ART NOTES : Auctions Spring Into Spring

If spring is just around the corner, New York’s auction season can’t be far away. The first indication is a preview of Sotheby’s May sales, Wednesday through Saturday at the firm’s Beverly Hills showroom. Among choice Impressionist and modern pieces available for viewing are two paintings by Jean Dubuffet from the estate of Lita Annenberg Hazen, wife of film producer Joseph H. Hazen and sister of publishing magnate Walter H. Annenberg. The exhibition also features a Claude Monet landscape, “Antibes, Vue du Plateau Notre Dame,” and Willem de Kooning’s 1954-55 painting “Woman as Landscape,” consigned by actor Steve Martin.

Hours: 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Information: [310] 274-0340.

RICH SWITCH: Guess who’s a major patron of architect Frank D. Israel’s exhibition at the Museum of Contemporary Art? Andrea Rich, the new president of that other local art institution--the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. Seeing Rich’s name on MOCA’s walls might seem a bit strange, but she and Israel are old friends from UCLA, where she formerly served as a vice chancellor and where he is on the faculty. Israel also claims Rich as a client. He designed furniture--including cabinets, a desk and a coffee table--for her office at LACMA.

ART ON FOOT: “Public Art/Public Controversy,” the first of three downtown walking tours sponsored by Urban Art Inc., is scheduled for next Sunday, 10 a.m. Participants will visit Civic Center murals and sculpture that address issues related to the New Deal, the McCarthy era and the Vietnam War.

The second tour, “Public Art/Public Memory,” on April 14, will contrast historical artworks in the downtown area with contemporary pieces at the Central Library, Pershing Square, the Metro Rail Red Line and the Gateway Center.

The final event, “Public Art/Urban Design,” on May 19, will explore attempts to make buildings attractive and livable--with a little help from artists--at Bunker Hill and the L.A. historic core.

Each two-hour tour costs $5.

Reservations and information: (213) 975-1721.

HELP FOR THE WEB-IMPAIRED: “Designing Web Graphics” by Los Angeles-based designer and author Lynda Weinman is the latest release from New Riders Publishing in Indianapolis. Billed as the first full-color book and CD-ROM about designing for the Web, the paperback publication deals with such problems as “browser hell,” “color palette hell” and “typography for the Web-impaired” in a chatty style, from a designer’s perspective.

Art Resources Transfer Inc., a local nonprofit organization that documents and supports artists’ work, will host a discussion, net-surfing session and book signing with Weinman on Friday, 7 to 9 p.m. at 5820 Wilshire Blvd.

Information: (213) 936-3039.