| | British Realist Painter Lucian Freud, Famed for His Nudes, has Died Aged 88
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British artist Lucian Freud died at the age of 88 in his home in London, Britain on 21 July 2011. EPA/CENTRE POMPIDOU.
By: Gregory Katz, Associated Press
LONDON (AP).- Lucian Freud, a towering and uncompromising figure in the art world for more than 50 years, has died, his New York-based art dealer said Thursday. He was 88. Spokeswoman Bettina Prentice said that Freud died after an illness at his London home late Wednesday night, but didn't give any further details. Freud was known for his intense realist portraits, particularly of nudes. In recent years his paintings commanded staggering prices at auction, including one of an overweight nude woman sleeping on a couch that sold in 2008 for $33.6 million. William R. Acquavella, his dealer, said in a statement that he would mourn Freud "as one of the great painters of the twentieth century." "He lived to paint and painted until the day he died, far removed from the noise of the art world," he said. ... More |
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Auction of Mike Mitchell's Beatles Photographs He Took as a Teen Soars Over $300,000 at Christie's
Photographer Mike Mitchell with some of his photographs of The Beatles. AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth.
NEW YORK, NY (REUTERS).- A trove of unpublished photographs of The Beatles' first U.S. concerts taken by a Washington teen-ager in 1964 took in more than $360,000 at auction, selling for many times their estimates. Forty-six lots of about 50 pristine black-and-white photographs of the Fab Four that had sat in a box for 45 years totaled $361,938, including commission at the sale Wednesday night, Christie's said. The collection had been expected to fetch about $100,000. Bidders paid anywhere from $813 to $68,500 for Mike Mitchell's gelatin silver prints which chronicled The Beatles' appearances in Washington and Baltimore. Every work sold, most all exceeding the pre-sale estimates. In one striking shot, the band members were photographed at a news conference from behind with each of their heads encircled by a thin halo of light. The 16-inch by 16-inch print fetched the top price and was the last lot of the enthusiastic sale. I ... More | | Prado Displays Caravaggio's Entombment of Christ, on Loan from the Vatican Museums
Spanish prelate of the Roman Catholic Church, Antonio Maria Rouco Varela (L-R), Spanish Culture Minister, Angeles Gonzalez Sinde, and Nuncio Renzo Fratini. EPA/ESPINOSA.
MADRID.- To coincide with the celebration of World Youth Day and with Pope Benedict XVI’s visit to Madrid, the Museo del Prado will be displaying. The Entombment of Christ, a major masterpiece by Caravaggio loaned from the Vatican Museums. For the first time in Spain, this monumental canvas will be exhibited for two months at the Prado thanks to sponsorship from the Fundación Amigos del Museo del Prado and as part of the “Invited Work” exhibition programme. This exceptional loan is also part of the thematic tour entitled “The Word made Image. Paintings of Christ in the Museo del Prado” that the Museum has devised in conjunction with World Youth Day and which includes a further thirteen paintings. As part of its “Invited Work” exhibition programme and for a period of two months (21 July to ... More | | Rare Early Marilyn Monroe Images, First Time at Auction, Offered by Heritage Auctions
The photos are being offered for the first time at auction by the family of acclaimed Hollywood photographer Richard C. Miller.
DALLAS, TX.- Seven images of a young Marilyn Monroe, then known as Norma Jeane - including one of Norma Jeane smiling in the California surf that, until recently, had remained unseen are being offered for the first time at auction by the family of acclaimed Hollywood photographer Richard C. Miller, as the Richard C. Miller Archive, as part of Heritage Auctions July 29 Signature(r) Music & Entertainment Memorabilia Auction. "There are many reasons that make this archive and Richard C. Miller so significant," said Kristen Painter, Manager of Music & Entertainment Memorabilia at Heritage. "Not only are they beautiful images of Marilyn on the brink of stardom, but they also reflect Miller's respect for her. Most all of Marilyn's photographers profited from her death early in the 1960s and 1970s. Everyone made a coffee table book of their images, except Miller." Miller's ... More |
Christie's Announces Global Art Sales Total $3.2 Billion in the First Half of 2011
A Christie's employee poses with artist Claude Monet's "Les Peupliers" at Christie's auction house in London. REUTERS/Luke MacGregor.
By: Mike Collett-White
LONDON (REUTERS).- Christie's sold art worth 2.0 billion pounds ($3.2 billion) in the first half of the year, up 15 percent on the same period in 2011, and a leading executive said on Thursday that full-year results should break the 2010 record. The world's biggest art business, owned by French billionaire Francois Pinault, posted sales of 3.3 billion pounds in 2010, a leap of 53 percent on 2009 when the global financial crisis saw wealthy buyers retreat. "There is a good chance of breaking that record this year," said Jussi Pylkkanen, president of Christie's Europe. "Every indicator in the art market tells us that there is the appetite to buy and sell at Christie's. It must give us a very, very good chance," he told Reuters in an interview. He declined to give a more precise forecast. A leading art ... More | | Royal Institute of British Architects Stirling Prize 2011 Shortlist Announced in London
The Angel Building by Allford Hall Monaghan Morris.
