| | The First Art Newspaper on the Net | | Established in 1996 | Tuesday, December 17, 2019 |
| | | Matisse & Picasso: Arts greatest rivals together in Australia for the first time | |
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Nick Mitzevich, National Gallery of Australia Director and Laurent Le Bon, Musée National Picasso Paris Director.
CANBERRA.- Together they charted a new course for modern European art in the 20th Century and for the first time Australian audiences are able to see the work of two of historys greatest artistic rivals side by side in the National Gallery of Australias major summer exhibition, Matisse & Picasso. The exhibition traces the turbulent relationship of Henri Matisse and Pablo Picasso from its early days during the belle epoque heyday of Paris, through their decades of jockeying for artistic ascendency. This enduring symbiosis continued after Matisses death in 1954, as Picassos remembrance for his friend continued to reveal itself in his art. Curated by the National Gallery of Australias Head of International Art, Dr Jane Kinsman, Matisse & Picasso draws on more than 200 paintings, sculptures, drawings, prints, illustrated books and costumes to tell a story of these ... More |
The Best Photos of the Day A Libyan youth practices parkour on the site of the ancient Greek city of Cyrene founded in 630 BC as a colony of Thira (Santorini), on the outskirts of the town of Shehhat east of the coastal Libyan city of Benghazi, on December 13, 2019. Abdullah DOMA / AFP
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| | Superman's cape sells for nearly $200,000 in Hollywood auction | | Active bidding and high sell-through rates at Koller's December auctions | | France to return Benin artworks by 2021: minister |
Jason DeBord adjusts an original Superman cape worn by actor Christopher Reeve in the 1978 "Superman" film (estimate $100,000 -200,000 $ USD). Robyn Beck / AFP.
LOS ANGELES (AFP).- Superman's very first movie cape was sold for nearly $200,000 Monday alongside a collection of rare Hollywood memorabilia, the auction house said. The prop from Christopher Reeve's "Superman", which went for $193,750, headlined Monday's sale of about 400 cinephile items at Julien's Auctions in Los Angeles. Only six capes in total were used while shooting the film, which came out in 1978. Multiple costumes from "Star Trek" also found buyers. These included the uniform worn by Patrick Stewart for his role as Captain Jean-Luc Picard, which sold for $28,800. Leonard Nimoy's Romulan costume from "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine" sold for $20,000. Dan Akroyd's jumpsuit from "Ghostbusters II" also went up for auction and was sold for $32,000, according to Julien's Auctions, which specializes in Hollywood collections ... More | |
Pierre-Auguste Renoir's "Paysage, vallée village sur la hauteur et fond de montagnes", 1900 (lot 3211), sold for nearly triple its low estimate at CHF 281,000.
ZURICH.- With a full saleroom and very active telephone and online bidding, the Impressionist & Modern Art auction at Koller on 6 December largely exceeded its pre-sale estimates. Works by the great names of the modern era were particularly sought after, such as three paintings by Pierre-Auguste Renoir, all of which surpassed expectations: "Paysage, vallée village sur la hauteur et fond de montagnes", 1900 (lot 3211), sold for nearly triple its low estimate at CHF 281,000. A small still life by Paul Cézanne, "Bol, boîte à lait et bouteille", 1879-80 (lot 3225), sold for above its upper estimate to a Chinese bidder at CHF 546,000. A wonderful charcoal drawing by Henri Matisse, "Nymphes", 1941 (lot 3241), sold to a private collector for CHF 232,000, almost doubling its estimate. A bronze bust by Germaine Richier, "La Regodias", 1938 (lot 3226) which in its elegance and stylistic purity has been compared to the ancient Egyptian ... More | |
French Culture Minister Franck Riester (L) shakes hands with Benin President Patrice Talon during a meeting on December 16, 2019 in Cotonou. Yanick Folly / AFP.
COTONOU (AFP).- France will return artworks taken from Benin during the colonial conquest of the region by the start of 2021, culture minister Franck Riester said Monday on a visit to the West African country. President Emmanuel Macron pledged last year to hand back 26 artefacts "without delay" in a landmark decision that has piled pressure on other former colonial powers to restore looted artworks to their countries of origin. The pieces -- including a royal throne -- were seized by French troops over a century ago and have been housed at the Quai Branly museum in Paris. Riester said the artworks would be returned "in the course of 2020, perhaps at the beginning of 2021" as he met with Benin's president Patrice Talon in Cotonou. Benin has welcomed France's decision to return the objects, but has warned against doing so too quickly as it works to build a proper ... More |
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| | Inaugural auction dedicated to Aboriginal Art at Sotheby's New York achieves $2.8 million | | MoMA PS1 prepares for Greater New York | | CODART Canon announces the 100 most important Dutch and Flemish works of art |
Gordon Bennett, Self Portrait (But I Always Wanted to Be One of The Good Guys), Painted in Brisbane in 1990. Oil on canvas 59 in by 102 in (150 cm by 260 cm). Estimate $350/450,000. Sold for $437,500. Courtesy Sothebys.
