| | Selected Paintings by Lucas Cranach the Elder on View at Alte Pinakothek in Munich
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A man walks past the paintings (L-R), 'St. Anna Selbdritt' (1516), 'Abraham's Sacrifice' (1530) and 'Adam and Eve' (around 1510) after a press conference of the exhibition 'Cranach in Bavaria' in Munich, Germany. On the occasion of the 175th anniversary of the Alte Pinakothek, 30 paintings by German artist Lucas Cranach the Elder are presented at an exhibition that runs from 14 April until 17 July 2011. EPA/MARC MUELLER.
MUNICH.- The third exhibition to mark the Alte Pinakothek’s 175th anniversary comprises 30 selected paintings by Lucas Cranach the Elder (1472-1553) from the Bayerische Staatsgemäldesammlungen’s extensive holdings. It is the first Cranach exhibition in the Alte Pinakothek. The exhibition is on display from April 14 and runs until July 17, 2011. The title “Cranach in Bavaria” encompasses biographical and art-historical aspects as well as those related to the history of the collection and museum policies. The Wittenberg painter was born on the border of present-day Bavaria in 1472 and became famous under the name of his place of birth, Kronach, in Upper Franconia. His first large altarpiece, “The Crucifixion” of 1503 in the Alte Pinakothek, was most probably painted for a Bavarian monastery. When the painting was added to the elector of Bavaria’s gallery in 1804, the Cranach collection there ... More |
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Sotheby's to Sell Collection of Old Master Paintings Assembled by Saam and Lily Nijstad
Michiel van Musscher (1645 - 1705), An Interior Scene with Eva Visscher, the Artist's Wife, with a Child in Her Lap and another Child in a Cot, Beside them a Dog. Estimate: £300,000 - 400,000
LONDON.- Sotheby's London announces the sale of the collection of Old Master Paintings, on Thursday 7th July 2011, formed by Saam & Lily Nijstad over the last four decades. Saam Nijstad was for many years a leading dealer in Dutch Old Masters based in The Hague, but he and his wife were also passionate collectors for nearly sixty years. Assembled with care and knowledge, the collection of 38 lots is estimated to fetch in excess of £2 million. Speaking about the sale, George Gordon, Sotheby’s Co---- Chairman, Old Master Paintings and Drawings Department, commented, “Saam Nijstad established a distinguished reputation in the trade for his expertise and eye for the highest quality works in his field, and this is reflected in the wonderful collection that he and his wife Lily assembled privately. As in their approach to ... More | | First Major Retrospective in 50 Years of Spanish Artist Joan Miró Opens at Tate Modern
Joan Miró, May 1968 (detail) 1968–1973. © Joan Miró and Fundació Joan Miró, Barcelona.
LONDON.- Tate Modern presents the first major retrospective of Joan Miró (1893–1983) to be held in London for almost 50 years. The exhibition is on view from April 14 through September 11, 2011. Joan Miró: The Ladder of Escape brings together over 150 paintings, works on paper and sculptures by one of the twentieth century’s greatest artists. The exhibition draws on collections from around the world to represent the astonishing breadth of Miró’s output. It also explores the wider context of his work, bringing to light the artist’s political engagement and examining the influence of his Catalan identity, the Spanish Civil War and the rise and fall of Franco’s regime. Miró was among the most iconic of modern artists, evolving a Surrealist language of symbols that evokes a sense of freedom and energy in its fantastic imagery and direct colour. Often regarded as a forefather of Abstract Expressionism, his ... More | | Gagosian Gallery in New York Presents Picasso and Marie-Therese: L'amour fou
Pablo Picasso, Femme aux cheveux jaunes, December 1931. Oil on canvas, 39 3/8 x 31 7/8 inches (100 x 81 cm) Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York. Thannhauser Collection, Justin K. Thannhauser. © 2011 Estate of Pablo Picasso/Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York . Courtesy Gagosian Gallery.