LONDON.- The beautifully simple Velodrome in London's Olympic Park, the carefully crafted remodelling of the Royal Shakespeare and Swan Theatres in Stratford upon Avon, a highly imaginative London school on a tight urban site, an innovative and vibrant cultural centre in Derry, the transformation of an unremarkable 1980s office building in London into an elegant new office and retail space, and the breathtaking extension of a significant museum in Germany, form the shortlist for the prestigious £20,000 RIBA Stirling Prize. Now in its 16th year, the RIBA Stirling Prize in association with The Architects' Journal and Benchmark is awarded to the architects of the best new European building 'built or designed in Britain'. The winner will be announced on Saturday 1 October at Magna Science Adventure Centre in Rotherham and will be broadcast on a special edition of BBC Two's The Culture Show on Sunday 2 October, presented by Kevin M ... More | | Connie Wolf Appointed Next Director of Cantor Arts Center at Stanford University
Contemporary Jewish Museum Director and CEO Connie Wolf. Photo: Kira Sugarman. Courtesy of the Contemporary Jewish Museum, San Francisco.
STANFORD, CA.- Stanford University announced today that Connie Wolf will be the next director of its Cantor Center for the Visual Arts. Wolf is a Stanford alumna, and previously served as director and CEO of San Francisco’s Contemporary Jewish Museum (CJM), where she oversaw a major expansion and spearheaded an initiative to raise the institution’s national profile. Wolf will assume the role of director on January 1, 2012, replacing Thomas Seligman, who became the center’s first full time director in 1991. Seligman will continue research and teaching at Stanford. During Wolf’s 12-year tenure at CJM, the museum grew from a small community-based organization in a 2,500-square-foot building to a major institution with a landmark 63,000-square-foot museum in downtown San Francisco. She oversaw the $85 million new building project with archi- ... More |
artnet Auctions Announces Important Selection of 20th Century and Contemporary Design
Poul Henningsen, PH Artichoke Lamp (Manufactured by Louis Paulsen), 1958. Est. US$5,000–7,000. Permanent collection, The Museum of Modern Art, New York.
NEW YORK, NY.- artnet Auctions announces Design: The Museum Sale, an important selection of 20th century and Contemporary Design that is also represented in museum collections. These works, consigned by private collectors as well as dealers and galleries, explore the artistry and innovation present in many examples of design, seen in common objects as well as works made in limited quantities. Brent Lewis, Head of Design at artnet Auctions notes, “Design has always been a focus of museum collections, and the collectors and dealers who have established this field have worked very hard to secure some of their most compelling works for preservation in museum collections. At the same time, so many of these objects, true with any multiple, are still to be found in the market. It is a great rarity to be able to have an object at home that also ... More | | Exhibition of Flower Drawings at Fitzwilliam Museum Explores the Legacy of Redouté
Marie Anne, A spray of three flowers Camellias and Cincinaria. Drawing (watercolour and bodycolour on vellum) © The Fitzwilliam Museum.
CAMBRIDGE.- The 'Raphael of flowers', Joseph-Pierre Redouté (1759-1840), internationally famous for his prints of roses and lilies, was the finest botanical draughtsman of his age. In France he had a prestigious reputation in his own time, working for the Royal court both for Queen Marie-Antoinette and then for the Empress Joséphine following the French Revolution. Later in life his school of botanical drawing in Paris had over 80 pupils, the majority of them women, a number of whom became professional painters of flowers. This latest exhibition from the Fitzwilliam Museum’s prestigious Broughton collection of flower paintings and drawings will show the legacy of Redouté as an artist and teacher through a dual display of his work and works by some of his most accomplished students. The exhibition will also celebrate the recent acquisition of a watercolour by artist Julie Ribault. Painted in 1830, Redouté's scho ... More | | Good Doctor's Suits of Armour Make 782,508 in Sell Out Auction At Bonhams
A Cuirassier Three-Quarter Armour, circa 1620-30, probably French or German, estimated at £12,000-15,000 went for £50,400. Photo: Bonhams.
