| | Kunstmuseum Wolfsburg Presents an Overview of Aberto Giacometti's Mature Work
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A woman examines sculptures by Swiss artist Alberto Giacometti (1901-1966) during the preview of an exhibition, entitled Alberto Giacometti. The Origin of Space, at the Kunstmuseum in Wolfsburg. Sixty sculptures and 30 paintings are on display at the museum from 20 November 2010 until 06 March 2011. EPA/JOCHEN LUEBKE.
GERMANY.- Space does not exist, it has to be created... Every sculpture based on the assumption that space exists is wrong; there is only the illusion of space. - Alberto Giacometti, Notes, circa 1949. For the first time in 12 years, the Kunstmuseum Wolfsburg is presenting a comprehensive overview of Alberto Giacometti’s mature work in Germany. Around 60 sculptures will be displayed alongside more than 30 paintings and several drawings in the circa 2000 square meter exhibition space. The exhibition offers unique insights into the fascinating oeuvre of one of the most important artists of the twentieth century. Giacometti’s vision of situating his figures within their own space and temporality will be realized for the first time in Wolfsburg ... More |
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Denver Museum Prepares for Next Steps in Scientific Analysis of the Ice Age Fossil Site
Bones and other fossils discovered near Steamboat Springs are pictured in the foreground. AP Photo/Ed Andrieski.
DENVER, CO.- After a month of frenetic activity, Denver Museum of Nature & Science scientists and volunteers have finished their initial excavation of the Ice Age fossil site discovered at Ziegler Reservoir near Snowmass Village, and have returned to the Museum in Denver to prepare for the next phase of scientific analysis. Although the team has been working on the site for only a few weeks and in-depth scientific analysis has yet to begin, scientists acknowledge the site is one of the most significant discoveries made in Colorado. "The discovery near Snowmass Village is one of those once-in-a-lifetime finds. Not only will it completely shape our understanding of life in the Rockies during the Ice Age, but it will become forever iconic for the kids of Colorado," said Dr. Kirk Johnson, the Museum's chief curator and vice president of the Research and Collections Division. ... More | | Stonehenge Gets Multimillion-Pound Grant for Major Makeover to Help Restore Dignity
Visitors are dwarfed by the Stonehenge monument in southern England. AP Photo/Max Nash.
LONDON (AP).- Stonehenge is getting a multimillion-pound grant that conservators say will help restore some dignity to a World Heritage site blighted by busy roads and cramped facilities. English Heritage said Friday that it now has about two-thirds of the money it needs to revamp the area around the prehistoric circle of stones, although the group acknowledged the improvements probably wouldn't come in time for the 2012 Olympic Games, when hordes of tourists are expected to descend on the site. Built between 4,000 and 5,000 years ago, Stonehenge is one of the world's most recognizable sites. But the monument's vista is blighted by two busy roads, one of which runs right by it. Stonehenge's visitor center is also inadequate, with vehicle traffic spilling out onto the grassy area nearby during peak periods. There's only one outdoor refreshment kiosk to serve the nearly 1 million visitors who see the site ... More | | Scientists Attempt to Solve the Mystery of Danish Astronomer Tycho Brahe's Sudden Death
A tin box with remains of the famous Danish astronomer Tycho Brahe is seen in its tomb. AP Photo/Petr David Josek.
By: Karel Janicek, Associated Press
PRAGUE (AP).- Scientists who have exhumed the remains of Danish astronomer Tycho Brahe say tests aimed at solving the mystery of his sudden death will take until next year. An international team opened his tomb this week in the Church of Our Lady Before Tyn near Prague's Old Town Square, where Brahe has been buried since his death in 1601, and took samples of his remains. Jens Vellev, a professor of medieval archaeology at Aarhus University, Denmark, said the scientists will not only be able to reconstruct what Brahe looked like but got enough material to trace details about his life years before his death. He said an eight-centimeter (3.15 inches) long piece of mustache should make it possible for them to see "what kind of medicine he took in the last ... More |
 | World's Most Famous Diamond Unveiled at National Museum of Natural History
The Hope Diamond is seen in its unveiling of its new temporary setting, "Embracing Hope." AP Photo/Ann Heisenfelt.
