To creditors, it may seem a logical solution: sell the Detroit Institute of Arts’ city-owned collection — which may be worth billions of dollars — and save the city from its $18 billion debt. But several national organizations, including the Ford Foundation and the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, have united to keep Detroit’s art off the auction block.

Earlier this month, nine foundations and nonprofits pledged $330 million toward Detroit’s pension debts. In exchange, the entire D.I.A. collection would be transferred to an independent entity separate from the city’s control.

The step could preserve the museum’s impressive collection, which includes the three most valuable pieces bought directly with city funds: Pieter Bruegel the Elder’s “The Wedding Dance” (worth between $100 million and $200 million), Van Gogh’s “Self-Portrait with a Felt Hat” ($80 million to $150 million) and Rembrandt’s “The Visitation” ($50 million to $90 million).

Christie’s auction house evaluated a selection of works between $454 million and $867 million in December, though creditors believe that the D.I.T.’s entire collection of 66,000 art pieces may be worth billions. On Wednesday, Bankruptcy Judge Steven Rhodes denied their requests for an independent re-evaluation of the collection.

Creditors will no doubt continue to fight for the sale, regardless of how much funds the foundations raise. But for now, D.I.T.’s art will remain off the market, much to the relief of the art community in Detroit and abroad.

In a recent interview with Time, Jennifer Goulet, the president of ArtServe Michigan, a group that promotes the arts across the state, said that Detroit’s art collection, one of the city’s “most valuable assets,” must be maintained.

“The D.I.A. is clearly one of those unique assets that needs to be integral to the city’s rebirth,” she said.

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Earlier this month, the Creative Self-Expression contest honored two up-and-coming artists for their winning work. Sponsored by The Great Frame Up, a custom framing and art retailer, the two young artists each received a $2,000 scholarship from actress and artist Jane Seymour, spokeswoman for the Creative Self-Expression Foundation.

“The Creative Self-Expression Foundation’s goal is to provide high school artists with an opportunity to showcase their talent and express themselves through various mediums,” says Rebecca Hunsel, Marketing Manager for Franchise Concepts, Inc., the national franchiser for The Great Frame Up retail stores.

Georgia native Ziyan (Lisa) Tan received accolades for her oil on canvas, “Basket of Life,” which symbolizes the importance of bread throughout history. Tan hopes to attend Savannah College of Art and Design to study storyboard design and sequential art.

Jessica Traugott of North Carolina received equal praise for “Unexpected,” a colored pencil drawing which explores the topic of decay. This fall she will attend The Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, California, to study entertainment design.

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Last week, Amazon invited several galleries to an informational event held in New York City. The email invites read:

This summer Amazon is planning to launch a Fine Art Gallery where customers will be able to purchase original artwork offered by a select group of invited galleries via Amazon.com. You are cordially invited to a special event in New York where we will introduce the Amazon Art marketplace to New York galleries …. We have received overwhelming support from the galleries that have already joined the platform and we would love the opportunity to offer your gallery’s selection in the Amazon Art store.

Amazon’s representatives are keeping mum, but promise further details will be announced soon. If the plan goes forward, Amazon’s partnership with galleries could turn fine art into a mass market product—for better or worse.

See Hyperallergic’s story for more info.

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The astounding success reflects “a new era in the art market,” according to Brett Gorvy, head of post-war and contemporary art at Christie’s.

Jackson Pollock’s “Drip Painting Number 19, 1948” was the top sale, fetching $54.8 million. Pollock’s work, alongside Lichtenstein’s “Woman with Flowered Hat” and Basquiat’s “Dustheads,” set records for the highest prices ever fetched for the artists at auction. Only four of Christie’s 70 lots went unsold.

Steven Murphy, CEO of Christie’s International, said new collectors have helped drive the sales boom.

“Twenty-five percent of our buyers last year were new to Christie’s,” he told Reuters. “And four or five of the key lots tonight went to people who have never bought here before.”

Along with sales that same week by Phillips de Pury & Company and Sotheby’s, nearly $900 million worth of art traded hands during the third week of May in evening sales alone.

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Each year, as the snow begins to melt and the days stretch out a little longer, the Art Business News team heads to New York City to get a first glimpse of the year’s new art and design trends at Artexpo New York. This year’s show, held March 21-24 at Pier 92, offered a tremendous array of talented artists—both established and emerging. The art fair’s layout itself looked stunning this year, with wider aisles than the year prior. Good thing, because the show was packed!

Here are a few photo highlights:

Art sales were decidedly up this year, too. Most of the artists we spoke with had sold pieces or lined up contracts and commissions for the coming year. Some artists really knocked it out of the park this year, like Impressionist painter Samir Sammoun, who sold 36 paintings. Here he is:

There were some really ground-breaking works at this year’s show. Dage, a Quebecoise “intentional dripping artist,” creates her sensuous nudes much like Jackson Pollack—sans paintbrush.

In Trustwin, Inc.’s booth, the soulful eyes of the painter’s subjects drew viewers in.

This is just a very small sampling of the works that were on display (literally, thousands of pieces by artists from across the US and all around the world). You can view more photos on Artexpo’s Flickr page.

Stay tuned: we’ll be running a post on this year’s talented SOLO award winners soon!

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