| | For the First Time Ever, Exhibition Presents 300 Polaroids by Photographer Helmut Newton
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A woman looks at enlarged Polaroid photos by late German-born photographer Helmut Newton at the Museum of Photography in Berlin, Germany, 09 June 2011. Three hundred Polaroids by Newton are presented to the public for the first time from 10 June an 20 November. EPA/JOERG CARSTENSEN.
BERLIN.- Polaroid technology revolutionized photography. Those who have used a Polaroid camera can hardly forget the unique odor of its developing emulsion and the thrill of the instant image. With the Polaroid, every image is one of a kind. This also applies to the later large-format Polacolor prints, whose developing process left behind characteristic borders. Polaroids have thus been frequently used for preliminary studies as well as a standalone medium. This was already the case early on, following the creation and presentation of the instant photograph at the Optical Society of America in 1947 by its inventor, Edwin Land – and especially after he presented in 1972 the legendary SX-70 System, a collapsible, simple and affordable camera. In nearly all photographic areas – from landscape and genre, portrait and self-portrait, fashion and nudes – this unique imaging process has found enthusiastic devotees all over the world. ... More |
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India's Most Prominent and Sought-After Painter, M.F. Husain, Dies at Age 95
M.F. Husain, India's most famous artist, looks on during a fund-raising auction. AP Photo/Lefteris Pitarakis.
By: Muneeza Naqvi, Associated Press
NEW DELHI (AP).- M.F. Husain, a former movie billboard artist who rose to become India's most sought-after painter before going into self-imposed exile during an uproar over nude images of Hindu icons, died Thursday. He was 95. CNN-IBN TV channel quoted a friend, Arun Vadehra, as saying that Husain, often described as India's Picasso, died at the Royal Brompton hospital in London. His lawyer, Akhil Sibal, confirmed the death to The Associated Press. Husain had lived in Dubai since 2006 after receiving death threats from Hindu hard-liners in India for a nude painting of a woman shaped like India's map, often depicted as "Mother India" in popular arts, folklore and literature. A nude of Hindu goddess Saraswati also angered the hard-liners. No details of the cause of his death were immediately known. The artist, whose full name was Maqbool Fida Husain but who was known simply ... More | | Rare Offering from Benjamin Franklin to Highlight Christie's Fine Printed Books and Manuscripts Sale
Benjamin Franklin, Nine printed works in one volume, comprising eight bagatelles. Photo: Christie's Images Ltd 2011.
NEW YORK, NY.- On June 23, Christie's will offer an extremely rare, finely bound collection of Benjamin Franklin’s privately printed “bagatelles”-- light essays, witty dialogues and satirical sketches -- printed by Franklin himself at his residence in Passy, a Paris suburb (estimate: $250,000-350,000). At the time (1778-1784), Franklin was serving as U.S. Commissioner to France, in hopes of winning France’s aid and assistance in the American Revolution. The bagatelles, most of which are in French, were printed in very few copies and intended for the amusement of Franklin’s intimate friends. This unique volume will be featured in Christie’s Fine Printed Books and Manuscripts sale. Franklin had learned the printing trade as a young man in his brother's print-shop and he became the foremost printer in colonial Philadelphia. Appointed by Congress as Commissioner to France, he took up residence in th ... More | | New Sensor Network by IBM Protecting Art at New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art
Hendrik Hamann, Research Manager at IBM, discusses a new environmental sensor system. AP Photo/Metropolitan Museum of Art.
By: Jim Fitzgerald, Associated Press
NEW YORK, NY (AP).- It will take a good eye to spot them, but dozens of tiny, very modern works of art have been installed near the 15th-century unicorn tapestries and other medieval masterpieces at a New York City museum. The Metropolitan Museum of Art is announcing Thursday that a network of wireless environmental sensors designed to prevent damage to the collection is being tested at its Cloisters branch. The IBM sensors — each housed with a radio and a microcontroller in a case about the size of a pack of cigarettes — can measure temperature, humidity, air flow, light levels, contaminants and more. They are inexpensive and run on low power, and several can be positioned in a room, scientists said Wednesday. The information collected goes into a three-dimensional "climate map" ... More |
19th Century Paintings Sale at Sotheby's Amsterdam Totals 1.6 Million Euro
Cornelis Springer, figures at the fish market in Delft, oil on canvas. Estimate: €150,000 - 200,000. Sold for: €162,750 / $237,198. Photo: Sotheby's.
