Sale ahoy

There was a story, possibly apocryphal, that Colin McCahon’s Murawai letter box, with the number painted on by McCahon himself, was stolen not once but a couple of times. Not that we encourage theft, but you can see the attraction. These signs were painted by artist Julian Schnabel (or if they weren’t by a skillful copy cat) on his apartment building in New York. The building has been the subject of intense local debate and complaint. Schnabel has added a number of floors onto a standard brick apartment and has leased some of them out (Richard Gere bought a floor but it’s back on the market). The penthouse is apparently still available and, given the current market, maybe will be for some time. Locals should perhaps be on the look-out for a Schnabel ‘For sale’ sign.