| | Christie's to Sell Most Outstanding Group of Lucian Freud Drawings to Come to Auction
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Visitors look at Lucian Freud's work titled 'Woman Smiling' at Christie's in London. The painting is expected to fetch 3,500,000-4,500,000 pounds (5,300,000-6,800,000 dollars, 4,000,000-5,100,000 euros) when it goes on sale as part of Post War and Contemporary Art Evening Auction on June 28. AP Photo/Akira Suemori.
LONDON.- Christie’s will offer a selection of works from the collection of Kay Saatchi at the Post-War and Contemporary art auctions in London in June 2011. The collection features an outstanding and rare group of early works on paper by Lucian Freud, executed in the 1940s, Ron Mueck’s Big Baby, the first work in the artist’s catalogue raisonné and Paula Rego’s masterpiece, Looking Back. These works represent Ron Mueck, Big Baby, 1996 Lucian Freud, Rabbit on a chair, 1944 the most important of their kind ever to appear at auction and are testament to Kay Saatchi’s extraordinary discernment and foresight as a collector. The works will be offered at the Post-War and Contemporary Art Evening Auction on 28 June. Francis Outred, Head of Post-War and Contemporary Art, Christie’s Europe: “Kay Saatchi has been supporting young artists in the UK since the 1980s, and she played a key role in t ... More |
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Museum of Fine Arts, Boston to Retain Ownership of Eglon van der Neer Painting
Portrait of a Man and Woman in an Interior, about 1666 by Eglon van der Neer (Dutch, 1634–1703). Oil on panel. Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. Seth K. Sweetser Fund. Photo: © Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.
BOSTON, MA.- Research conducted by the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (MFA), about the provenance, or history of ownership, of its painting Portrait of a Man and Woman in an Interior (1665–67) by Dutch artist Eglon van der Neer (1634–1703), has led to an agreement with the estate of German art dealer Walter Westfeld (1889–1945), enabling the MFA to retain ownership of the work. The Museum decided to reach a financial settlement for the painting with the estate after reviewing recent research conducted by Victoria Reed, the Museum’s Monica S. Sadler Curator for Provenance. This research has clarified few details about the path the work took between 1936, when it was last documented in Westfeld’s possession, and 1941, when it appeared on the New York art market. While the six-year, international ... More | | Exhibition at Musée du Quay Branly Offers the Opportunity to Discover the Guatemalan Maya
Zoomorphic sculpture of an "axes" type.
PARIS.- With more than 160 exceptional items, most of which have never left their country of origin, this exhibition offers the opportunity to discover the Guatemalan Maya, one of the major civilizations that shaped the history of pre-Columbian America. In an attempt to promote the protection of the Guatemalan national heritage, the exhibition highlights the latest significant archaeological discoveries on several recently studied sites – such as El Mirador, which heads the list of the five sites selected to be nominated for UNESCO World Heritage site status. This latest research enables the presentation of a broader and more complex concept of Maya civilization; one which describes the great variety and the development of its social organization, architectural forms and artistic styles. Painted ceramics, stelae, finely carved stones, funerary elements, architectural remains and ornaments, all presented in chronological order, provide a complete ... More | | One of the Greatest Venetian View Paintings by Francesco Guardi to Lead Sotheby's Sale
Francesco Guardi, Venice, a View of the Rialto Bridge, Looking North, from the Fondamenta del Carbon (detail), oil on canvas, 120 x 203.7cm. Estimated at £15-25 million. Photo: Sotheby's.
LONDON.- On 6th July 2011, Sotheby’s London Old Master and British Paintings Evening Sale will offer a selection of newly discovered and important works of exceptional quality and rarity, many of which have remained in private collections for decades. Estimated to reach a total in excess of £31 million, the auction of 73 paintings, led by a monumental Venetian view painting by Francesco Guardi, will feature masterpiece works by Sir Anthony Van Dyck, Correggio, Pieter Brueghel the Younger, John Constable, Giovanni Battista Tiepolo, Hans Schäufelein and Frans Jansz. Post. Alex Bell, Sotheby’s Co-Chairman, Old Master Paintings, Worldwide, said: “It is unprecedented for Sotheby’s to offer in a single sale one of the greatest Venetian view paintings by Franesco Guardi, together with a newly ... More |
Nationalmuseum in Stockholm Announces New Acquisition: Elizabeth I by Nicholas Hilliard
Nicholas Hilliard, Elizabeth I. Photo: Nationalmuseum.
