| | Francis Bacon Masterpieces to Highlight Christie's Post-War and Contemporary Art Sale
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A Christie's employee poses with artist Francis Bacon's "Three Studies for a Self-Portrait" at Christie's auction house in London. The piece, which is estimated to fetch in excess of $20million (12.24 million pounds), will be auctioned in New York on May 11, 2011. REUTERS/Luke MacGregor.
NEW YORK (REUTERS).- A Francis Bacon self-portrait triptych is expected to fetch more than $25 million when it hits the auction block next month, Christie's said Monday. "Three Studies for Self-Portrait," a 1974 work which depicts three distorted, guttural images of the British artist with eyes closed, against a dark background, are on display in London for the first time ever along with an untitled Bacon masterpiece known as "Crouching Nude on Rail" ahead of their sale in New York on May 11. The nude, executed in 1952 by the then-emerging artist whose works in recent years have commanded some staggering prices, was among several works discovered in the 1990s in a London storeroom where Bacon had left them in the 1950s. "The Bacon market is truly global and we have witnessed strong prices paid in recent months," said Brett Gorvy, Christie's deputy chairman and international head of post-war and contemporary art, who called B ... More |
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Sotheby's to Hold Impressionist & Modern Art Evening Sale in New York in May
Alexej von Jawlensky, Frau mit grünem Fächer (Woman with a green Fan), 64.5 by 53.5 cm. Painted in 1912. Est. $8/12 million. Photo: Sotheby's.
NEW YORK, NY.- Sotheby’s Impressionist & Modern Art Evening Sale on 3 May 2011 in New York will offer an impressive range of paintings and sculpture from across the period. A spectacular group of 10 paintings by Pablo Picasso will be led by Femmes lisant (Deux personnages), a striking portrait of Marie-Thérèse Walter from 1934 (est. $25/35 million*). Impressionist, Expressionist and Surrealist paintings and sculpture will feature works by iconic artists including Paul Gauguin, Alexej von Jawlensky, Claude Monet and René Magritte, among many others. Works from both the Evening and Day Sales will be on view in Sotheby’s York Avenue galleries beginning 29 April, alongside highlights from the Contemporary Art Evening Auction. The May sale will offer an impressive group of ten paintings by Pablo Picasso that span the artist’s long career. The canvases date from 1901 to 1970, offering a truly encyclopedic tour of his ... More | | The Cyrus Cylinder, a 6th Century B.C. Clay Tablet Returns to British Museum After Iran Loan
The Cyrus Cylinder, a 6th century B.C. clay tablet which is thought to be the world's earliest bill of rights. AP Photo/British Museum.
LONDON (AP).- A 2,500-year-old Babylonian artifact sometimes described as the world's first human rights charter was returning to the British Museum Monday after a seven-month loan to Iran. Hundreds of thousands of people viewed the Cyrus Cylinder while it was on display at Iran's National Museum. The clay cylinder carries an account of how the Persian king Cyrus conquered Babylon in 539 B.C. and restored many of the people held captive by the Babylonians to their homelands. The British Museum said the artifact would go back on display in its ancient Iran gallery on Tuesday. The cylinder caused a spat between the two nations when Iran's government threatened to cut ties with the British Museum if it did not lend the object. A four-month loan was eventually agreed, and extended because the exhibition was so popular. British Museum director Neil MacGregor said he hoped to agree future loans with Iranian authorities. Speaking in Tehran on Saturday, he said such cultural ... More | | Last Supper was on Wednesday, not Thursday, Says Cambridge Professor Colin Humphreys
File photo of visitors watch a 4.6m x 8.8m full-scale projected image of "The Last Supper" by Leonardo da Vinci. AP Photo/Shizuo Kambayashi.
By: Nia Williams
LONDON (REUTERS).- The Last Supper took place on a Wednesday -- a day earlier than thought -- and a date for Easter can now be fixed, according to a Cambridge University scientist aiming to solve one of the Bible's most enduring contradictions. Christians have marked Jesus' final meal on Maundy Thursday for centuries but thanks to the rediscovery of an ancient Jewish calendar, Professor Colin Humphreys suggests another interpretation. "I was intrigued by Biblical stories of the final week of Jesus in which no one can find any mention of Wednesday. It's called the missing day," Humphreys told Reuters. "But that seemed so unlikely: after all Jesus was a very busy man." His findings help explain a puzzling inconsistency between the Gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke, who said the Last Supper coincided with Passover and John, who ... More |
 | ArtParis 2011: With Attendance at 47,987, a Positive Outcome and Prospects for the Future
Overall, gallery owners were happy with the high attendance and the numerous contacts made with new French and international collectors. Photo: Rebecca Fanuele.