LONDON.- Bonhams sale of Fine Antique Arms and Armour on July 20th at Knightbridge included the life’s work of a medical doctor, Peter Parsons, whose passion was armour. Proof of the good doctor’s eye for armour was evident in brisk bidding that saw some very strong prices achieved in some cases making many multiples of their pre-sale estimates. By the end of the 192 item sale just four lots remained unsold, but went in after auction sales. Lot 189, a Cuirassier Three-Quarter Armour, circa 1620-30, probably French or German, estimated at £12,000-15,000 went for £50,400, the top item in the sale. Lot 187, a blackened Cuirassier three-quarter armour, circa 1630, probably Danish, estimated at £10,000-15,000 made £33,600.. Helmets from the 16lth and 17th Century from England Germany and Italy are fascinating conversation pieces and ... More |
Harry Ransom Center Says Iconic 'Gone With the Wind' Dress Faded Forever
Cara Varnell, an independent art conservator who specializes in Hollywood film costumes, works with on the belt sash from Scarlett O’Hara’s green curtain dress from the film "Gone With the Wind." AP Photo/Eric Gay.
By: Jim Vertuno, Associated Press
AUSTIN, TX (AP).- Efforts to preserve and restore several iconic dresses from the Oscar-winning Civil War movie "Gone With the Wind" have uncovered what might be painful for die-hard fans: Some of them simply can't be made to look like they did on screen. Stitching and holes can be repaired and extra feathers added years ago can be removed, but the dresses are old, badly faded in spots and in one case, just too fragile to handle. The Harry Ransom Center at the University of Texas announced a $30,000 effort last year to preserve five of the dresses acquired with the collection of film producer David O. Selznick in the 1980s. The goal is to have them ready for a 2014 exhibit to mark the film's 75th anniversary. Ransom Center officials this week gave The Associated Press a look at the work being done to bring them ... More | | Archaeologists Unearth Skull of Japanese Pilot Who Fought in Historic Attack of Pearl Harbor
A Navy launch pulls up to the blazing USS West Virginia to rescue a sailor during the attack on Pearl Harbor. AP Photo/U.S. Navy.
By: Jennifer Sinco Kelleher, Associated Press
HONOLULU (AP).- An excavation crew recently made a startling discovery at the bottom of Pearl Harbor when it unearthed a skull that archaeologists suspect is from a Japanese pilot who died in the historic attack on Dec. 7, 1941. Archaeologist Jeff Fong of the Naval Facilities Engineering Command Pacific described the discovery to The Associated Press and the efforts under way to identify the skull. He said the early analysis has made him "75 percent sure" that the skull belongs to a Japanese pilot. He did not provide specifics about what archaeologists have learned about the skull, but said it was not from one of Hawaii's ancient burial sites. They also contacted local police and ruled out the possibility that it's from an active missing person case, said Denise Emsley, public affairs officer for the Naval Facilities Engineering Command Hawaii, which ... More | | Wende Museum's Cold War Visual Archive to be Subject of Major Taschen Book
Garden Egg Chair, 1968 by Peter Ghyczy. Polyurethane frame, fabric, 3 ft 6 ¼ in. x 2 ft 10 in. x 2 ft 7 ¼ in. (107 cm x 86.5 cm x 79.5 cm) East Germany Design. 2008.245.001
LOS ANGELES, CA.- East German artifacts of art, culture and politics from The Wende Museum, the world's largest Cold War visual archive, will be the subject of a major TASCHEN publication in 2012. The publication will mark The Wende Museum's 10th Anniversary and offer an encyclopedic record of life in East Germany from 1949-1989. The Culver City, California, museum houses more than 60,000 objects from Communist-era Eastern Europe, including furniture and decor, paintings, sculptures, posters, flags and banners, signs, political propaganda, clothing, tapestries, textiles, books, scrapbooks, films, electronics, remnants of Checkpoint Charlie, and the longest stretch of the original Berlin Wall outside of Germany. "The Wende collection is unparalleled and it is a great pleasure to give the collection the international awareness it deserves," said Benedikt Taschen, the CEO and Founder of TASCHEN, and a member of The Wende's ... More |
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 Rhode Island Art Dealer Gets 16 Years in Invention Scam PROVIDENCE, RI (AP).- A former Rhode Island art dealer convicted of defrauding a wide range of investors — from a wealthy Japanese sword collector to a school janitor — was sentenced to 16 years in prison Thursday for his elaborate multimillion-dollar scheme. Judge William E. Smith imposed the sentence on Rocco DeSimone, 58, of Johnston, in U.S. District Court in Providence. Prosecutors said DeSimone deserved a stiff sentence because he is a "career con man" and criminal who bilked his victims of more than $6 million, saddling them with "broken dreams, empty bank accounts, and untold distress." "Justice was served today. Rocco DeSimone is a remorseless, recidivist thief," said U.S. Attorney Peter Neronha. "He deserves every day of the 16 years he was sentenced to today." DeSimone was also ordered to pay more than $6 million in restitution and sentenced to three years of supervised release ... More Experts to Catalog South Indian Temple Treasures By: Katy Daigle, Associated Press
