| | Spanish King Juan Carlos and Queen Sofia Open "The Prado in the Hermitage" Exhibition
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From right, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, Spanish Queen Sofia, Spanish King Juan Carlos, Medvedev's wife Svetlana, seen during opening ceremony of an exhibition of Spanish art in the State Hermitage Museum in St.Petersburg, Russia, Friday, Feb. 25, 2011. AP Photo/RIA Novosti, Dmitry Astakhov, Presidential Press Service.
SAINT PETERSBURG.- Spanish King Juan Carlos and his wife Queen Sofia on Friday presided over the opening of an exhibition of works from Madrid's Prado museum in Russia's imperial capital Saint Petersburg. The State Hermitage Museum, the Museo del Prado and the State Society for Cultural Action [Sociedad Estatal de Acción Cultural] today signed the collaborative agreements for the celebration of the exhibitions "The Prado in the Hermitage" and "Treasures from the Hermitage", to be shown this year in Saint Petersburg and Madrid respectively within the context of the bi-lateral Spain-Russia Year 2011. The Prado in the Hermitage (25 February to 29 May 2011) presents in Saint Petersburg a group of 66 paintings from the Spanish, Italian and Flemish Schools that will allow Russian visitors to appreciate the historical and artistic importance of the Prado’s collect ... More |
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Rijksmuseum Acquires a Terracotta Sculpture by Tommaso Porlezza della Porta
The prophet Balaam, Tommaso Porlezza della Porta, 1576-1578.
AMSTERDAM.- The Rijksmuseum has acquired a terracotta sculpture by the Italian master Tommaso Porlezza della Porta. The 22.5 cm sculpture depicts the Old Testament prophet Balaam and was produced sometime between 1575 and 1578. One of the most beautiful 16th-century Italian terracotta sculptures still remaining, it was the model for a sculpture in Loreto, one of Italy’s major pilgrimage sites that is visited by millions of pilgrims each year. This small terracotta sculpture was the scale model for a life-sized marble sculpture that was created for the Santa Casa in Loreto. This ‘sacred house’ is a shrine that was built in the 16th century around the remains of what had been considered Mary’s birthplace since the Middle Ages. Tradition has it that the house was miraculously brought from Nazareth (in Palestine) to Loreto (central Italy) by angels. Loreto was the major papal construction and sculpture p ... More | | Sotheby's to Sell One of the Greatest Venetian View Paintings Ever Executed
The painting has been sold just once since it was first acquired in Venice in 1768 by the English Grand Tourist, Chaloner Arcedeckne. Photo: Sotheby's.
LONDON.- On July 6, 2011, Sotheby’s London will sell one of the greatest masterpieces of Venetian view painting ever executed. Estimated in the region of £20 million* (US$30 million), Francesco Guardi’s Venice, a view of the Rialto Bridge, Looking North, from the Fondamenta del Carbon is monumental in scale. Measuring 115 by 199.5cm (45¼ by 78½ in.), it is one of four works that Guardi painted on this grand scale, all executed at around the same time in the late 1760s, which together constitute the pinnacle of Guardi’s output as a painter of vedute and which are generally considered to be Guardi’s greatest works – the first and fullest expression of the artist’s mature style. While one of the four paintings on this scale was destroyed in a fire in the mid-20th century, this painting and its pendant have remained together until very recently. The last in the group1 was sold by Sotheby’s in 19 ... More | | Magnificent Early Renoir and an Extraordinary Story of Jealousy at TEFAF Maastricht
Femme cueillant des Fleurs by Pierre-Auguste Renoir, c1874, oil on canvas, 65.5 x 54.4 cm.
HELVOIRT.- A major work by Pierre-Auguste Renoir from the pioneering early days of Impressionism is to be offered for sale for US$15 million by the leading international gallery Dickinson at TEFAF Maastricht, the world’s most influential art and antiques fair. Femme cueillant des Fleurs (Woman picking flowers) depicts Camille Monet, the first wife of Renoir’s fellow Impressionist Claude Monet, who died tragically young. It is being sold through Dickinson by the Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute in the United States in order to strengthen other areas of its collection. TEFAF (The European Fine Art Fair) will be held at the MECC (Maastricht Exhibition and Congress Centre) in Maastricht in the southern Netherlands from March 18-27, 2011. Important early Impressionist paintings are increasingly rare on the market and Femme cueillant des Fleurs dates from a pivotal period. It also serves as a poignant reminder of a story of fierce jealousy involving Monet’s f ... More |
 | Brooklyn Museum to Open First Phase of Transformative Renovation of First Floor
The initial phase of renovation features the expansive, two-story-high colonnaded space with its original coffered glass-block ceiling. Rendering by Ennead Architects.