PARIS.- This year, from 31 March to 3 April 2011, ArtParis brought some 125 international modern and contemporary art galleries to the Grand Palais, with 47,987 art aficionados in attendance. Beneath the dome of the Grand Palais as well as outside, the fair combined contemporary art with the Parisian lifestyle through exclusive art projects demonstrating the will for openness and demand for content on the part of the ArtParis organizers. This 13th edition was kicked off by the arrival in Paris of the Move For Life semi-trailers, adorned with monumental works and commissioned by eight renowned artists: Atelier Van Lieshout, Ben, Daniele Buetti, Damien Deroubaix, Jochen Gerz, Isabel Muñoz, Mark Titchner, and Robert Rauschenberg. At 1PM on 30 March, the day of the ArtParis inauguration, the eight lorries paraded ... More | | Master Works by Influential British Goldsmith Who Rivalled Faberge for Sale at Bonhams
Teapot.
LONDON.- Pieces by the most influential British gold and silversmith of the last century, Gerald Benney, are for sale in the Silver Auction (including post-war silver) at Bonhams Knightsbridge on 25 May. It follows the highly successful sale of Benney’s work last December which made more than £150,000. The star lot in May’s sale is a silver-gilt and enamelled teapot, from 1991, estimated at between £4,000-6,000. This is the only known example to have appeared at auction. The teapot features Benney’s distinctive ‘Bark Finish’ – the surface texturing of silver which became his signature and influenced contemporary silver design for almost two decades. He discovered this by accident when he mistakenly used a hammer with a damaged head and liked the effect it produced. Other pieces in the sale include a silver and gold box (£3,000-4,000); eight silver and enamelled beakers, (£3,500-5,000; a pair of s ... More | | Vandals Damage Divisive Photo by American Artist Andres Serrano at French Exhibit
An employee of the Lambert Gallery looks at broken pieces of glass from a piece of art by U.S. artist Andres Serrano. REUTERS/Jean-Paul Pelissier.
By: Cecile Brisson, Associated Press
PARIS (AP).- Police questioned witnesses on Monday in their search for a man who took a hammer to a controversial photograph of a crucifix bathed in urine at an art exhibition in an Avignon museum. The modern art museum, the Collection Lambert, in southern France, said an assailant destroyed the photograph by American artist Andres Serrano, "Immersion (Piss Christ)" on Sunday and apparently accidentally damaged another of the artist's works while struggling with a guard. It was not immediately clear whether the assailant was part of a demonstration a day earlier by a right-wing group denouncing the 1987 photograph as blasphemous and demanding its removal from the exhibition, entitled "I Believe in Miracles." According to police, citing witnesses, two people ... More |
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Morgan Fisher's New Works, Photographs and Works on Paper at Bortolami
Morgan Fisher, Ansco Plenachrome 120 March 1956, 2011. Archival pigment print, 16 x 20 inches (unframed)Edition1/2, +1 AP. Courtesy of the artist and Bortolami Gallery, New York.
NEW YORK, NY.- Bortolami presents an exhibition of Morgan Fisher’s new works, photographs and works on paper. The photographs in the show present boxes of still film from the 1950s. They are doubly obsolete: once for being drastically past expiration, and twice for being a medium that is no longer in popular practice. The ‘50s was the decade when Fisher became aware of photography and started taking photographs. Beyond being obliquely autobiographical, the photographs are acts of remembrance, and as such they resemble acts of mourning. They take note of film’s passing away, not literally dying because it does continue, but gradually passing out of use and out of consciousness. The photographs also suggest the power of obsolescence to disturb. The boxes are relics of a market that ... More | | U.S. Museums Face Financial Woes, Get More Visitors Says American Association of Museums
For the Maryland Science Center in Baltimore, there have been declines across the board.
By: Brett Zongker, Associated Press
WASHINGTON (AP).- After the Great Recession swept through, the Delaware Art Museum had laid off half its staff, cut salaries and lost crucial support from corporations. Yet attendance was up last year at the Wilmington museum, reflecting the same trend museums have seen across the country because of declining funding and increased demand from schools and "staycationers." A report being released Monday by the American Association of Museums shows more than 70 percent of the nation's museums were under financial distress last year because most saw government and corporate funding reduced from an already bad year in 2009. At the same time, half of the nearly 400 museums in the survey reported increased attendance and educational programs. The median admission price remained $7 ... More | | Nam June Paik Art Center in South Korea Announces New Director and Exhibition
Shinil Kim, TV Enlightenment-Purple, 2006.