STOCKHOLM.- The collection of portrait miniatures at Nationalmuseum has been enriched with a portrait of Queen Elizabeth I of England. The artist behind the portrait was the official court painter and the first grand name in English miniature painting, Nicholas Hilliard (1547-1619). The miniature is dated to 1586-87, when the Queen was in her fifties. There are about twenty known portraits depicting Queen Elizabeth I by Hilliard’s hand. Hilliard was the only artist authorized by the Queen to paint her portrait in miniature. The portrait bought by Nationalmuseum is rare since the Queen is seen from the side. In the other known portraits by Hilliard, she is usually shown en face. The acquisition of Nicholas Hilliard’s portrait miniature of Queen Elizabeth I is one of the most spectacular purchases that Nationalmuseum has made over the recent years. It was made possible by donations from ... More | | Record for a Sale of Old Master & 19th Century Paintings and Drawings at Sotheby's
The sale’s highest price of €1,241,252/$1,773,492 was paid by a French buyer for an exceptional set of seven sketches made by Jean-François de Troy. Photo: Sotheby's.
PARIS.- The final sale of the season at Sotheby’s Paris, devoted to Old Master & 19th Century Paintings & Drawings, yielded €7.6m – the highest total for a sale of Old Master & 19th Century Paintings & Drawings by Sotheby’s France to date, including three world records. Pierre Etienne, Head of the Old Master Paintings & Drawings Department, observed that ‘Today’s sale included many rediscovered or market-fresh works from 17th and 18th century France, consigned from European private collections like the prestigious House of Bourbon or the former Hôtel Biron. The results obtained reflect the vitality of the market for Old Master pictures which, for quality works, remains dynamic and international; international connoisseurs have no hesitation in competing for high-level ... More | | A Portrait of Holland: The Dutch Landscape in Art Since 1850 at De Hallen Haarlem
Jan Toorop, Low Water, Canal at Veere, 1910 (detail). Frans Hals Museum|De Hallen Haarlem.
HAARLEM.- A green polder countryside with cows, ditches, farmhouses and windmills, boundless vistas, vibrant bulb fields and panoramic river and dune landscapes: every facet of the Dutch landscape can be seen this summer in the exhibition A Portrait of Holland - The Dutch Landscape in Art since 1850 in De Hallen Haarlem. More than a hundred and twenty paintings, watercolours, prints, photographs and films by Dutch artists like Anton Mauve, the Maris brothers, Piet Mondrian, Jan Toorop, Jan Sluijters, M.C. Escher, Jan Wolkers and Jan Dibbets epitomize the fascination of the Dutch landscape. The large summer exhibition in De Hallen Haarlem reveals the way that the seemingly simple, flat Dutch landscape of polders and rivers has inspired an incredible diversity of interpretations. It examines a number of movements in Dutch painting ... More |
Famous Margaret Thatcher Handbag Auctioned for $40,000 at Christie's in London
Britain's Lord Archer, left, accepts bids for a handbag that was once owned by former British Prime Minister, Baroness Margaret Thatcher. AP Photo/PA, John Stillwell.
LONDON (AP).- One of Margaret Thatcher's famous handbags fetched 25,000 pounds ($39,953) at a London charity auction Monday. The boxy black leather Asprey bag, owned by the former British prime minister for more than 30 years, was sold to a private buyer. The bag was on Thatcher's arm during Cold War negotiations with U.S. President Ronald Reagan and Soviet Union leader Mikhail Gorbachev. "The handbag makes you automatically think of Margaret Thatcher," said former politician and author Jeffrey Archer, who hosted the auction. "Someone has captured this and will have, frankly, a historic document for the rest of their lives." Thatcher, one of the most formidable and well-known British Conservative leaders, was famously responsible as the ... More | | French Archaeologists Unearth Hundreds of Large Inscribed Limestone Blocks in Egypt
A detail of a limestone block discovered by French archaeologists. AP Photo/ Egypt's Supreme Council Of Antiquities.
CAIRO (AP).- French archaeologists have unearthed hundreds of 3,000-year-old colored limestone blocks believed to have been used to build the sacred lake walls of a temple dedicated to the goddess Mut. Egypt's minister of antiquities, Zahi Hawass, says the blocks were unearthed in San El-Hagar in northern Egypt. Hawass said in a statement Monday the blocks may have belonged to King Osorkon II of the 22nd Dynasty (945-718 B.C.) and been used for either a temple or a chapel. The French mission has so far cleaned 120 blocks, 78 of which have inscriptions. San El-Hagar was known as Tanis during the pharaonic era. It is one of the oldest Egyptian cities and contains many temples belonging to the god Amun. ... More | | Brent Glass, Director of the National Museum of American History, Announces Retirement
Brent Glass has served as director of the museum since 2002 and overseen the most extensive renovation of the museum in its history.