NEW YORK.- Sothebys Aboriginal Art auction, held in New York on 13 December 2019, achieved $2.8 million. The first Aboriginal Art auction to be held outside of Australia or Europe by an international auction house, the sale surpassed its high estimate with 88% of all lots sold and set eight new world auction records. Featuring modern and contemporary indigenous Australian art dating from the 1950s until the present, created by artists from the worlds oldest continuous culture, the auction continues Sothebys position as market leaders in the field since dedicated sales were established in 1997. Timothy Klingender, Sothebys Senior Consultant Australian Art commented: Fridays results are a watershed moment for Aboriginal art, and an incredible introduction to auctions of Aboriginal art of this scale in the United States. To showcase these extraordinary works of art in ... More | |
Part of the Greater New York 2020 Curatorial Team: Kate Fowle and Inés Katzenstein. Image courtesy MoMA PS1. Photo: Marissa Alper.
NEW YORK (NYT NEWS SERVICE ).- When she was named director of MoMA PS1 this summer, British curator Kate Fowle said she would still make time to organize exhibitions and work directly with artists. Next year, she will as one of four curators of Greater New York, the art centers once-every-five-year survey of contemporary art made in and around the city. The fifth edition of Greater New York will open in the fall of 2020 and promises to be another sprawling survey of new art, principally (but not only) by up-and-coming artists. Leading the selection team is Ruba Katrib, the PS1 curator who co-organized Theater of Operations, its current, building-spanning exhibition of art in the shadow of the wars in Iraq. Joining Katrib are Fowle; Ugandan independent curator Serubiri Moses; and Inés Katzenstein, MoMAs curator of Latin American art, who organized its current landmark exhibition Sur Moderno. The quartet has not yet settled on a list of artists, but they have already had ... More | |
Peter Paul Rubens, The Three Graces, 1630-1635, Museo Nacional del Prado, Madrid.
THE HAGUE.- CODART, an international network of some 700 museum curators of Dutch and Flemish art, announced the CODART Canon. The CODART Canon consists of 100 Dutch and Flemish works of art dating from before 1750 that are of particular importance to the history of art. The list can now be found on canon.codart.nl. On the basis of two ballots (one held among museum curators followed by a second one among the general public), a special committee established the resulting canon. The list naturally includes big names such as Rembrandt van Rijn, Peter Paul Rubens, Johannes Vermeer, Jan van Eyck and Jheronimus Bosch, but there are also many works of art by lesser-known artists such as Geertruydt Roghman, Johan Gregor van der Schardt, and Claes Sluter. Although paintings outnumber other kinds of artworks, the list also includes a number of striking objects, such as a medieval chandelier from the Church of St. Walburga in Zutphen and bridal ... More |
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| | Louise Nevelson Trinity Columns from Chapel of the Good Shepherd in Manhattan on loan to the Farnsworth Art Museum | | Sotheby's 'Design Week' auctions raise record $32.3 million in New York | | Gershon Kingsley, Moog-loving composer, dies at 97 |
Louise Nevelson: Chapel of the Good Shepherd (1977). Photo Credit: Thomas Magno.
ROCKLAND, ME.- A trio of dramatic sculptures by Louise Nevelson, called the Trinity Columns, have been installed at the Farnsworth Art Museum while on temporary loan from Saint Peters Church in Manhattan, which houses the renowned Chapel of the Good Shepherd, at Lexington Avenue and 54th St. The loan of the columns, which were removed while Nevelson Chapel undergoes extensive restoration work and installed at the Farnsworth last winter, is now being extended through spring of 2020. Nevelson, born Leah Berliawsky, spent her formative years in Rockland. She completed the Chapel in 1977, and is the only remaining fully-intact such environment by the artist in its original installation. Each of the columns forms a triangle that measure approximately 64 long by 14 wide, and are integral to the complete sculptural environment of the Chapel. All material is wood and paint, ... More | |
François - Xavier Lalanne, "Singe II", 1999, patinated bronze, Sold for $920,000. Courtesy Sothebys.