NEW DELHI (AP).- A trove of gold and silver treasures found in a 16th century Hindu temple will be unearthed and cataloged by antiquities experts under tight security, with the media and public barred from the site in southern India, the Supreme Court said Thursday. The recent discovery of the treasure — including bagfuls of coins, crowns, precious gems and golden statues of gods and goddesses studded with diamonds, rubies and emeralds — made the Sree Padmanabhaswamy Temple the richest known religious institution in India. Its unofficial $22 billion valuation based on an incomplete inventory is expected to rise as the list of centuries-old items expands. The court said the five-member panel of experts from organizations including the National Museum, Archaeological ... More New York City Fire Truck Lowered Into 9/11 Display By: Cristian Salazar, Associated Press
NEW YORK, NY (AP).- A fire truck that rushed to the aid of victims on 9/11 returned to the World Trade Center site Wednesday as it was lowered like a huge flag-draped coffin into exhibition space for the National September 11 Memorial & Museum. The truck was from the city fire department's Ladder Company 3, which helped civilians escape from the trade center's north tower on Sept. 11, 2001. The vehicle had sped to the twin towers from its firehouse in Manhattan's East Village neighborhood with 11 firefighters aboard — all of whom died when the towers collapsed and their rig was mangled by debris. Battalion Chief John Moran, who was assigned to the company's firehouse, also was killed. A crane lowered the 60,000-pound battered remains of the truck, shrouded in a white protective ... More Smithsonian's National Postal Museum Receives Donation for the William H. Gross Stamp GalleryWASHINGTON, DC.- George Kramer, a well-known philatelist, has donated $100,000 to support the National Postal Museum’s expansion to create the William H. Gross Stamp Gallery (www.postalmuseum.si.edu/StampGallery). The Smithsonian and the U.S. Postal Service recently signed a lease agreement for the additional space to build the gallery. This new space will be added to the museum’s existing 65,000 square feet and is scheduled to open in the next couple of years. In addition, Kramer is donating for display in the new gallery, a piece of mail that was mailed to John Hancock from New York via the Constitutional Post, a mail system created by American revolutionary leaders to compete with the British post office. It was postmarked July 4, 1776, the date that the Second Continental Congress, meeting at the Pennsylvania State House in Philadelphia, approved the Declaration of Independence. No postage w ... More Henry Luce Foundation Grant to Advance Scholarship on Tibetan Painting Awarded to Rubin MuseumNEW YORK, NY.- With the support of a three-year, $270,000 grant from the Henry Luce Foundation, Dr. David Jackson—the world’s foremost scholar of Tibetan Buddhist painting and a consulting curator for the Rubin Museum—will publish a new series of exhibition catalogues on Tibetan thangka paintings drawn primarily from the museum’s collection. This is the second grant awarded to the Rubin Museum from the foundation; in 2007 the foundation supported the exhibition Bon: The Magic Word and its catalogue. Chief Curator of the Rubin Museum of Art Jan van Alphen expressed the museum’s gratitude to the Henry Luce Foundation for its commitment to Asian art historical scholarship saying, “The foundation’s continued support of the museum’s efforts to share ground-breaking research on the art and culture of Tibet will lead to greater appreciation for, and understanding and preservation of, an endange ... More Saint Mary's College of California to Expand Hearst Art GalleryMORAGA, CA.- Saint Mary’s College of California has begun construction on an expansion of the Hearst Art Gallery. The new construction will enable the College to increase exhibition space by 50 percent and display a greater number of the 4,500 works of art from Saint Mary's permanent collection in two new large galleries. The Hearst Art Gallery will remain open during construction and the gallery's director Carrie Brewster encourages the public to visit the current exhibition “Pam Glover: A Life in Art,” which is on view until Sept. 11. "Even though we have fences up all around the construction, we encourage visitors to come see Pam Glover's work. She was an amazing artist and the exhibition includes 61 plein air landscapes and other works, including postwar fashion," said Brewster. Public hours are ... More Pavilion of Art & Design London Announces More DetailsLONDON.- Patrick Perrin and Stéphane Custot announced the final selection of participants for the fifth edition of the Pavilion of Art & Design London. Bringing together an incredible set of 56 galleries from 11 countries to its prime location on Berkeley Square, PAD London 2011 promises to be the strongest edition of the fair since its inception in 2007. A rigorous selection process introduces to London the best dealers from Europe and North America within the fields of Modern Art, Design, Decorative Arts, Photography and Tribal Art from 1860 to today. Opening a new London space in October, Luxembourg & Dayan (USA) make their first appearance with modern artworks by Alexander Calder, Steven Parrino and Anselm Kiefer. Owned by former Sotheby’s directors and known for their stable of incredible modern and contemporary artists, Mitchell-Innes & Nash (USA) offer artworks by ... More |
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