WASHINGTON, DC.- Brent Glass, 64, has announced he will retire from the Smithsonian. He is leaving his position as director of the National Museum of American History effective July 10; he will continue at the Smithsonian as a senior advisor through the end of this year. “It has been an honor and joy to further the Smithsonian mission for the past nine years by working to increase awareness of American history and national memory,” Glass said. “I am enormously proud of the museum staff and their team efforts. We transformed the museum and created a new public square on the National Mall. We acquired new collections, created more than 50 exhibitions and hundreds of public programs, and launched innovative ... More |
Exhibition of Artist Will Barnet on View at Amon Carter Museum of American Art
Will Barnet (b. 1911), Self-Portrait, 1952–53. Oil on canvas © Will Barnet. Amon Carter Museum of American Art, Fort Worth, Texas 1999.5.
FORT WORTH, TX.- To mark the 100th birthday of pioneering printmaker, painter and educator Will Barnet (b. 1911), the Amon Carter Museum of American Art presents Will Barnet: Relationships, Intimate and Abstract, 1935–1965, on view through December 31, 2011. This exhibition of nearly 50 prints, drawings and paintings explores the momentous evolution of Barnet’s art from realism to abstraction during the middle decades of the 20th century, the most pivotal period of his career. Admission is free. Will Barnet’s eight-decade career began in 1931, when he earned a scholarship to the prestigious Art Students League in New York. He excelled at various printmaking techniques including lithography, intaglio and woodcut, and in 1935 he was the youngest person to be appointed League Printer. A year later he began teaching at the League, where he ... More | | Exhibition of Four Single Colour Paintings by Stuart Cumberland at The Approach
Ron Hickman 2010. Oil on linen, 195 x 160 cm. Photo: Courtesy The Approach.
LONDON.- Stuart Cumberland is a great painter. However, as brilliant as he may be, a good painter is like a fluent speaker of an obscure language, on holiday in the U.S. Ultimately someone's going to ask "D'ya speak English?”. If communication requires the use of dominant currencies of cultural exchange, then celebrity and mass consumption have become such dominant currencies. Sidestepping without ignoring these topics, the "Four Circle Paintings" in this exhibition take up the debates of the art historical legacy of painting, which has wrestled with the above for over a century. Whilst adopting techniques and attitudes related to commercial acumen and mass production these new abstract paintings take simple visual pleasure as their target. This solo exhibition, Cumberland's third at The Approach, consists of four single colour paintings of four hand drawn circles. The gestural drawing and rapid colouring in that ar ... More | | Sotheby's to Offer Absolutely Stunning Imperials from a Classic Bordeaux Collection
Sotheby's wine department worker Emily van der Wall poses with imperials, equivalent to 8 bottles. AP Photo/Akira Suemori.
LONDON.- A stunning selection of Imperials will spearhead Sotheby’s London sale of A Classic Bordeaux Collection, Featuring Three Glorious Decades on Wednesday, 6 July, 2011. This exceptional offering of top Bordeaux from a Continental cellar features a treasure trove of all the First Growths, plus Château Cheval Blanc and Château Pétrus, in a wide range of formats, bought en primeur. These predominantly young vintages can be purchased for drinking now or storing for the future, with the large bottle format providing a slower maturation process. The Imperial size is equivalent to eight bottles, ideal for dinner parties of 15 to 20 people. They also make glorious gifts for children, to be laid down until 18th or 21st birthday celebrations. The collection comprises 441 lots and is estimated to realise in excess of £1 million*. Serena Sutcliffe MW, Worldwide Head of Wine at ... More |
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 A Date with Diamonds at Bonhams & Butterfields Fall Salon Jewelry AuctionSAN FRANCISCO, CA.- Bonhams & Butterfields announces its September 19, 2011 auction of Salon Jewelry and Watches in San Francisco, simulcast to Los Angeles. The sale, timed to coincide with the firm’s SoMa Estate Auction with Jewelry the day prior, will dazzle with diamonds. Leading the auction will be a diamond and platinum bracelet (est. $5,000-7,000); a diamond and eighteen karat gold brooch pin, Boucheron, Paris (est. $3,000-5,000); a pair of diamond and eighteen karat gold earclips, each with French assay marks (est. $2,000-3,000); and an art deco, lapis lazuli, diamond and seed pearl tassel pendant, mounted in platinum-topped eighteen karat gold (est. $1,200-1,800). Lynne Arkin, G.G., Jewelry Specialist at Bonhams & Butterfields, says of the sale: “This early fall Salon collection is wonderfully diverse, very interesting and will appeal to a wide variety of jewelry buyers. The uniqueness and variety in the sal ... More Raw and Unapologetic: Kim Dorland's Portraits of Wife Lori at Mike Weiss GalleryNEW YORK, NY.