NEW YORK, NY.- Sothebys New York auctions of 20th Century Design concluded this week with a robust total of $32.3 million the highest-ever total for any series of Design auctions in New York. Together, the four sales outpaced the series high estimate of $29.5 million and with a strong overall sell-through rate of 86% by lot. Jodi Pollack, Co-Worldwide Head of Sothebys 20th Century Design Department, remarked: We are thrilled with the results from our December sale series in New York, which cap off a banner year of sales globally for our team. In particular, 2019 saw our highest-ever total for a various-owner design sale in Sothebys history, and we had the honor of presenting some of the most important and celebrated collections of design, including our record-breaking two-day sale in Paris of works from the collection of the inimitable François-Xavier and Claude Lalanne, and of course, pieces from the coll ... More | |
Gershon Kingsley at the keyboard of a Moog synthesizer in New York in 1972. Jack Manning/The New York Times.
by Jon Pareles
NEW YORK (NYT NEWS SERVICE ).- Gershon Kingsley, a composer who brought electronic sounds into popular music and wrote the enduring instrumental hit Pop Corn, died Dec. 10 at his home in Manhattan. He was 97. His daughter Alisse Kingsley confirmed his death. In the 1960s, Kingsley was an early convert to the Moog synthesizer. He used it to create music for commercials and to orchestrate perky melodies most notably Pop Corn, an instrumental originally released on Kingsleys 1969 album Music to Moog By that became a bestseller and was remade (usually renamed Popcorn) in hundreds of versions: by Kraftwerk, Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass, Aphex Twin and the Muppets. A 1972 version of Popcorn by Hot Butter made the song an international hit, ... More |
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| | Clark Art Institute names Caroline Fowler as Director of its Research and Academic Program | | Nazi enigma encrypting machine sold for $106,250 at Heritage Auctions | | At Pulse shooting site, a plan to remember renews pain for some |
Caroline Fowler was the A.W. Mellon Fellow in the Physical History of Art at Yale University from 2016 to 2018. Courtesy Clark Art Institute, photo by Tucker Bair.
WILLIAMSTOWN, MASS.- Olivier Meslay, Hardymon Director of the Clark Art Institute, announced the appointment of Caroline Fowler to serve as the Starr Director of its Research and Academic Program. Fowler joined the Clark staff in 2018 as associate director of the Research and Academic Program. She was named interim director later that year and has led the program for the past year. After undertaking a thorough search and interviewing a host of candidates from around the globe, we came to recognize that the best candidate to fill this important role was one who was already a member of our staff and who has been making important contributions to the Research and Academic Program, said Meslay. Caroline Fowler is a distinguished scholar, an accomplished author, and an effective and very capable administrator. Since joining the Clarks staff, she has earned the respect and admiration of her ... More | |
"Enigma" Encrypting Machine Used by the German Military in WWII. Sold for $106,250. Imaged by Heritage Auctions.
DALLAS, TX.- A rare encryption machine used by Nazi German forces to communicate without interception and translation by opposing nations sold for more than four times its opening bid to end at $106,250. The cypher device was offered at a public auction of historic WWII artifacts in Heritage Auctions Historic Flags of World War II Auction Dec. 14. The Enigma Encrypting Machine used by the German Military in WWII was used from 1934 until the end of the war, but fewer than 250 are believed to remain in existence; many were destroyed by the Germans to prevent them from falling into the wrong hands, Winston Churchill ordered all others to be destroyed after the war, and many were lost at sea. Enigma machines were critical tools for the Germans, and were believed to have provided an essentially unbreakable code through which German forces could communicate, Heritage Auctions Americana ... More | |
Barbara Poma, owner of the former Pulse nightclub, and a central figure in plans for a permanent museum and memorial to the mass shooting at the venue, at the interim memorial site in Orlando. Eve Edelheit/The New York Times.