BROOKLYN, NY.- The Brooklyn Museum has completed an extensive renovation of its historic Great Hall at the center of its ground floor and has reclaimed additional space for a new gallery. This project, which is the initial phase of a major redesign of the first floor, marks the most transformative change to the floor since that portion of the Museum was constructed in the early twentieth century. The renovated space has been redesigned by the award-winning studio Ennead Architects, formerly known as Polshek Partnership. Ennead has been the architectural firm responsible for the transformation of the Museum over the past twenty-five years. According to Arnold L. Lehman, Museum Director, "This major rethinking of the nineteenth-century McKim, Mead & White architecture will completely alter and enhance the experience of every visitor in a way that makes for a more exciting and logical introduction to the Museum. Because o ... More | | Exceptional Collection of Artwork by Swiss Artist Albert Anker to Sell at Hôtel des Ventes
Albert Anker (1831-1910), Louvre Paris/ Der Louvre in Paris, 1887, encre et aquarelle sur papier, 8,5x14,5 cm. Exposition: Kunstmuseum Bern, 1931, n°260.
GENEVA.-The estate of Albert Anker’s family will finally go under the hammer at the Geneva-based auctioneers on 9th March without reserve prices. This ensemble of over 55 never-before-seen drawings, sketches and watercolours by Albert Anker was recently discovered in a safe in Geneva. The collection will be sold alongside furniture and personal items and has been valued at 200'000 to 300'000 Swiss francs. According to the owner’s last wishes, all sale proceeds will be donated to charitable organisations. Representatives of the Media will have the opportunity to discover this collection with a world preview press presentation on Wednesday 2nd March at 11 a.m. at Hôtel des Ventes. This ensemble of works and portraits belongs to the estate of Jeanine DuBois (1931-2010), wife of Jean DuBois (1907-1983), Anker’s grandson. A Geologist and extensive traveller, DuBois always kept the childhood portrait his grandfa ... More | | 'Scream Collection Part II' Featuring; Buffet, Dali, Dine, Jones, Miro, Jones and Vasarely
Salvador Dali, Port Lligat (Venus with Drawers), 1970 Lithograph printed in colours. Photo: Courtesy Scream Gallery.
LONDON.- The collection features Spanish sculptor, printmaker, ceramicist and painter Joan Miro, a key figure in the Surreailist movement. His exquisite 1960 etching with aquatint ‘Grand Vent’ are on display, as well as a 1974 lithograph Affice pour L’Exposition Miro, Louisiana’. Several iconic images by Salvador Dali are included, such as ‘Port Ligat (Venus with Drawers)’, a 1970 lithograph inspired by his 1936 sculpture ‘Venus de Milo with Drawers’, and a phallic cosmological 1974 print ‘The Gelatinous Watches of Space Time’. A lithograph by American Pop Artist Jim Dine also uses the Venus de Milo as its inspiration, ‘The Bather (Venus)’ 2005, reinterprets the classical muse using primary colours and clothing her in a yellow basque. Pop Artist Allen Jones, who famously created a table from the female form in the swinging ‘60s (“Hatstand and Chair”, 1969), is also featured in the exhibition. Jones is ... More |
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British Council Appoints West Kowloon Cultural District Authority CEO as New Director for Arts
Graham Sheffield. Photo: Morley Von Sternberg.
LONDON.- The British Council – the UK’s international cultural relations organisation - has appointed Graham Sheffield as its new Director Arts. Martin Davidson, British Council Chief Executive said: “I am delighted to announce that Graham Sheffield has been appointed to the role of Director Arts. His extensive arts management and creative experience will ensure that the arts remain at the heart of the British Council’s mission to strengthen ties between the UK and people in over 100 countries." Graham Sheffield has held a number of high profile roles in the UK and internationally. Most recently he was CEO of the West Kowloon Cultural District in Hong Kong and before that he was Artistic Director of the Barbican Centre and Chair of the City of London Arts and Culture Forum and of the International Society for the Performing Arts. Graham will join the British Council at the beginning of May. The role of Director Arts involves providing leadership and di ... More | | Artist Collective to Create New Work for Guggenheim Museum's Intervals Contemporary Series
Futurefarmers, Shoemaker's Last, 2010. Inkjet print, 20 x 20 cm © Futurefarmers. Photo: Courtesy the artists.