NEW YORK, NY.- Following the critical and popular success of Picasso: Mosqueteros in New York in 2009 and Picasso: The Mediterranean Years in London in 2010, Gagosian Gallery presents the next chapter in an ongoing exploration of Picasso’s principal themes. Picasso and Marie-Thérèse: L’amour fou brings together the paintings, drawings, sculptures, and prints inspired by one of Picasso’s most ideal models and enduring passions. The exhibition is curated by the eminent Picasso biographer, John Richardson, together with Marie-Thérèse’s granddaughter, art historian Diana Widmaier Picasso, who is currently preparing a catalogue raisonné of Picasso’s sculptures. The exhibition ... More |
 | Property from a Distinguished East Coast Collection to Be Auctioned at Sotheby's
Kees van Dongen, Portrait de Mrs. Jean McKenzie Sclater-Booth. Est. $1/1.5 million. Photo: Sotheby's.
NEW YORK, NY.- Sotheby’s announces that it will offer Property from a Distinguished East Coast Collection in a series of sales in New York through 2011. Assembled over several decades, the Collection offers both diversity and depth, holding important examples from Impressionist, Modern and Contemporary periods, with a special focus on Latin American art and American painting. Impressionist and Modern works from the Collection are led by Kees van Dongen’s Portrait de Mrs. Jean McKelvie Sclater-Booth, a prime example of the artist’s fashionable portraits of society Doyennes that synthesized all that was chic and desirable during the 1920s (est. $1/1.5 million**). To have a portrait painted by van Dongen was a coveted status symbol for the most fashionable women of the era, and the present work shows the svelte Mrs. Jean McKelvie Sclater Booth at her glamorous best – bejeweled, wearing the latest gown and spo ... More | | Defense Secretary Robert Gates Breaks Ground for George Washington Presidential Library
The 45,000-square-foot National Library, sited on 15 acres within walking distance of George Washington’s home. AP Photo/Mount Vernon Ladies' Association.
By: Matthew Barakat, Associated Press
MOUNT VERNON, VA (AP)- It was one of the few things George Washington wanted to do but never got around to: build a library to hold his official and personal papers. On Thursday, more than 200 years after Washington wrote of the idea, dignitaries broke ground at his Mount Vernon estate on a $47 million presidential library of sorts that they hope will evolve into a "think tank" promoting scholarship about one of the nation's Founding Fathers. The estate hopes the library will be a home to a centralized collection of Washington's his papers. The president wrote in a 1797 letter — two years before his death — about a library, saying his papers were "voluminous and may be interesting." Defense Secretary Robert Gates said at Thursday's ceremonies that ... More | | Rarely Seen Paintings by Eva Hesse to be Presented at the Brooklyn Museum
Eva Hesse (American, born Germany, 1936–1970). No title, 1960. Oil on masonite. 15 3/4 x 12 inches (40 x 30.48 cm). The Estate of Eva Hesse, courtesy Hauser & Wirth.
BROOKLYN, NY.- Eva Hesse Spectres 1960, an exhibition of rarely seen paintings by the artist Eva Hesse (1936–1970), will be presented in the Brooklyn Museum’s Elizabeth A. Sackler Center for Feminist Art beginning September 16, 2011. Created when Hesse was just 24 years old, this group of nineteen semi-representational oil paintings, while standing in contrast to the works for which she is well known, nonetheless constitutes a vital link to her later Minimalist sculptural assemblages. Although several recent museum exhibitions of Hesse’s work have featured a few of these paintings from 1960, none have considered them as a group, all together. There are two distinct groups within the Spectres series. In the first, the paintings are intimate in scale and the loosely rendered figures are gaunt, standing or dancing ... More |
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Sotheby's Sale of Important Watches this May Presents Five Centuries of Watch History
A very rare and unusual gold and enamel watch with grande and petite sonnerie made circa 1835 by Swiss watchmaker Louis Audemars. Estimate: CHF 100,000-150,000/ $111,000-166,000. Photo: Sotheby's.