by Graham Bowley
ORLANDO (NYT NEWS SERVICE ).- The struggle to heal has been palpable here in the years since 2016, when a gunman turned Pulse, a gay nightclub, into what was then the site of the deadliest mass shooting in modern American history. Each year, thousands attend wrenching services to honor the 49 people who died. The crime scene has been transformed into a powerful shrine that celebrates the idea that love is stronger than hate. And there are plans to turn the shuttered club into the centerpiece of a permanent memorial and build a soaring museum nearby that would mark what happened here for generations to come. The county, the state and multiple corporations have agreed to give millions toward the $45 million project. But the healing ... More |
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In Step with Nature: George Nakashima's Conoid Table
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The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation appoints Cliff Fleet President and CEO
WILLIAMSBURG, VA.- The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation has appointed Cliff Fleet, current president and CEO of 22nd Century Group, business professor at William & Mary, and former president and CEO of Philip Morris USA, to serve as its ninth president and CEO effective Jan. 1, 2020. Fleet has strong ties to the Williamsburg community. He has served as president of the Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation since 2014 and as a board member since 2009. He also serves as vice chair for development strategy on the board of trustees of the William & Mary Foundation. Fleet earned a bachelors degree in history and religion and graduate degrees in history, business administration and law from William & Mary. Cliff brings a lifelong passion for Colonial Williamsburgs mission and its importance to the national debate about Americas ... More
China dramatists wage 'guerrilla' fight for artistic freedom
WUZHEN (AFP).- An actress playing US espionage whistleblower Edward Snowden imitates a gun with her hand, aims it at a security camera, and fires -- not exactly the sort of stage content that's green-lighted in China's surveillance state. But artists like the scene's writer-director Wang Chong operate in what might be considered China's version of "off-off-Broadway", small, often impromptu, avant-garde performances in which independent show-runners walk a razor-thin line between censorship and artistic freedom. "A rebellious spirit is very dangerous. If an artist is in trouble in China everybody will cut connections, cooperation and conversation with them," Wang said of the risks. Wang spoke to AFP on the sidelines of the recent 7th annual Wuzhen Theatre Festival in the eponymous ancient canal town near Shanghai. Wuzhen's government promotes ... More
Picture this: China coastal flats develop into major photo draw
XIAPU (AFP).- It's dawn in Xiapu county and sunrise over southeastern China is welcomed by dozens of clicking camera shutters. Locals along this rather isolated stretch of coast in Fujian province have drawn their livelihood from the sea since ancient times. But another thriving industry has emerged as steadily rising incomes put cameras and smartphones into the hands of countless Chinese. Xiapu is a major attraction for budding Chinese photographers drawn to its striking imagery and a traditional way of life far removed from the skyscrapers and bustle of the country's mega-cities. The chief attraction is the coastal flats, alternately exposed and flooded by the ebb and flow of the tide, which wind around Xiapu's maze of inlets, coves and promontories. Seaweed production is perhaps the most visible industry, and the wide shimmering flats are marked by long graceful rows of bam ... More
'Five Hundred Years of Women's Work: The Lisa Unger Baskin Collection' on view at the Grolier Club
NEW YORK, NY.- Womens work. The phrase usually conjures up domestic duties or occupations largely associated with women, such as teaching, nursing, or housekeeping. A new exhibition at the Grolier ClubFive Hundred Years of Womens Work: The Lisa Unger Baskin Collection upends those associations and documents the often obscured, forgotten, and overlooked work and intellectual contributions of women from the Renaissance to the modern era. On view from December 11, 2019 to February 8, 2020, the exhibit brings together many well-known monuments of womens history and literature, as well as lesser-known work produced by female scholars, printers, publishers, scientists, artists, and political activists. Taken together, they comprise a mosaic of the ways women have been productive, creative, and socially engaged over the centuries. ... More
Andrew Clements, 70, dies; Wrote best-selling children's books
NEW YORK (NYT NEWS SERVICE ).- Andrew Clements, who mined a brief career as a teacher in Illinois in writing two dozen books for young readers, most notably Frindle, which sold more than 8 million copies, died Nov. 28 at his home in West Baldwin, Maine. He was 70. His wife, Rebecca (Pierpont) Clements, said the cause had not been determined. Frindle came about almost haphazardly when Clements, already established as a writer of texts for childrens picture books, was talking to a group of first and second graders in Rhode Island in 1990 about where words come from. People made up all these words, he said. But when the children did not believe him, he pulled a pen from his pocket and said that if they started calling it a frindle, and persuaded others to use the word, it might take hold. When one boy said it was impossible to make ... More
Seattle Art Museum presents prize-winner Aaron Fowler's solo exhibition
