facial hair.

The Erie Times-News reports that 56-year-old Dave Baxter of Lake City, Pa., topped 19 contestants Wednesday evening. Officials say one contestant dropped out because he recently got a new job, had to move and was required to shave.

Contestants were asked to show their patriotic spirit by growing sideburns most like those of Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry.

Baxter says he researched images of Perry to try and match the hero who commanded a nine-ship American fleet to victory over the British in the Battle of Lake Erie in 1813.

Historical portraits suggest that Perry wore long mutton-chop sideburns that extended toward his lips.

Associated Press