GENEVA.- Sotheby’s spring sale of Important Watches, to be staged at the Hôtel Beau-Rivage in Geneva on Sunday 15 May 2011, will embark world collectors on a journey through five centuries of watch history, from 1580 to the present day. The sale will include iconic pieces from each era, from a 16th century German tambour watch to a highly rare Patek Philippe chronograph (est. CHF 600,000-1,000,000 / $665,000-1,100,000), through luxurious pocket watches made for Indian Maharajas in the 19th Century and watches that have witnessed historical moments, such as Fausto Coppi’s legendary 1942 Cycling World Hour Record. Featuring over 280 lots estimated in excess of CHF 7.2 million, the sale will bring together an impressive range of antique timepieces, pocket watches and blue-chip wristwatches, including a group of very rare Rolex models. ... More | | Pink Diamond Expected to Fetch Up to $15 Million Fails to Sell at Christie's Auction
A Fancy Vivid Purple-Pink Cushion-Cut Diamond Ring, of 10.09 carats. Estimate $12,000,000 – 15,000,000. Photo: Christie's Images Ltd 2011.
NEW YORK, NY (REUTERS).- A more than 10 carat purplish-pink diamond expected to fetch up to $15 million failed to sell at Christie's Magnificent Jewels auction on Tuesday which took in a total of $31.8 million. "We were disappointed that the 10-carat purple-pink diamond did not find a buyer, (but) top-quality white, blue, pink and yellow diamonds fared very well," said Christie's head of jewellery in New York, Radul Kadakia. He added that a Fancy Vivid blue diamond sold for $3.67 million, or more than $1 million per carat which exceeded it high estimate. Five jewels topped the $1 million mark. Christie's said the sale saw heavy competition among both trade buyers and private collectors for colourless diamonds, large gemstones and signed jewels. But the 10.09 carat Fancy Vivid cushion-cut was expected to be the sale's highlight, with prices for large pink diamonds, the most expensive coloured diamonds on the market, having sk ... More | | Wen Wei Po Newspaper Says China Accuses Famed Artist Ai Weiwei of Tax Evasion
Human rights protesters hold a rally, carrying the picture of Ai Weiwei. AP Photo/Kin Cheung.
By: Isolda Morillo, Associated Press
BEIJING (AP).- Famed Chinese artist Ai Weiwei, who disappeared earlier this month and is believed to be in police custody, is being investigated for allegedly evading his taxes and destroying evidence, a Hong Kong newspaper reported Thursday. The Beijing-backed Wen Wei Po newspaper quoted unnamed sources as saying Ai, an outspoken government critic, is suspected of evading large amounts of tax, though no exact figure was given, and destroying papers that might have been used as evidence against him. His family denied the paper's claims and said the government is trying to punish him for his social activism. "He has made the government unhappy by speaking up for ordinary people," Ai's sister Gao Ge told The Associated Press. "Now the government wants to get him back." The Wen Wei Po is often used by the Beijing government to help shape ... More |
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First Batch of Korean Royal Books Looted by French Military 145 Years Ago Return Home
Containers carrying the first shipment of Korean royal books, Oegyujanggak, arrive at National Museum of Korea. AP Photo/ Kim Ju-sung, Yonhap.
SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA (AP).- The first batch of Korean royal books looted by the French military 145 years ago returned home Thursday. French troops took away hundreds of Korean manuscripts and set fire to 5,000 more when they raided a royal library in 1866 on an island off Korea's west coast. After about 20 years of negotiations, France agreed last year to return the books on a "renewable lease" in line with French law, South Korean officials say. The books detail protocol for royal funerals, weddings and other ceremonies during the Joseon Dynasty, which ruled Korea from 1392 to 1910. The lease means the books' "virtual return" to South Korea as French law allows cultural assets taken out of the country only temporarily, South Korea's Culture Ministry said in a statement. "Through this return, South Korea and France became closer friends who can trust each other more," Culture Minster Choung ... More | | The Getty Museum's Rebecca Taylor Appointed Communications Director at MoMA PS1
Ms. Taylor most recently served as Senior Communications Specialist at The J. Paul Getty Trust in Los Angeles.