SEATTLE, WA.- The Seattle Art Museum presents Aaron Fowler: Into Existence (December 13, 2019June 28, 2020), the solo exhibition of Aaron Fowler, the winner of the 2019 Gwendolyn Knight and Jacob Lawrence Prize. In four new, large-scale mixed-media works composed of a wide range of found materials, the artist references the personal, political, and cultural. Into Existence illustrates dreams and ideas that Fowler wants to bring into being. The title echoes words of encouragementalmost a mantrathat the artists grandmother often says: You need to speak it into existence. At once paintings, sculptures, and installations, the works are densely layered with meaning and materiality. Massive in scale, the works are made with materials sourced from the artists surroundings in Los Angeles and St. Louis, including cotton balls, afro wigs, hair ... More
Michaan's December auctions led by American Art, Fine Estate Jewels, Tiffany Studios glass and Art Deco
SAN FRANCISCO, CA.- Bay Area artists of international renown, designer fine jewelry and Art Deco furnishings were top sellers at Michaan's December auctions. A pair of sales on consecutive days, the Winter Fine Sale followed by the December Gallery Sale, featured property from the Sylvia Blumenfeld Trust and property from a San Francisco apartment designed by Steven Volpe. Two fine collections of Art Deco and Art Moderne were offered, both attracting international interest. Tiffany Studios glass, a longtime specialty of Michaan's Auctions, was a leading highlight; an exceptionally fine example of the Tiffany Studios dragonfly lamp, with its luminous glass cone shade and twisted vine bronze base, realized $180,000 on December 7. A large acrylic painting by Sam Francis (1923-1994) was among the works by California artists that shone brightly in ... More
Bruneau & Co. Auctioneers will kick off the 2020 season with a 444-lot auction
CRANSTON, RI.- Bruneau & Co. Auctioneers will kick off the New Year in style with a 444-lot Estate Fine Art, Antiques & Collectibles Auction on Saturday, January 4th, online and in the gallery at 63 Fourth Avenue in Cranston. The auction will begin promptly at 11 am Eastern time. The sale will feature a fine selection of listed artist paintings, etchings and prints; a collection of Austrian and Bohemian art glass and figural lamps from a Long Island, New York collection; a select group of antique historical telephones from the Pioneers of America Museum in Pennsylvania; and a great single-owner collection of Japanese robes. Also offered will be a nice selection of Asian arts; five rare 18th and 19th century Rhode Island and Massachusetts almanacs; a high-end Leica spotting scope; sterling silver chalices; and estate ... More
The Autry announces two new, defining curatorial appointments
LOS ANGELES, CA.- Following a national search, the Autry Museum of the American West announced the appointment of Joe D. Horse Capture and Tyree A. Boyd-Pates, two curators at the vanguard of their fields who will strengthen the Autrys interpretive approach and its ability to tell the inclusive stories of the American West. Both bring deep knowledge in their respective areas of expertise and underscore the Autrys commitment to advancing public understanding of the art, history, and cultures of the American West. We are thrilled to welcome Joe and Tyree to our curatorial team. I have watched their career paths and development into public intellectuals with great admiration, and I know that their visions and insights will immeasurably enhance the Autrys ability to reveal the stories, experiences, and perceptions of the diverse ... More
Emilio Vedova exhbition opens at the Palazzo Reale in Milan
MILAN.- The Palazzo Reale in Milan is presenting the exhibition Emilio Vedova. Among the most important ever dedicated to one of the commanding figures of 20th-century art, the exhibition is curated by Germano Celant and sponsored by the Milan Municipalitys Culture office, the Palazzo Reale, and the Fondazione Emilio e Annabianca Vedova. This exhibition at Milans Palazzo Reale, says Alfredo Bianchini, President of the Fondazione Emilio e Annabianca Vedova, will be the crowning event of the Foundations celebrations of the centenary of Emilio Vedovas birth, which began with Skiras publication of the prestigious Vedova De America, followed by Emilio Vedova di/by Georg Baselitz, an exhibition curated by the great German artist at the Magazzino del Sale in Venice. Another important initiative was the film Emilio Vedova. Dalla parte del naufragio ... More
Staatliche Kunsthalle Baden-Baden presents works by Lukas Rehm
BADEN-BADEN.- In his media installation, Lukas Rehm examines a gesture that he declares a sign of an emotionalized present: Gamers throw their controller into the screen to act out frustrations. The display breaks, the game is over. In society and politics, too, feelings of frustration and powerlessness are often encountered affectively. Instead of the calm striving for compromise and consensus, aggressive, destructive gestures are used, which only supposedly create new agency. In the exhibition, Lukas Rehm arranges damaged screens into an audiovisual composition that discusses the connection between powerlessness and emotion. In 2015, the Heidelberger Kunststiftung Rainer Wild established a prize for young art in cooperation with the Staatliche Kunsthalle Baden-Baden. The prize is endowed with 5,000 euros and is awarded annually. It promotes ... More
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PhotoGalleries
Keith Haring | Jean-Michel Basquiat:
Nashashibi/Skaer
Lina Bo Bardi
Cars: Accelerating the Modern World
Flashback On a day like today, American painter and illustrator Paul Cadmus was born December 17, 1904. Paul Cadmus (December 17, 1904 - December 12, 1999) was an American artist. He is best known for his egg tempera paintings of gritty social interactions in urban settings. He also produced many highly finished drawings of single nude male figures. His paintings combine elements of eroticism and social critique in a style often called magic realism. In this image: The Fleet's In!, 1934 (cropped view).
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