From Dali to Marilyn Monroe, Playboy auctions art

Canadian actress Pamela Anderson poses as she takes part in a promotional event at a mall in Tel Aviv November 8, 2010.[Photo/Agencies]

Canadian actress Pamela Anderson poses as she takes part in a promotional event at a mall in Tel Aviv November 8, 2010.[Photo/Agencies]

NEW YORK – Pamela Anderson and Marilyn Monroe may be names that come to mind when one thinks of the art of Playboy, but how about Salvador Dali?

A Dali watercolor of a reclining nude that hung in Hugh Hefner's bedroom is among 125 artworks being auctioned by the magazine known for baring all for nearly 60 years. The Dec. 8 auction at Christie's is dubbed "The Year of the Rabbit."

Founder and editor-in-chief Hefner said the magazine that has entertained, titillated and informed with its commissioned art has blurred the lines between fine and popular art.

"Playboy helped to change the very direction of commercial art — breaking down the wall between fine art and commercial art," the 84-year-old Hefner told The Associated Press in an interview at his Los Angeles mansion. "Before Playboy and a few other places, commercial art was essentially Norman Rockwell, very realistic. And we introduced into commercial illustration the whole notion of everything from abstract to semi-abstract to stuff that you found on a gallery wall."