NEW YORK, NY.- Klaus Biesenbach, Director of MoMA PS1 and Chief Curator at Large at MoMA, announced that Rebecca Taylor has been appointed Communications Director at MoMA PS1. In this role, Ms. Taylor will manage all communications functions for MoMA PS1, working in close collaboration with Mr. Biesenbach and the Marketing and Communications staff at MoMA. Her duties will include planning, developing, and implementing press strategies and press events; planning, developing, and executing marketing, advertising, and media strategies; overseeing web content for MoMAPS1.org; and managing MoMA PS1 social media outlets, including Facebook, Twitter, and Flickr. Ms. Taylor will begin her new position on June 13. Ms. Taylor most recently served as Senior Communications Specialist at The J. Paul Getty Trust ... More | | World Record for Cuneiform Clay Document at Bonhams Antiquities Sale in London
Cuneiform cylinder. Photo: Bonhams.
LONDON.- Classical sculpture new to the market after decades in the ownership of Sir Daniel Donohue, a Californian businessman and philanthropist, sold outstandingly well at Bonhams Antiquities sale on April 13th in New Bond Street. Of the 62 lots consigned by the Donohue Collection 60 sold. The top item in the Collection was the front cover lot, a sculpted panel showing a chariot and four horses being driven by figures believed to be the gods Aphrodite and Mars. The panel sold for £490,400. The sale made a total of £3.2m. Madeleine Perridge, Head of Antiquities at Bonhams says: “The Donohue Collection was a remarkable monument to Sir Daniel and Countess Bernadine’s passion for collecting. They filled their houses and gardens with stunning pieces of ancient sculpture from over-life-size marble goddesses, to small finely cast bronze figures. The top item in the sale, the charioteer panel achieved an ... More |
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 A Glittering Result: Bonhams Jewellery Sale Tops £3.2 MillionLONDON.- A full sale room, busy telephone lines and fierce bidding resulted in a sale total of £3.2 million at the Bonhams Fine Jewellery sale in New Bond Street yesterday (13th April). The top lot of the sale was an impressive pair of brilliant- cut diamond pendent earrings which surpassed the pre-sale estimate of £120,000 – 150,000 to sell for £240,000. A pair of diamond clip brooches by Cartier realised £228,000, over double the pre-sale estimate of £80,000- 100,000. The brooches, circa 1935, are a fantastic example of the pioneering nature of the French jewellery house, during a time when they were attempting to push the boundaries of design. A fancy vivid yellow diamond single stone ring, weighing 5.4 carats realised £198,000 after enthusiastic bidding. Although diamond pieces of jewellery prevailed in the top ten lots, other highlights included a pink sapphire and diamond flower brooch, circa 1900, realistically mod ... More Kunsthaus Zürich Postpones Exhibition of Work by Haris Epaminonda ZURICH- The exhibition of work by artist Haris Epaminonda, planned to begin on 16 September 2011, has been postponed. Instead, the Kunsthaus will show contemporary art until 27 November acquired from the ‘Gruppe Junge Kunst’ (Young Art Group) and presented to the Kunsthaus on long-term loan. The ‘Gruppe Junge Kunst’ is a member of the Vereinigung Zürcher Kunstfreunde (VZK), the museum’s patron association. When the Kunsthaus Zürich and Haris Epaminonda conceived of the exhibition a year ago, the plan was to create art especially for a Zurich premiere. Since the artist is now expecting a child, however, she cannot complete these works, and the exhibition has been postponed until December of 2012. Visitors can nevertheless look forward to new, in some cases never before exhibited pieces. The show includes installations, paintings, sculptures, videos and drawings purchased in recent years by the ‘ ... More LiveAuctioneers.com Ceases Business with GoDaddy to Protest Shooting of ElephantNEW YORK, NY- Julian