AMSTERDAM.- Today’s sale of 19th Century European Painting at Sotheby’s Amsterdam brought €1,586,925 ($2,312,848), within pre-sale expectations (est. €1.5 – 2 million). The auction achieved sell- through rates of 46.9% by lot and 69.2% by value, and set three new artist records. The highest price achieved was for Winter in the Streets of a Dutch Town painted by Willem Koekkoek (1839-1895), one of the most distinguished painters of townscapes, which realised €228,750 ($333,389) against a pre- sale estimate of €100,000 – 150,000. Koekkoek’s works were greatly admired all over Europe for their nostalgic mood and uniquely refined and detailed style of painting. This painting is an impressive example, not only because of its size, but also because of its ability to capture Holland's Age of Romanticism. Speaking after the sale, Mrs. Eveline van Oirschot, Chairman ... More | | A Unique Display Examines the Work of German Artist Albrecht Dürer at the National Gallery of Scotland
Albrecht Durer, Melencolia I, 1514. Engraving on paper: 23.90 x 16.80 cm. National Gallery of Scotland.
EDINBURGH.- This summer the National Gallery of Scotland presents a unique display that examines the work of the 16th century German artist Albrecht Dürer and his enduring influence, spanning five centuries. "Dürer’s Fame" showcases a selection of his magnificent prints from the Galleries’ collection, together with contemporary and later copies of his work. These objects will be augmented by a selection of illicit imitations and surprising tributes, including a 21st century tattoo. The exhibition is on view from June 9th through October 11th, 2011. Albrecht Dürer (1471-1528) was the most important artist of the Northern Renaissance and is one of the most celebrated artists of all time. He excelled as a painter and draughtsman, but it was his skill as a printmaker that spread his fame across Europe. The printmaking process allowed for multiple copies of his work to be produced which could easily be sold ... More | | Refurbished George Washington Bust Back at the Huntington Library in San Marino
The signature of the artist is seen on a bust of George Washington. AP Photo/Reed Saxon.
By: Sue Manning, Associated Press
SAN MARINO, CA (AP).- Catherine Hess doesn't have all the paperwork to prove that a 400-pound signed marble statue of George Washington is the one made 179 years ago by portraitist and sculptor David d'Angers and given to the United States by France. But the chief curator of European art at the renowned Huntington Library in San Marino said Wednesday she has no doubt it's authentic. A conservator who recently refurbished and analyzed the 33-inch bust, signed and dated 1832, came up with scientific proof, Hess said. Newspaper stories and quotes from those involved indicate the bust initially was put on display in the Library of Congress, which was then in the front of the Capitol, she said. It was placed next to a statue of the American Revolutionary War general Lafayette. ... More |
Cartoonmuseum Basel Presents a Comprehensive Overview of Ralf Konig's Work
German artist Ralf Keonig poses in his exhibition in the cartoon museum in Basel. EPA/GEORGIOS KEFALAS.
BASEL.- Ralf König (born 1960 in Germany) has written and drawn stories about the relationships among adults for 30 years. Mostly, they focus on men, but increasingly, they deal with love between men and women. And recently, König even analyzes the relationship between men and God.Today, Ralf König’s stories are translated into many different languages. His success story started in the 1980s, when König published his first stories about life and love in the gay subculture. His lovingly stylized characters all have the same bulbous nose. Only erotic fantasies are depicted in a bluntly naturalistic manner. In 1987, Ralf König published the comic novel «Der bewegte Mann», that reached an audience far beyond the gay scene. Since then, his stories have become more and more popular. With his wonderful sense of humour and an obvious pleasure in the ... More | | Thilo Heinzmann's 'Would You Take The Ball From A Little Baby' at Bortolami Gallery
Thilo Heinzmann, O.T., 2011. Oil, pigment on canvas behind Plexiglas cover, 75.98 x 94.09 x 4.33 in. Photo: Courtesy Bortolami Gallery.
NEW YORK, NY.- Bortolami Gallery presents the second solo show by Thilo Heinzmann at the gallery, on view from June 9th through August 2011. A number of works on display situate pigment powder clearly in the field of perception. Not to render the artist’s ‘material’ visible or to expose painting’s internal working principles but to generate a genuine painterly impression. The transitions between the delicate and the dense areas of colored dusting amount to transitions between lighter and darker blues, between lower and higher intensities of color. In the Western tradition of art this interest in color’s capacity for perceptual and sensory impression is inherently tied to painterly techniques. Heinzmann’s works pick up this historical thread in a non-representational way. Yet, color does ... More | | Josef Albers' Study for Homage to the Square Brings $262,900 in $1.55+ Million at Heritage Auctions
Josef Albers, Study for Homage to the Square: Stucco Setting, 1958, brought $262,900.