WASHINGTON, D.C.- The Hope Diamond, the world’s most famous diamond, began another chapter in its already illustrious history. For the first time the diamond is on display at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History in a setting other than its historic Cartier-designed setting. The new temporary setting, “Embracing Hope,” was designed by Harry Winston Inc. and unveiled and placed on public display Nov. 18. The event marks the 50th anniversary of the Hope Diamond’s donation to the museum in 1958 and the 100th anniversary of the museum. The new exhibit also coincides with the world premiere of the Smithsonian Channel documentary film, Mystery of the Hope Diamond, which debuts Nov. 21. More than 100,000 people selected the stunning new design in an online vote sponsored by the Smithsonian Channel. Master craftsmen at Harry Winston Inc. then spent eight months creating the setting. The new plat ... More | | Colombian Fernando Botero's Matadors, Chile's Matta Top Latin American Auction at Christie's
"Family Scene," by Colombian artist Fernando Botero (detail). REUTERS/Christie's Images Ltd 2010.
By: Walker Simon
NEW YORK (REUTERS).- A portrait of an infant matador and his bullfighting elders, painted by Colombian Fernando Botero, topped Christie's Latin American art sale, which also set auction records for postwar Brazilian, Colombian, Mexican and Argentine artists. Botero's 1985 "Family Scene" of bullfighters fetched $1.7 million, the top lot of an $18.65 million sale on Wednesday evening, which also underscored strong demand for Chile's Matta, whose work bridges abstraction and surrealism. Voluminous Boteros sold well. The corpulent bullfighters in "Family Scene" feature matadors in their finery, including a crawling toddler wearing a red tie and white stockings. Botero's bronze "Seated Woman" sculpture sold for $842,500. Matta's 1956 "S'Enroseer" and his 1942 "Untitled" also ranked as top lots, respectively at $866,500 and ... More | | Important American Paintings, Drawings & Sculpture to Be Auctioned at Sotheby's New York
Winslow Homer’s Peach Blossoms (detail). Estimate: $3/5 million. Photo: Sotheby's.
NEW YORK, NY.- On 2 December, Sotheby’s auction of American Paintings, Drawings & Sculpture in New York will offer works by important American artists and genres, spanning Impressionism, Modernism, 19th Century Paintings, American Illustration and Western Art. The sale is highlighted by paintings from Property from the Collection of Philip and Charlotte Hanes, led by Winslow Homer’s Peach Blossoms (est. $3/5 million*), and will be on exhibition beginning 27 November. The December sale is led by works from the Collection of Philip and Charlotte Hanes. Mr. Hanes is a dedicated collector, philanthropist and business owner who began studying and collecting American art at a time when little had been written on the subject and few dealers specialized in American pictures. Mr. Hanes was a founding board member of the National Endowment for the Arts, and is a patron of a number of important charitable ... More |
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United States Government Returns Art Work Stolen Over Three Decades Ago to Owner
Jean Jansem, Head of a young woman.
BOSTON, MA.- The last of seven pieces of valuable artwork, stolen on Memorial Day in 1978 from a home in Stockbridge, are were returned to their owner by authorities. In November of 2008, retired Massachusetts attorney, Robert R. Mardirosian, of Falmouth, was sentenced to seven years in prison following a jury conviction on August 18, 2008, for possession of stolen goods. The case arose from the theft of seven pieces of art from a Stockbridge home in 1978 – the largest burglary from a private residence in Massachusetts history. Upon the U.S. Supreme Court’s rejection of Mardirosian’s last appeal, the government returned two paintings by Jean Jansem, titled Woman Seated and Boy, which are the last of the seven paintings stolen from the home of Michael Bakwin. The FBI had obtained these paintings from a Swiss friend of Mardirosian. The other five paintings, Portrait d’une Jeune Fille and Portrait d’un Jeune ... More | | Rijksmuseum Anounces Two Acquisitions that Highlight the Birth of Christ
Prayer nut, silver and boxwood, c. 1510-1520 (diam. 4.8cm).