GYEONGGI-DO, SOUTH KOREA.- The Nam June Paik Art Center announced the appointment of Manu Park as its new Director. Manu Park (b.1959) obtained a B.A. and a M.A. in aesthetics in Seoul National University, and completed a D.E.A. in aesthetics in Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne. Previously working as Director of Exhibitions for Gwangju Biennale and as curator and Artistic Director of Busan Biennale 2004/2006, he has been an independent curator producing many international art exhibitions, including "Leisure, a Disguised Labor?" organized by Korean Ministry of Knowledge Economy for Hannover Messe 2009, and "The Multicultural in Our Time" at Gyeonggi Creation Center in collaboration with Palais de Tokyo in Paris in 2010. He is currently in charge of Artistic Directorship of Atelier Hermès, Seoul. With the newly reoriented direction of Manu Park, the NJP Art Center will seek to strengthen its role to develop initiatives ... More |
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Mark Dion Continues His Investigations at the Oceanographic Museum of Monaco
Mark Dion, The Tar Heron.
MONACO.- OCEANOMANIA: Souvenirs of Mysterious Seas is the title of Mark Dion’s new project for Monaco. Continuing his investigations as a naturalist, archaeologist and traveler, the American artist explores the collections of the Oceanographic Museum of Monaco to create the largest ever curiosity cabinet of the sea and exhibits his works, showing his interest for the oceans for over 20 years. At the Nouveau Musée National de Monaco (NMNM), Dion dives into the Museum’s collections and presents a major intervention and a selection of artists at Villa Paloma, one of the NMNM’s exhibition spaces. OCEANOMANIA will be on view concurrently at the Oceanographic Museum and at Villa Paloma through 30 September 2011. Two significant and contrasting recent maritime events form the overall conceptual framework of the project. These are the recently completed Census of Marine Life (2010) and the Deepwater Horizon oil rig explos ... More | | Saffronart Announces a 24 Hour Online Auction of Books and Drawings by Prominent Modernists
Francis Newton Souza, Untitled, 1966. In on paper, 11.5 x 8 in. Estimate: $3,000.4,000.
MUMBAI.- Saffronart, the world’s largest online fine-art auction house, presents ‘Words and Lines’, second in a new series of 24-hour online auctions. This auction features 90 lots, including rare and important publications on Indian artists and drawings by 26 modern Indian artists. The total lower and higher estimates for the Words & Lines 24-hour auction are Rs. 97.3 lakh (US$ 224,000) and Rs. 1.3 crore (US$ 300,000). The auction will begin on April 20 at 8:00 pm (IST) and will take place online at www.saffronart.com. This sale will offer collectors access to a wide range of modern drawings dating from as early as the 1940s, and a selection of significant art books at very attractive estimates, and will be accompanied by online and mobile catalogues. Artists featured in this 24-hour online auction include F.N. Souza, Nasreen Mohamedi, K.K. Hebbar, M.F. Hussain, S.H. Raza, Jehangir Sabavala and more, whilst ... More | | Pennsylvania Impressionists and Old Masters Lead William Bunch's May 3 Fine Art Auction
Charles Spencelayh (English, 1865-1958), Matchstick Boy, oil on canvas, 18 by 14 inches. William H. Bunch Auctions image.
CHADDS FORD, PA.- The walls at William H. Bunch’s auction gallery are alive with color, in preparation for a Tuesday, May 3 auction of nearly 400 paintings and other fine-quality works by American and European artists. Three primary consignors were the source for the vibrant and varied selection of American Impressionist art – including Bucks County/New Hope School; Old Masters and other Continental pictures; and illustration art. The single-owner collection of Bucks County/Pennsylvania art features paintings by some of the most collected artists of the genre. Highlights include Bucks County Bridge, an oil-on-canvas winter landscape by Walter Emerson Baum (1884-1956); a dramatic circa-1925 oil-on-board seascape depicting Pigeon Cove, Mass., by George William Sotter (1879-1953); and an atmospheric snow scene of a horse ... More |
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 American Academy in Rome Announces 2011-2012 Rome Prize WinnersROME.- The American Academy in Rome announces the winners of the 115th annual Rome Prize Competition. Recipients of the 2011-2012 Rome Prizes are provided with a fellowship that includes a stipend, a study or studio, and room and board for a period of six months to two years in Rome, Italy. The 2011-2012 Rome Prize winners are: Albert Paul Albano • Aaron S. Allen • Margaret Marshall Andrews • Paola Bonifazio • Bradford Albert Bouley • Benjamin David Brand • Angela Co • Lonn Combs • Beatriz del Cueto • Jennifer R. Davis • Matt Donovan • Sean Friar • Colin Gee • Elliott Green • Jiminie Ha • Albertus G. A. Horsting • Mary Reid Kelley • Sean Lally • Lei Liang • Siobhan Liddell • Craig Martin • Camille S. Mathieu • Jackie Murray • Suzanne Rivecca • David A. Rubin • Jenny Snider • Heidi Wendt The 2011-2012 ... More 14,000 People Visit Turner Contemporary on Opening WeekendMARGATE.