DALLAS, TX.- A prime late period work by Bauhaus master Josef Albers, Study for Homage to the Square: Stucco Setting, 1958, brought $262,900 as the top lot in Heritage Auctions' $1,552,954 Signature® Modern & Contemporary Art Auction, providing the principal fireworks in an auction that saw strong prices realized across the board for a wide array of 20th century masters. All prices include 19.5% Buyer's Premium. More than 425 (U.S. and international) bidders vied for the 157 auction lots. "The strong price on the Albers painting was indicative of the continued demand for works of this level that we are continuing to see from collectors," said Frank Hettig, Director of Modern & Contemporary Art at Heritage. "This proved especially true as it concerned mid-century Americ ... More |
Tour the Idaho National Laboratory, A Place that is a National Historic Landmark
the Advanced Test Reactor, a research reactor, near Idaho Falls, Idaho. AP Photo/Idaho National Laboratory.
By: Anne Wallace Allen, For The Associated Press
IDAHO FALLS (AP).- The Idaho National Laboratory, one of the nation's first nuclear research labs, was built deep in a vast desert for a reason. Its founders wanted isolation as they experimented with the new technology of splitting atoms. Sixty years later, civilization hasn't crept much closer. The INL is a full hour from Idaho Falls, the nearest good-size town, and desert stretches in every direction. The site is home to a National Historic Landmark called Experimental Breeder Reactor I or EBR-I, which in 1951 became the first nuclear reactor in the world to generate electricity from atomic energy. The INL's sophisticated nuclear research draws scientific visitors from all over the world, but the facility also offers a tour of the EBR-I reactor building to the general public. The INL was established in 1949 as the National Reactor Testing Station on 890 square miles — about 85 percent the size of Rhode Island. For many years, the site was home to the ... More | | Francis Bacon Drawing Foundation Shows Seven Works on Paper by Francis Bacon
Francis Bacon, Untitled. Mixed media on paper. 70x50 cm.
By: Raffaele Gavarro
VENICE.- The exhibition ‘FBACON7’ shows 7 works on paper by Francis Bacon. It concerns 6 colored and a monochromatic drawing of the Italian collection. As experts know and have widely recognized, Francis Bacon produced no small number of drawings, given the sheer volume of sheaves that have emerged, little by little, following his death. The issue has also been definitively rendered official by the presence of a great deal of drawings in the London Tate collection, as well as in the Hugh Lane Gallery collection in Dublin. Another thing that has been widely recognized is that among all the drawings that have surfaced, the Italian drawings are unquestionably the most complete, the closest to his art, the closest to his paintings. The urban legend that Bacon did not make any drawings, did not do sketches, but rather went right to the canvas with large brushes soaked with color and let instinct and chance events guide his hand, making his painting entirely un- ... More | | Fat Black Pussycat Theatre Vestige of 1960s in Greenwich Village Painted Over
The painted over old sign for the Fat Black Pussycat Theater is shown. AP Photo/Jake Coyle. AP Photo/Jake Coyle.
NEW YORK (AP).- A vestige of 1960s Greenwich Village has been painted over by a Mexican restaurant, prompting an outcry from New York City preservation advocates. An old sign for the Fat Black Pussycat Theatre had remained for decades at its original site on Minetta Street, a spot taken over by Panchito's Restaurant in the 1970s. Last week, Panchito's covered the sign with bright red paint. The coffee bar had been a beatnik haven, where some claim a young Bob Dylan wrote "Blowin' in the Wind" in 1962. Bill Cosby, Richie Havens and Tiny Tim were among those who had performed there. Andrew Berman, executive director for the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation, called the paint job "a shame." "It's a tangible link to this incredibly important era in the neighborhood's history, when so many great musicians and poets and artists used the South Village as a springboard to transform the world," said Berman. "Less and less of it is left." In 2006, the society proposed t ... More |
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 Artist of Surfing Madonna Offers to Remove Mosaic By: Julie Watson, Associated Press
SAN DIEGO (AP).- The mysterious artist of the Surfing Madonna has stepped forward to help the California beach city of Encinitas remove his illegal mosaic from public property. Encinitas Assistant City Manager Richard Phillips said Thursday the city attorney was in talks with the attorney for Mark Patterson about the penalty for putting up the unauthorized piece that the city says is graffiti under the law. The colorful mosaic depicts the Virgin of Guadalupe surfing a wave and the words "Save the Ocean." It was put up shortly before Easter and has drawn a following with scores coming to see it in Encinitas, a picturesque coastal community 25 miles north of San Diego. City officials say the artwork is graffiti under the law and must go. They hired an art conservation agency to find a way to ... More Royal Flush Wins: First-Growth Bordeaux Highlight June Auction at Bonhams & ButterfieldsLOS ANGELES, CA.