In brief: Van Gogh work fetches $61.8 million
New York – A rare piece of artwork painted by Vincent van Gogh weeks before his death sold for $61.8 million Tuesday at a sale kicking off New York City’s fall art auctions of impressionist and modern art.
The 1890 painting, “Still Life, Vase With Daisies and Poppies,” was expected to fetch between $30 million and $50 million at Sotheby’s evening sale in Manhattan.
Van Gogh painted the bouquet of wildflowers at the French home of his physician, Dr. Paul Gachet, in 1890. It’s one of the few works the Dutch artist sold during his lifetime.
The big-ticket auction at Sotheby’s also brought in $101 million for “Chariot,” a rare sculpture by Alberto Giacometti. The 1951 bronze sculpture features an elongated, goddesslike figure perched atop a wheeled chariot. The price almost broke the $104.3 million record for the Swiss artist.
Ruling clears way for gay marriages
Topeka, Kan. – A federal judge has granted an injunction against Kansas’ same-sex marriage ban, and couples will be able to apply for marriage licenses there by Nov. 11, according to a ruling filed in federal court Tuesday.
U.S. District Judge Daniel Crabtree granted the injunction in Topeka on Tuesday afternoon, finding the Kansas law that bars same-sex couples from marrying to be unconstitutional.
The order, which bars Kansas authorities from enforcing the state law, was stayed until Nov. 11 to allow the Kansas Department of Health to appeal.
The American Civil Liberties Union filed the suit in October on behalf of a pair of same-sex couples whose applications for marriage licenses were rejected.
More than 30 states and the District of Columbia are now allowing same-sex couples to marry as the U.S. Supreme Court has refused to hear appeals of numerous federal rulings overturning bans on same-sex marriage.
Okla. abortion law on hold temporarily
Tulsa – The Oklahoma Supreme Court on Tuesday temporarily put on hold a state law restricting abortions while the issue is argued in a lower court.
The unanimous action by the high court means that women in Oklahoma can continue to use the prescription drugs mifepristone and misoprostol, which induce abortion in the early weeks of pregnancy.
Oklahoma had sought to prohibit such abortions in a law known as House Bill 2684.
Reproductive Services in Tulsa and the Oklahoma Coalition for Reproductive Justice filed suit against the law, which went into effect Saturday, arguing that the measure in unconstitutional.
An Oklahoma County district judge last month put a portion of the law on hold. That decision was appealed to the Oklahoma Supreme Court.
In its action Tuesday, the Supreme Court “temporarily enjoins enforcement of the Act until the constitutionality of the Act is fully and finally litigated.”