- The following is an interview of artist Kim Dorland by his wife and muse, Lori Seymour, in response to his exhibition For Lori at Mike Weiss Gallery. Lori Seymour: Why do you paint me so much? Kim Dorland: In the beginning I felt like it wasn’t cool to say that I paint my wife because I love her, so I would say that you were my stand-in or that it was because I knew you so well – and there’s truth to that. But, at the end of the day, I paint you because I love you and I miss you when I’m alone in the studio. LS: So you’re admitting to the smoochy truth of it? KD: Yes. I paint you because I adore you. LS: And why do you think that resonates so much with your audience? They’re very popular paintings. KD: Because they’re really truthful. I think people recognize the intimate relationship between us – the deep intimacy between two people who’ve been together ... More Nachume Miller vs Danny Miller: A Father and Son Exhibition at Benrimon Contemporary NEW YORK, NY.- Benrimon Contemporary presents Nachume Miller vs. Danny Miller, a father and son exhibition exploring the patriarchal influence and subsequent modernization of Nachume Miller’s legacy through his son, Danny. Born in Germany in 1949, Nachume Miller immigrated to New York to study at the School of Visual Arts, where he would later become a professor of painting and drawing. He was quickly identified as a star on the rise and at the age of 29, was included in the Guggenheim Museum’s “Young American Artists,” Exxon National Exhibition. A decade later he was granted a solo show at the Museum of Modern Art, where his work is now part of the permanent collection. Though his career was cut short by his untimely death in 1998, Nachume exhibited at some of the most prominent galleries in New York and around the world. Nachume’s early works where figures morph and twist ... More Top British Art Consultancy Targets Russian CollectorsBy: Nastassia Astrasheuskaya
MOSCOW (REUTERS).- Top British art consulting firm Art Market Research (AMR) said on Monday it plans to offer its services in Russia, where growing investment interest in art and antiques presents a huge growth opportunity. London-based AMR, which counts auction houses Christie's and Sotheby's as clients for its art indexes and market analysis, said it hopes to raise 500,000 euros ($706,700) by end of year and team up with Russian representative company Kollection. "Russia is a country of vast opportunities. I am convinced of the great potential of its art market as well as in the swift development of the Russian banking system," AMR's director Robin Duthy said in a statement. "I am certain there is a tremendous need for complex investment analysis in Russia's arts and antiques market." ... More Michael Jackson Thriller Jacket Sells for $1.8 Million at Julien's AuctionsLOS ANGELES (REUTERS).- A leather jacket worn by Michael Jackson for his "Thriller" video sold for $1.8 million at an auction on Sunday to a Texas gold trader who plans to use it to raise money for children's hospitals worldwide. The black and red calf leather jacket with winged shoulders was one of two used for the shoot. The other one, in scuffed condition, is owned by the Jackson estate. The one sold by Julien's auction house in Beverly Hills is in better shape and is signed on the sleeve by Jackson. It was designed by Deborah Landis, the wife of "Thriller" director John Landis. Jackson presented it to the vendors, Dennis Tompkins and Michael Bush, his longtime costume designers. It sold to Milton Verret of Austin, Texas, who showed up in person to triumph over about a dozen bidders from around the world. "It is one of the most important pieces of rock 'n' roll memorabilia in history," Verret told Reuters. His colle ... More The Dress that Caught the Prince's Eye Goes on View to the PublicLONDON.- As the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge embark on their first royal visit as a married couple to Canada and the United States in July, the dress that sparked their romance goes on view at the American Museum in Britain in Bath. By catching the eye of Prince William in this dress, Kate Middleton went on to capture his heart. The diaphanous sheath-dress she wore on the catwalk of the University of St Andrews ’ charity fashion show in 2002 will be on view from 1 July to 4 September as part of the 50th anniversary celebrations at the American Museum in Britain at Claverton Manor, Bath . Now part of royal history , this garment – originally intended as a skirt – was designed by Charlotte Todd of Bristol while she was studying at the University of the West of England for a project prophetically titled ‘The Art of Seduction’. Todd always intended that the sheath , knitted in black and gold sil ... More Desroches Noblecourt, French Egyptologist, Dies PARIS (AP).- Christiane Desroches Noblecourt, a pioneering French Egyptologist who prodded Gen. Gamal Abdel Nasser to help salvage Nubia's vaunted antiquities, has died. She was 97. Desroches Noblecourt died Thursday at a hospital in Epernay, east of Paris, where she had been taken after a recent stroke, said Anne Francoise, treasurer of a retirement home in the nearby town of Sezanne where Desroches Noblecourt lived the last few years. Born Nov. 17, 1913 in Paris, Desroches Noblecourt developed an early passion for Egypt after reading about the discovery of King Tut's tomb in the early 1920s. She later studied at the Louvre and the Sorbonne. After an initial trip to Egypt in the late 1930s, she became the first woman to be put on a stipend with the Cairo-based French Institute of Oriental Archaeology — cracking a male-dominated world of Egyptology. In a statement, President Nicolas Sarkozy paid tribute to Desroches Noblecourt as the "grande dame of the Nile," who blended s ... More |
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