- Bonhams & Butterfields announced its summer Wine auction on June 18, 2011 in San Francisco, simulcast to Los Angeles. The sale, which will consist of numerous fine and rare wines, features several collections of important Bordeaux and Burgundy vintages, as well as a selection of extraordinary California “Cult” wines. Highlighting the sale is a Royal Flush of the 1970 First-Growth Bordeaux from Chateau Lafite, Chateau Latour, Chateau Mouton-Rothschild, Chateau Margaux and Chateau Haut Brion, as well as a 1970 Chateau d’Yquem. All presented in original wooden cases, the highly sought after wines are collectively estimated to bring $16,500-21,000. A robust selection of Chateau Petrus, ranging from twelve bottles of 1975 (est. $15,000-20,000) to six bottles of 2002 (est. $5,500-7,000), with various bottle groupings in between will be featured, including a pair of magnums from 1982 (est. $6,500-8,500). ... More Rolls-Royce Owned by Both Princess Margaret and Burt Reynolds Offered by BonhamsLEICESTERSHIRE.- A 1975 Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow Long-Wheelbase Limousine that was owned by both Princess Margaret and later by Burt Reynolds is to be sold by Bonhams as part of the Rolls-Royce, Bentley Motor Cars & Automobilia sale at Rockingham Castle, Leicestershire on the 18th June. After WW2 Rolls-Royce became the preferred choice of the Royal Family, and the long-wheelbase Silver Shadow was supplied to the personal order of HRH Princess Margaret in 1975. The car offered by Bonhams incorporates many special features requested by Princess Margaret, including leather trimmed door cappings; flat side indicators fitted in line with chromed body mouldings; ... More Sotheby's Fine Jewels Auction to Feature a Broad Variety Of Contemporary, Period and Aristocratic JewelsLONDON.- Sotheby's London Fine Jewels Auction on Wednesday 13th July 2011 will present for sale a wide variety of wonderful jewels from the 19th, 20th and 21st centuries. Comprising 288 lots and estimated to raise in excess of £1.7 million, the sale presents a selection of period jewels including a beautiful Diamond Tiara from the 1920s and from a Ducal House (lot 287, estimated at £35,000-55,000) as well as signed jewels by notable designers such as Repossi, Cartier, Van Cleef & Arpels, Tiffany’s & Co. and Boucheron. Commenting on the forthcoming jewellery sale in London, Alexandra Rhodes, Senior International Specialist, Sotheby's Jewellery Department, said: "Following the recent success of Sotheby's Magnificent and Noble Jewels sale in Geneva last month, we are delighted to present our London auction of Fine Jewels this summer. The forthcoming sale features contemporary and period jewels, spanning three ... More Major Grant Award From NY State Supports Urgently Needed Conservation to the Albright-Knox Art GalleryBUFFALO, NY.- The Albright-Knox Art Gallery today broke ground on a major conservation project, and announced it has been awarded an important grant by the New York State Environmental Protection Fund (EPF) and the Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation for essential repairs to the Grand Staircase of the Gallery’s historic 1905 Albright Building.The $450,000 grant requires the Gallery to raise matching funds to fully finance and execute the conservation project, which is expected to cost in excess of $1,000,000. “The restoration work has become absolutely necessary to preserve one of our city’s architectural treasures, and we are delighted that New York State has shown such great support for the project,” Gallery Di ... More David Zwirner Hosts Screenings of Two Documentary Films about Donald JuddNEW YORK ,NY.- David Zwirner presents a special day-long event of film screenings on Saturday, June 25, the last day of the Donald Judd exhibition, which spans the gallery’s spaces at 525 and 533 West 19th Street. In October 2010, David Zwirner announced the representation of Judd Foundation. The Artist’s Studio: Donald Judd (2010, 30 minutes), produced and directed by independent filmmaker Michael Blackwood, has recently been compiled from footage from unused material for two previous films: American Art in the 1960s, filmed in 1972; and Masters of Modern Sculpture: Part III The New World, in production between 1975 and 1978. The Artist’s Studio: Donald Judd begins in the summer of 1972 when the art historian Barbara Rose interviewed Judd at ... More Study of Aging Artists in NYC & LA Finds Performing Arts 62+ to Be Engaged, Productive and Not Retired NEW YORK ,NY.- A new study by the Research Center for Arts and Culture (RCAC) at Teachers College, Columbia University, launched today at Frederick P. Rose Hall, finds that aging artists are models for society – especially as the workforce changes to accommodate multiple careers and baby boomers enter the retirement generation. Evidence for this claim is provided in the first needs assessment of aging performing artists in the New York and Los Angeles metro areas now available in the RCAC report: STILL KICKING - Aging Performing Artists in NYC & LA Metro Areas: Information on Artists IV. The study is the first of its kind to understand how performing artists – who often reach artistic maturity and artistic satisfaction as they age – are supported and integrated within their communities, and how their network structures change over time. It complements the RCAC’s 2007 study of aging visual artists, publ ... More |
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