NEW YORK, N.Y.- From May 4 to May 14, 2011, the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum will present Intervals: Futurefarmers, the fourth installment of its contemporary art series designed to reflect the spirit of today’s innovative practices. For its Intervals project, the San Francisco– based art collective Futurefarmers is creating a site-specific installation on the Rotunda floor of the museum and organizing intimate participatory programs for the public in various spaces around the city of New York. Futurefarmers creates projects that are diverse both in terms of their production and their strategies of audience engagement. If anything typifies a Futurefarmers project, it is a balance of critical and optimistic thought with the use of inventive and pragmatic design elements. Recent works include antiwar computer games; an online registry of unused arable land sites in San Francisco that could be used for ... More | | Famous Movie Theater in Alabama Inspires Robert Cottingham for New Exhibition at Forum Gallery
Robert Cottingham, Empire II, 2010, oil on canvas, 82 1/2 x 45 inches. Photo: Courtesy Forum Gallery.
NEW YORK, NY.- A famous movie theater in Montgomery, Alabama, the site where Rosa Parks started the Civil Rights Movement, is the subject of an exhibition of new work by Robert Cottingham at Forum Gallery from February 24 through April 9, 2011. Empire will focus on nine paintings and drawings from 2008-2010, depicting the theater’s marquee in oil, watercolor, gouache and graphite. Many of the paintings are monumental in size, which intensify their dramatic effect as they salute a bygone era. Robert Cottingham is known for imagery that celebrates the history of communications in America, specifically signage on urban storefronts, iconic communication devices such as vintage typewriters and cameras, and signs on railroad cars. The Empire series is an exploration of urban history, and the exhibition is an examination of the Artist’s consistent process. In 2008, Cottingham was asked by ... More |
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Last Book by Isaac Newton on God, the Bible and Kosher Food, for Sale at Bonhams
Working manuscript by Sir Isaac Newton for the last book he ever wrote. Estimate: £40,000-50,000. Photo: Bonhams.
LONDON.-A rare, handwritten, working manuscript by Sir Isaac Newton for the last book he ever wrote is for auction at Bonhams, as part of the sale of the Roy Davids Collection of Papers and Portraits in London on 29 March. It is estimated at between £40,000-50,000. Newton’s world famous reputation as a mathematician and scientist has tended to obscure his deep interest in - and knowledge of - theology. His immersion in religious thought and, in particular, biblical study only emerged comparatively recently in 1991 when the bulk of his papers on theology, held at the University of Jerusalem, became widely available. He has been described both as ‘perhaps the greatest biblical scholar of his age, and as ‘an original Hebraic scholar’. The document in the Roy Davids sale headed, ‘The Question ... More | | Posters of the Russian Revolution 1917-1921 from the Lenin Library at Nassau County Museum of Art
Viktor Deni, Comrade Lenin Purging the Unclean from the Earth, 1920. Color Lithograph. The Arnold A. Saltzman Family Collection.
ROSLYN HARBOR, N.Y.- In the stormy period that began with the 1917 October Revolution, poster art became a principal means of communicating the ideals of Communism to the largely illiterate peasantry of Russia. Graphic, inexpensively produced posters carried the Revolution’s message and served to capture the minds and souls of the masses. These vibrant posters, depicting the new collective means of production in mines, fields and factories, were designed and executed by some of the foremost Russian artists of the time, among them Dmitry Moor, El Lissitzky, and Viktor Deni. The works in Posters of the Russian Revolution 1917-1921 are on loan from The Arnold A. Saltzman Family Collection. The exhibition is on view at Nassau County Museum of Art through May 8, 2011. The early posters of 1917-18 mirror the ... More | | Sir Claude Francis Barry Exhibition at The Royal Cornwall Museum Reveals Masterful Work
The Fireman. Photo: Bernie Pettersen.