AMSTERDAM.- The Rijksmuseum will celebrate Christmas 2010 with two exceptional acquisitions that highlight the birth of Christ. It recently acquired an extremely rare silver ‘prayer nut’, containing miniature carvings only millimetres in size and depicting the birth of Christ and the Adoration of the Magi. A prayer nut was an extravagant devotional object from the late Middle Ages: two silver-plated pieces of carved wood with a diameter of 4.8cm joined together to form a round ‘nut’. At the same time, the Rijksmuseum will exhibit the masterfully carved Heilige Familie (Holy Family); a small sculpture created by Jan III van Doorne that dates back to c. 1650. The small round ball called a ‘prayer nut’ was carried around by the wealthy on a silver chain. The nut was not used exclusively for prayer, but was also displayed as a status symbol and admired for the extremely detailed carvings found insi ... More | | Two Ancient Statues Stolen in the 1980s From Italian Museums are Now Home
Italian Carabinieri marshal Michele Speranza, left, stands next to a bronze statue of the Greek god Zeus. AP Photo/Pier Paolo Cito.
ROME (AP),- Two ancient statues stolen in the 1980s from Italian museums are now back home, thanks in part to a police art squad expert who spotted one of them in a New York gallery while window-shopping on vacation in the United States. The bronze statue of the Greek god Zeus and a marble female torso, both dating from the 1st century, had ended up in the hands of a dealer and a collector in New York, officials told a news conference Friday in Rome. The torso, from a small museum in Terracina, south of Rome, was on display in a Madison Ave. art gallery when Michele Speranza, a member of the Italian Carabinieri art squad that hunts down stolen artifacts, strolled by when on holiday last year. "I stopped to look at the gallery window and I recognized the statue," Speranza, 38, told reporters. "I thought I had seen it ... More |
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An Old Bearded Man by Gerard Dou; A Highlight in the Old Master Paintings Sale at Sotheby's
Gerard Dou, An old bearded man, 14.9 by 11.6 cm. Estimate €150,000 – 200,000. Photo: Sotheby's.
AMSTERDAM.- Sotheby’s Amsterdam Old Master Paintings sale on 30th November 2010 will feature An old bearded man by the Leiden fijnschilder Gerard Dou (1613 – 1675). This recently discovered and hitherto unrecorded little panel was part of a private collection for over 70 years and perfectly illustrates the artist’s talent for portraying a certain archetype of person in a highly finished style. Gerard Dou, the first and most famous pupil of Rembrandt van Rijn was, after his Master, the most acclaimed and best paid artist in the Dutch Golden Age. An old bearded man, circa 1660, is estimated to realise €150,000 – 200,000. Gerard Dou painted meticulous detailed genre scenes, tronies, and, occasionally, portraits. His works were built up with many thin layers and painted with fine, thin brushes, allowing for maximum accuracy that made his works so famous in his own day and beyond. Paintings by Gerard Dou a ... More | | Ford's Model A: Michigan Museum Plans to Break Ground on New Museum Next Year
A Model A sedan that was produced by Ford Motor Co. is shown parked outside a 1928 service station. AP Photo/Gilmore Car Museum.
HICKORY CORNERS, MICH. (AP).- A museum celebrating Ford Motor Co.'s Model A is being planned for southern Michigan that will be housed in a building designed to resemble one of the automaker's old dealerships. Organizers hope to break ground next summer on the Model A Ford Museum at the Gilmore Car Museum in Hickory Corners, about 115 miles west of Detroit. The effort to build the $1.6 million museum is led by the nonprofit Model A Ford Foundation Inc. "The museum ... will be more than just a car collection," Art Callan, the foundation's executive director, said in a statement. "It will take you on a journey through the Model A years — the end of the Roaring '20s, the stock market crash in '29." Organizers said it will be the largest public museum dedicated to the Model A, which was built in the late 1920s and early 1930s following the wild success of Ford's Model T. ... More | | Getty Announces Exhibition that Recreates a Day in the Life of an 18th Century Parisian Townhouse
Four Times of the Day, 1739-41 (detail). Nicolas Lancret (French, 1690-1743). Oil paintings on copper. © The National Gallery, London.
