| The First Art Newspaper on the Net | | Established in 1996 | Wednesday, October 25, 2017 |
| | | Gunpowder and explosive art as Prado museum hosts Chinese artist Cai Guo-Qiang | |
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Image of the exhibition galleries The Spirit of Painting. Cai Guo-Qiang at the Prado. Photo by Wen-You Cai, courtesy Cai Studio.
MADRID (AFP).- The smell of gunpowder still lingered in Madrid's Prado museum Tuesday, just hours after China's Cai Guo-Qiang, famed for his explosive art, put the finishing touch to an exhibition inspired by Spain's greats. Better used to the work of long-dead painters, this is the first time that the museum has welcomed an artist-in-residence, whose internationally-acclaimed contemporary work stands in stark contrast to the centuries-old masterpieces normally on show. In his exhibition, some of which was produced on-site using his trademark gunpowder, Cai sought inspiration from famous artists such as El Greco, Spain's Francisco Goya and Diego Velazquez, as well as other painters in the collection like Peter Paul Rubens. The result? A literal explosion of colour and darkness that reveals silhouettes, faces and landscapes, at times obvious and imposing, other times small and discreet. It's a "dialogue between today's art and the art of the past," the 59-year-old told reporters. ... More |
The Best Photos of the Day People visit "Secrets of State: the Declassified History of the Chilean Dictatorship" exhibition at the Museum of Memory and Human Rights in Santiago on October 24, 2017. The exhibition presents the history of the Chilean dictatorship through a series of declassified documents curated by Peter Kornbluh -- National Security Archive senior analyst who has played a fundamental role in the campaign to declassify 23,000 archives of the CIA, NSC, FBI, White House and the State Department of Defence. Martin BERNETTI / AFP
| Chicago museum outs Trump 'Renoir' as fake | | World's oldest astrolabe found, says shipwreck hunter | | The forgotten history of Rodin's Napoleon, found in New Jersey |
The Art Institute of Chicago. Michigan Avenue Entrance. Courtesy of the Art Institute of Chicago.
CHICAGO (AFP).- An American museum is casting doubt on President Donald Trump's reported claim to possess an original Renoir -- revealing to have owned the Impressionist painting in question for the past 84 years. According to a former Trump biographer, the US leader claims to own the original "Two Sisters (On the Terrace)," an oil-on-canvas painted by the French master Pierre-Auguste Renoir in 1881. But the Art Institute of Chicago begs to differ. "I'm happy to confirm that it's in our collection," museum spokeswoman Amanda Hicks told AFP by email Monday. "We're proud and grateful to be able to share this exceptional painting with our 1.5 million visitors each year." An identical work, which Trump asserted to be the original, was displayed in his private jet and seen as recently as last year inside his New York home, according to biographer Tim O'Brien. O'Brien told Vanity Fair magazine earlier this month that he saw the painting while conducting interviews for his ... More | |
Details of the earliest known marine navigation tool, discovered in a shipwreck, have been revealed thanks to state-of-the-art scanning technology at WMG, University of Warwick.
LONDON.- A British-based shipwreck hunter said Tuesday a navigation tool he found that guided Portuguese explorers on a perilous voyage to India in the 16th century has been confirmed as the world's oldest astrolabe. David Mearns found the bronze disc during a dive on a shipwreck off the coast of Oman in 2014 but said Warwick University had only recently confirmed what it was after laser scans revealed etches on it. "I knew immediately when I saw it that this was a very, very important object. I could see the royal coat of arms on it," Mearns told AFP. "This is the oldest maritime astrolabe," he said, dating it to between 1496 and 1500 -- around 30 years earlier than the previous oldest known astrolabe. Astrolabes have been in use since ancient times and the mariners' version was developed by Portuguese explorers using the altitudes of the sun or stars to determine the ... More | |
This photograph shows Rodin posing with the bust.
WASHINGTON (AFP).- Napoleon Bonaparte and Auguste Rodin are both household names in their own right. But a bust of the French emperor created by the master sculptor faded into oblivion in an American town, only to be discovered by chance. The white marble statue was certainly visible in the meeting room of the borough hall of Madison -- a municipality of 16,000 people in New Jersey. In fact for some 80 years, the bust was positioned on a pedestal, carelessly leaned on during meetings. But in 2014, a 22-year-old art history student recruited to take inventory of the building's artworks, came across the bust and noticed a signature that read "A. Rodin" in the sculptor's immediately recognizable style. Intrigued by the discovery, Mallory Mortillaro consulted experts and dug into archives, determined to confirm whether it was indeed a genuine Rodin. She was eventually pointed in the direction of the Paris-based Comite Auguste Rodin, the leading authority on the father of modern sculpture. ... More |
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| Gaza Bronze Age remains disappearing under concrete | | Britain to gift Arctic shipwrecks to Canada | | Sale of Howard Hodgkin's personal collection soars above estimate & sets records |
Bulldozers dig at the ancient Tell es-Sakan hill.. MAHMUD HAMS / AFP.
GAZA CITY (AFP).- Archaeologists and preservation activists in the Gaza Strip have managed to halt the destruction of a Bronze Age site for now, but the future of what remains may still be in jeopardy. Palestinian archaeologist Moain Sadeq says the mound at Tell es-Sakan near Gaza City is a "unique" site that could offer an invaluable glimpse into the region's ancient heritage. It is "maybe the only fortified Canaanite city in southern Palestine" occupied continuously from 3200 to 2000 BC, he says. Since it was discovered by chance in 1998, the man-made mound has been scarred by bulldozers more than once. A few weeks ago the earthmoving equipment returned yet again, destroying a large part of archaeological excavations carried out in 1999 and 2000 by Sadeq and his French colleague Pierre de Miroschedji. The land was to be cleared for homes for public officials in the Palestinian territory ruled by the Islamist ... More | |
Sir John Franklin (17861847), English sea captain and Arctic explorer. Dibner Library Portrait Collection.
LONDON (AFP).- Britain will gift to Canada the two shipwrecks from explorer Sir John Franklin's storied Arctic expedition. The defense ministry said Monday that ownership of the ill-fated HMS Erebus and HMS Terror -- in their era the crown jewels of the Royal Navy -- would be formally transferred to Canada's parks service in the coming weeks. But Britain will retain "a small sample of artefacts" recovered from the vessels, for display in museums, the ministry added in a statement. "This exceptional arrangement will recognise the historical significance of the Franklin expedition to the people of Canada, and will ensure that these wrecks and artefacts are conserved for future generations," Defense Secretary Michael Fallon said. The ill-fated HMS Erebus and HMS Terror left Britain on May 19, 1845 under the command of Franklin on a mission to discover the Northwest Passage linking the Atlantic and Pacific ... More | |
Hodgkins Indian Views (Lot 109) on view in Sothebys Galleries. Courtesy Sothebys.
LONDON.- Testament to the exceptional eye of British painter Howard Hodgkin, the kaleidoscope of exquisite objects that the artist so carefully drew together in his home, exceeded pre-sale expectations and sold for a combined total of £5,184,887 / $6,843,532 / 5,806,049 (est. £2.5-3.8m). The contents of the auction, titled Howard Hodgkin: Portrait of the Artist, cast new light on the aesthetic innovations of one of the greatest artists of our time, revealing what inspired him and what he held close. For the first time the public had the opportunity to see his work alongside objects from Italy to India that had inspired him. Following international exhibitions of sale highlights in Mumbai, Dubai and a full exhibition in Sothebys London galleries that attracted visitors in the thousands, bidders responded with enthusiasm, with many lots selling for multiples of their pre-sale estimate and 75% lots sold fetching prices above their p ... More |
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| