• by Tanya Gazdik , 5 hours ago

Celebrity collaborations are always popular. But it’s not every day that a famous global auction house employs an A-list actress to promote an auction item.

“The short film, as Christie's refers to it, was filmed in early May and features none other than Academy Award–winning actress Nicole Kidman starring alongside Constantin Brancusi's bronze sculpture Danaïde (1913),” according to MSN. “The sculpture, expected to be one of the top lots this season, carries a pre-sale estimate of $100 million, well above the artist's $71.2 million record, though below the three most-expensive sculptures ever sold at auction, all by Alberto Giacometti.”

The two-minute promo was released by Christie’s five days before 16 masterpieces from the late media magnate S.I. Newhouse were set to hit the block as part of Christie's New York evening sales.

“In the new short video, set to David Bowie’s 'Golden Years,' Kidman, herself a lover and supporter of the arts, approaches the work in Christie’s Rockefeller Center galleries,” according to the Christie’s website. “The turning world around her stops, and, feeling the beauty and history emanating from the golden sculpture, she is transported to a dream state, where she experiences joy, excitement, passion, curiosity and appreciation. Kidman embodies what engaging with art can feel like for anyone.”

The video has been watched more than 80,000 times on YouTube.

"Such viral videos aren’t aimed at the buyers who may actually bid for a Brancusi,” according to The Times. “Their aim is to get Gen Z, who may one day inherit the family fortune or build a Microsoft or Condé Nast of their own, through the doors.”

The results speak for themselves.

“On Monday evening, it took auction house Christie’s just 40 minutes to sell more than $630 million in art, smashing records for both the painter Jackson Pollock and sculptor Constantin Brancusi,” according to CNN. “Later in the night, it rounded things off with yet more broken records and another $490 million.”