LOS ANGELES, CA.- The nation of France, and its capital city of Paris in particular, held a special status in European culture during the 18th century. The upper echelons of societies throughout Europe were predominantly Francophiles— imitating French fashions of dress and furniture in their daily lives. On view in the Exhibitions Pavilion at the J. Paul Getty Museum at the Getty Center, April 26 through August 7, 2011, Paris: Life & Luxury re-imagines, through art and material culture, the complex and nuanced lifestyle of elite 18th-century Parisians who made their city the fashionable and cultural epicenter of Europe. Inspired by the Getty Museum’s extensive French decorative arts collection and the correspondingly strong holdings of French illustrated books in the Getty Research Institute, Paris: Life & Luxury will provide a rich ... More |
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Major Retrospective of Paintings by Alexis Rockman Opens at the Smithsonian American Art Museum
WASHINGTON, D.C.- “Alexis Rockman: A Fable for Tomorrow” can be viewed at the Smithsonian American Art Museum in Washington, D.C., from Nov. 19 through May 8, 2011. The exhibition is the first major survey of the artist’s work with 47 paintings and works on paper that trace his career from early works in the mid-1980s to the present. Alexis Rockman (b. 1962) has been depicting the natural world with virtuosity and wit for more than two decades. He was one of the first contemporary artists to build his career around exploring environmental issues, from evolutionary biology and genetic engineering to deforestation and climate change. His work expresses deep concerns about the world’s fragile ecosystems and the tension between nature and culture. These concerns are communicated through vivid, even ... More
Staff Promotions Announced by Cheekwood Botanical Garden & Museum of Art
NASHVILLE, TN.- Cheekwood Botanical Garden & Museum of Art announced that it has promoted Penny Bruckse, PHR to Vice President of Human Resources and Claire Brick Corby to Vice President, Marketing & Sales. Bruckse and Corby join the executive team led by Jane Offenbach, President & CEO along with Wil Elder, Vice President of Development and Allison Reid, Vice President for Collections and Programs. As Vice President of Human Resources, Bruckse will oversee all human resource functions for Cheekwood including employment practices, employee relations, wage planning and administration, coordination of benefits programs and maintaining human resource policies and procedures. Bruckse is also responsible for visitor services operations and the supervision of customer service staff. Bruckse has been with Cheekwood ... More
Major Sculptures and Projections by Seven Internationally Significant Artists at The Fruitmarket Gallery
EDINBURGH.- The Fruitmarket Gallery’s 2010 winter exhibition brings together major sculptures and projections by seven internationally significant artists from Britain and the United States in an exploration of what curator David Hopkins terms the ‘dark poetics’ of childhood. Centred on the work of British and American artists who came to prominence in the 1980s and early 1990s, the exhibition sets in dialogue a number of seminal works on the theme of toys, childhood, child development and the cultural conditioning of children. The exhibition sets up a series of ‘conversations’ between the objects on display in order to explore a number of interconnected themes: Jeff Koons’ celebrations of kiddy- kitsch are set against Mike Kelley’s and Louise Bourgeois’ evocations of more sinister or abusive parent-child relations; Susan Hiller’s anthropologically-inflected exploration of th ... More
New Chair and Five New Members of the Board of Directors Announced by the Terra Foundation for American Art
CHICAGO, IL.- The Terra Foundation for American Art announces a new chair and the addition of five new members of the Board of Directors. Elected for a four-year term, the following individuals were selected for their extensive experience in American art scholarship and collecting, museum leadership, education, and finance. Max N. Berry is a Washington, D.C., attorney and lobbyist in private practice specializing in international trade. He is an honorary trustee of the Metropolitan Museum of Art and a member of the External Affairs Advisory Committee; the Fund for the Met Committee; and the Bryant Fellows (American Wing). In addition, Mr. Berry is an honorary member and past chair of the Smithsonian National Board; a former trustee and past chair of the Archives of American Art; and a past trustee of the Phillips Collection. He currently serves as a trustee of the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts; the National Ga ... More
Meet the New Curators for 2012 Whitney Museum of American Art Biennial
NEW YORK, NY. - The Whitney Museum of American Art announced that the 2012 Whitney Biennial will be co-curated by the Whitney’s Elisabeth Sussman and independent curator Jay Sanders. This will be the 76th in the Museum’s series of Annual and Biennial exhibitions inaugurated in 1932 by Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney.The next Whitney Biennial, the Museum’s signature survey of contemporary American art, goes on view in March 2012. The list of the selected artists will be announced at the end of 2011 or early 2012. Donna De Salvo, the Whitney’s Chief Curator and Deputy Director for Programs, said, “Over the past three decades, Elisabeth has distinguished herself as one of the premier curators in the field. Her recent historical exhibitions have had tremendous impact on a younger generation of artists whom she has also been actively acquiring for our collection. Through his writings and exhibitions, Jay has ... More
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