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A still life painting with a silver- screen connection will be on the block Wednesday, September 21, 6:30 pm, at Lewis & Maese Antiques & Auctions The work from 1931 — a scene depicting a classical bust, wine bottle, fruit, and a window surrounded by a flourish of ironwork — is signed Picasso in the upper right. The back bears a faded label from its last exhibition: "'Bonne Fête' Monsieur Picasso," at the UCLA Art Galleries, 1961, on the occasion of the modern master's 80th birthday. It appears in the exhibition catalog — which featured loans from Hollywood notables Kirk Douglas, Vincent Price, and Mrs. Gary Cooper, as well as the Los Angeles Museum of Art — as number 95. The painting, a tempera (gouache) on paper, measures 19 5/8 by 25 3/4 inches, and its original owner was Alfred Hitchcock, who lent it to the UCLA exhibition. It came to Houston via the late director's only child, daughter Pat Hitchcock O'Connell, who gifted it to her best friend, Georgia Waller, and her husband, Gerard Waller, in 1982, after Hitchcock and his wife Alma had both passed away. Mrs. Waller died in 2008, and Mr. Waller is now sending the painting with the MONSIEUR PICASSO and MR. HITCHCOCK Hollywood provenance to auction. (Hitchcock is known for employing artwork throughout his films to great effect; he also commissioned Dalí to create a dream sequence for his 1945 film Spellbound.) Note: This still life, owned by the Hitchcocks for decades, then by the Wallers, has never been authenticated in person by the heirs of the modern master. How intriguing! On the block Wednesday, September 21, 6:30 pm, at Lewis & Maese Antiques & Auctions, lot 100 with a starting bid of $100,000. Preview Monday and Tuesday, September 19 and 20, 10 am to 5 pm; auction day, 10 am to 6:30 pm auction. 1505 Sawyer St., 713.869.1335, lmauctionco.com. Catherine D. Anspon K artell is launching its first Texas flagship store in October in River Oaks Shopping Center. Like its other stunning flagships around the globe — including Milan, London, and New York City — the store's design is orchestrated by Kartell's designer Ferruccio Laviani. Adrian Dueñas, CEO of Houston's BeDesign showroom, and business partner Vassili Tsipianitis have teamed with Kartell to bring the 1,500-square-foot flagship to town. "Of the 25 European lines we carry at BeDesign, Kartell is one our fastest moving brands, so we decided to move it to a mono brand," Duenas says. "People love Kartell because you can mix antiques with a beautiful transparent Philippe Starck-designed chair." Look for all the chic design details in next month's issue. Rebecca Sherman THIS JUST IN N eed a way to navigate Houston's important, sprawling art world? Want to peer inside top collections, visit the studios of the most ground-breaking artists, step inside the most significant galleries, and enjoy insider museum access? PaperCity's long-standing executive editor — visual arts, Catherine D. Anspon, launches ArtLoaf this fall, offering guided tours to the best of Houston's art world. Visit the venerable Menil Collection; a controversial New York Times-featured painter; a remarkable outsider artist and her sculpture-filled garden; and a pristine Montrose bungalow given over to art installations, plus celebrated private collections. For 15 Saturdays beginning in September, Catherine introduces you to the people, places, and creations that make Houston the third-largest art capital in America. Bonus: The fall classes include VIP access Saturday, October 1, to the Texas Contemporary Art Fair, a tour of the Fair and meeting with Mr. Chow, who appears in conversation former Warhol Museum director, Eric Shiner (now Sotheby's senior VP). ArtLoaf fall semester: Saturdays, September 10 through December 17, 1 to 4 pm; $450 per person for the season (45 hours of insider art insights and experiences); $800 per couple. Info/register artloaf@outlook.com. Additional questions, Janice Thomas, 713.614.7625. ArtLoaf, THE TOURS Michael Chow, Catherine D. Anspon at Mr. Chow's home in L.A. 106 COURTESY LEWIS & MAESE ANTIQUES & AUCTIONS Weird, Wonderful Homes J ust when the sight of another new multistoried townhouse complex makes you cringe, Weird Homes Tour arrives to celebrate what remains of Houston's domestic fabric — the unique, iconoclastic, and odd. Saturday, October 8, Weird Homes Tour, founded by entrepreneurs Chelle and David Neff in Austin, has its inaugural Houston outing, with PaperCity as media sponsor and benefitting Beer Can House DAVID BROWN, DABFOTO.COM the Orange Show Center for Visionary Art. The Beer Can House, including its charming, rarely glimpsed interiors, is one of the eight to 10 stops being lined up by Allison Lott, co-producer of Lott Entertainment. Other headlining homes: Penelope and Lester Marks' The Marks Collection; Erma Lee's fire station turned dwelling and its Inspirational Art Garden; Southern Gothic folk artist Anne Reese Hernandez's Victorian Heights cottage; and CAMH-exhibited artist Thedra Cullar-Ledford's casa and its adjoining Independence Art Studios. Rumor has it the lively post-tour party is at the utterly strange time capsule/downtown storefront/ performance space Not Su Oh, domain of the inimitable Jim Pirtle. Weird Homes Tour, Saturday, October 8, 10 am to 6 pm; VIP Party 6 to 9 pm; tickets $25 tour, $45 with VIP Party; info/tickets weirdhomestour.com. Catherine D. Anspon