CORNWALL.- Described by one national critic as ‘the greatest artist you never heard of’, Barry (1883-1970) was a prolific painter and etcher who spent years working alongside Newlyn School greats like Stanhope Forbes, Henry Scott Tuke and Norman Garstin at the beginning of the last century. An early narrative approach to painting gave way to more abstract themes as he experimented with a range of styles – including the very different schools of Pointillism and Vorticism. The result is an exciting, very varied portfolio of work that is as memorable as it is striking. Had it not been for the passion and determination of one man, however, Barry would, in all likelihood, have remained an unknown. Independently wealthy, he didn’t need to sell his art during his lifetime and, when he died on Jersey in 1970, he left the bulk of it to an impoverished fellow artist. When solicitor David Capps came a ... More |
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 Image of Cape Town's 'District Six' Madein Fear by Leading Black Artists for Sale at BonhamsLONDON.-“Enfolded in his loneliness as in an African blanket. One of the zombies apartheid has let loose upon the world, wandering ghost, sad and terrifying dreamer.” Andre Brink, `A Fork in the Road.’ A stunning picture of Cape Town’s District Six by Gerard Sekoto (1913-1993), South Africa’s greatest black artist, sketched rapidly and fearfully, is set to make £200,000 to £300,000 at Bonhams sale of South African Art in London on March 23. The oil painting titled `Yellow Houses, District Six’ was produced in its earliest sketch form while the artist was on tenterhooks. Sekoto writes: "Although much of the time I would feel scared to enter too deep into the most dangerous seeming hide-outs of District Six, I hovered within arm's length, observing and making sketches in a very acrobatic style. This meant making quick sketches in such a manner that an observer would imagine I was noting down some ... More Small Auction House Wins Major EstatesLOS ANGELES, CA.- Property from the Estate of computer billionaire Max Palevsky and works from the collection of James Byrnes, the first curator of Modern Art at LACMA, will trade hands for the first time on March 6, 2011 at the upcoming LAMA auction. Over half of the 500 plus items offered in the March 6th auction have never before traded hands on the open market. Peter Loughrey, Director of LAMA: “Every auctioneer is aware that strong material from private collections is always in great demand. This is one of the best opportunities we have had to offer completely fresh material by some of the greatest artists of the 20th century. The fact that this material has such great provenance and will be sold with little or no reserve is just icing on the cake.” Highlights from the Estate of Max Palevsky will include a number of Ettore Sottsass custom designs such as a marble entry table, a custom headboard with built-in nigh ... More Praz-Delavallade Presents Third Solo Exhibition by Los Angeles Based Artist Sam DurantPARIS.- Praz-Delavallade presents their third solo-exhibition by Los Angeles based artist Sam Durant. Through his drawings, sculptures and installations, Sam Durant explores the realms of pop culture, history and memoralization in order to question the values of American society. After having focused on such pivotal periods as the civil-rights era, the 1968 student riots, and the last century's struggle between Native Americans and European settlers, economics have taken a determinant place in his more recent series. On view until 26 March 2011. The title of the show refers to Amercian artist Robert Smithson's work Yucatan Mirror Displacements (1969) which was itself a reference to writer John Lloyd Stephen's book Incidents of Travel in Yucatan (1843). At the forefront in all of his work, the mirror interests Sam Durant because of its potent symbolic charge. Evocative of both reflection and reflexion, a mirror suggest ... More West Coast Debut of Video and Performance Artists Eva and Franco Mattes at Cain Schulte Contemporary ArtSAN FRANCISCO, CA.- Cain Schulte Contemporary Art San Francisco presents the West Coast debut of the New York-based, internationally known video and performance artists Eva and Franco Mattes, aka 0100101110101101.ORG, with their solo exhibition Colorless, Odorless, Tasteless, on view from February 25 to April 2, 2011. For their first solo exhibition in San Francisco, Eva and Franco Mattes create an interacting installation/performance with an arcade video game. The title Colorless, Odorless, Tasteless refers to the properties of carbon monoxide produced by their arcade video game, rigged with a real car engine that turns on when played. The audience will decide the amount of pollution released in the atmosphere by their playing the game, and creating unexpected outcomes by their actions. The main focus of this installation/performance is online performances, the video game industry, and environmentalism, but his latest pie ... More Indian Comic Book Pioneer 'Uncle Pai' Dies at 81By: Katy Daigle, Associated Press
NEW DELHI (AP).- Anant Pai, a comic book pioneer whose colorful adaptations of Hindu mythology have been cherished by Indian children for nearly half a century, has died of a heart attack in a Mumbai hospital, his publishing house said Friday. He was 81. Affectionately known as "Uncle Pai," he is credited with launching India's comic book industry in the 1960s with his series "Amar Chitra Katha" — or "Immortal Picture Stories" — chronicling the Sanskrit epics Mahabharata and Ramayana as well as Hindu folk tales and legends. Pai meant for the series to be an educational tool. He was prompted by watching a quiz show on which Indian schoolchildren were unable to answer questions about Hindu mythology despite knowing Greek mythology, colleagues said. "He believed the best way to communicate an idea or value to a child is through stories," said Reena I. Puri, his longtime editor at ACK Med ... More |
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