- A record 14,000 people visited Turner Contemporary in Margate over the gallery’s opening weekend. The building was officially opened by Tracey Emin and Jools Holland on Saturday 16 April at 10 am. Several local businesses reported record takings as the positive effects of the opening were felt across the town. Manning’s Seafood stall opposite the gallery had its busiest day of trading in 50 years and The Mad Hatter Tea Rooms in Margate Old Town sold an unprecedented 100 cakes on the opening day. Turner Contemporary’s café used 800 pints of milk in two days and Thanet Visitor Information Centre received 3,000 visits over the weekend. Designed by internationally acclaimed architect, David Chipperfield, Turner Contemporary takes its inspiration from Britain’s best-known painter, JMW Turner who was a regular visitor to Margate throughout his life. The gallery is situated on the sea front on the ... More Artprize Opens Artist Registration for the Third Annual Public Art CompetitionGRAND RAPIDS, MICH.- ArtPrize, the radically open public art experiment, today announced artist registration for the third annual competition. Open to any artist from around the world, organizers encourage participants to register any type of artwork at artprize.org. More than 300,000 spectators are projected to attend the 2011 event, which will distribute nearly $500,000 in prize money. Unlike other competitions, ArtPrize has no formal jury, curator or judge, and asks the public to vote and decide the winners using mobile devices and the Internet. To exhibit, artists must secure space with one of more than 195 ArtPrize venues found within a three-square mile district of downtown Grand Rapids. Venues range from city parks to rooftops to museums to restaurants to the Grand River, which runs through downtown. Artists are encouraged to register as early as possible to ensure a venue for their work, as these connections ... More Haunch of Venison Presents Its First UK Exhibition of Eve Sussman and Rufus Corporation LONDON.- Haunch of Venison presents its first UK exhibition of Eve Sussman and her ad hoc group of collaborators known as Rufus Corporation with a cinematic installation, photographs and flat screen video works. The exhibition centers around whiteonwhite:algorithmicnoir a film that follows the observations and surveillance of a geophysicist code writer stuck in a futuristic city. The experimental fiction runs endlessly, editing live in real time, with no beginning, middle or end, never repeating the same way twice. Inspired by the Suprematist’s quests for transcendence, pure space and artistic higher ground whiteonwhite:algorithmicnoir was created on an "expedition to unravel utopian promise" with a small crew, one American actor and local actors hired en route. The fictional location is named – in a nod to Alphaville – City-A. The place (which often resembles 1973) is the result of the obliged, ironic m ... More Martha Taylor, Glass Artist, Joins the Katonah Art CenterKATONAH, NY.- Martha Taylor is joining the Katonah Art Center’s illustrious roster of instructors as a glass artist and teacher for their Spring 2011 Session. Talk to Ms. Taylor, and her love of glass is obvious. “With glass, your medium is light, and you create a path for it to move through. It’s amazing” Ms Taylor works using a wide range of techniques: casting, kilnforming, deep sandblasting, lampworking, cold construction, and even photography on glass. But no matter the technique, it’s all about light. “Clear white light is invisible, yet it illuminates our world,” says Ms. Taylor. “There’s something really beautiful about that and about the possibility of bringing its hidden colors out through how you cut the glass, like a prism.” There is a special bond between glass artists according to Ms. Taylo ... More Paintings Newly Illuminated at the National GalleryLONDON.- As it did 20 years ago with the introduction of a new balanced warm and cool tungsten illumination, the National Gallery, London, is once again proving itself a leader in the area of lighting systems for galleries. Over the next two years, LED (Light Emitting Diode) lighting will be installed throughout the Gallery, which will significantly reduce its carbon emissions and improve the quality of light in the picture galleries. The Gallery is the first institution in the world to use these lights in conjunction with a system that automatically adjusts external roof light blinds according to the amount and angle of sunlight. This ensures that only diffused light is present in the galleries through UV-filtered roof light glazing. The new LED lighting system will slowly augment the natural light as needed, as opposed to the old system that can be distracting to visitors by going on and off abruptly. This is poss ... More Free Valuations at Bonhams Knightsbridge: First 'Open House' on Tuesday 3rd MayLONDON.- For the first time ever over 20 of Bonhams art and antiques specialists will be available at Bonhams, Knightsbridge to offer free valuations on Tuesday 3rd May 2011. Bonhams has over 57 specialist departments and Knightsbridge is the only saleroom which handles the whole range of fine and decorative arts and collectors’ items. In addition to valuing silver, jewellery, works of art and paintings there will also be experts in the specialist fields of entertainment memorabilia, coins and medals, sporting guns, musical instruments, jewellery, clocks and vintage costumes. The enduring appeal of TV programmes on antiques has alerted many people to the potential value of objects in their home, and offering free valuations at this special event there will be specialists who regularly appear on TV, including Eric Knowles and Jon Baddeley. Bonhams Knightsbridge is the busiest auction house in Britain, holding 122 sales a ... More |
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