© Patrick McMullan Photography

Maurizio Cattelan (right)

Maurizio Cattelan Shaq's Big Debut In the Right Circles Koons Goes From Yacht Decorator to Collection Curator Slim and Conservative, Sotheby’s Sale Proves a Winner All the President’s Art Nobody Does It Better Venice Diary

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The news magazine points out that his Mini-Me sculpture, one of an edition of 10, handily beat its £250,000 ($398,000) high estimate at Sotheby’s contemporary evening sale in June, soaring to £493,000 ($786,000) on the strength of two aggressive phone bidders. It also reports that Him, a sculpture of Hitler kneeling in a grey suit, went for $10 million in a private market deal a few months ago.

The Economist suggests that Cattelan has been able to weather the economic downturn by keeping the supply of his works scarce. His last commercial gallery show was in 2002, and he regularly makes only a handful of works each year, often in limited editions of three.

Cattelan has also carefully guarded his artistic credibility, frequently proposing shocking responses to commissions from prestigious collectors. Billionaire François Pinault received a gravestone that read “Pourquoi Moi?” (“Why Me?”) in response to one such offer. American collector Peter Brant was given a bust of his then-wife Stephanie Seymour styled after a mounted moose head after commissioning her portrait.

Despite his modest output, Cattelan looks to have a busy few years planned. The Guggenheim is said to be organizing a retrospective in 2011, and it is rumored the he has been asked to organize a show at Versailles.

Read more at the Economist.