R. Ellison, CEO of LiveAuctioneers LLC, is speaking out about a recent incident in which another Internet technology executive – Bob Parsons of domain-hosting company GoDaddy.com – killed an elephant in Zimbabwe with a high-powered rifle. Parsons, who is CEO of GoDaddy, enlisted a video crew to tape the entire episode as it happened, then posted it on his corporate website to the accompaniment of a rock music soundtrack. The video has since been edited to delete the frame showing the actual shooting of the elephant, and the AC/DC song "Hell's Bells" has been removed. After reading about the elephant slaughter and viewing the video, Ellison issued instructions to his staff to sever all business ties with GoDaddy, which previously provided web hosting for Ellison's businesses. LiveAuctioneers LLC is the parent company of LiveAuctioneers.com, which provides Internet live-bidding services and support t ... MoreSands, Not Lights, Cover Gaza Archaeology SitesKHAN YOUNIS, GAZA (REUTERS).- Five thousand years of fascinating history lie beneath the sands of the Gaza Strip, from blinded biblical hero Samson to British general Allenby. The flat, sandy lands on the Mediterranean's southeastern shore have been ruled by Ancient Egyptians, Philistines, Romans, Byzantines and Crusaders. Alexander the Great besieged the city. Emperor Hadrian visited. Mongols raided Gaza, and 1,400 years ago Islamic armies invaded. Gaza has been part of the Ottoman Empire, a camp for Napoleon and a First World War battleground. But archaeology here does not flourish. "The only way to preserve what we discover is to bury it until the proper tools are available," says Hassan Abu Halabyea of the Gaza ministry of Tourism and Archaeology. "We lack the capability, the support and the proper materials needed to maintain this historical site or that. We bury it to preserve it from destruction," he says. Waleed Al-Aqqad is an amateur archaeologist who has turned his hou ... More Rare Franck Muller, Historic Patek Philippe Highlight New York Fine Timepiece Event at Heritage AuctionsNEW YORK, NY.- A very rare and superlative Franck Muller Prototype Gold Minute Repeating Wristwatch, with Perpetual Calendar and Moon Phases, circa 1986, is expected to bring more than $100,000 when it crosses the auction block as part of Heritage Auctions' New York Signature(r) Timepieces Auction, Tuesday May 3, at the Fletcher-Sinclair Mansion, 2 East 79th Street (at 5th Ave). "This important timepiece is accompanied by a letter, hand written and signed by Franck Muller, which states that he personally made the watch in 1986 for the Vicenza Jewellery and Watch Fair," said Jim Wolf, Director of Timepieces at Heritage. "This rare watch is considered to be the cornerstone of Franck Muller's complicated models." The letter from Muller indicates that this prototype is based on a LeCoultre ebauche made for Tiffany. It is comparable to high grade minute repeating movements by Patek Philippe and was finished by Franck Muller with the add ... More Newseum Gets Japan Quake Handwritten NewspapersWASHINGTON, D.C. (AP).- When Japan's earthquake and tsunami knocked out power and printing presses, newspaper journalists in at least one city resorted to handwriting the news on poster-size paper. Seven of those original sheets from the daily Ishinomaki Hibi Shimbun have now been acquired by the Newseum, the museum of journalism in Washington. The museum plans to put them on display by May 2 in its World News Gallery. The paper's journalists used flashlights and marker pens to write their stories, and they posted the newspapers at relief centers across the hard-hit city of Ishinomaki for six days beginning March 12. Six staff members collected stories, and three spent more than an hour each day handwriting the newspapers. On the Newseum's website, curator Carrie Christoffersen says the poster papers show the journalists' commitment to informing th ... More |
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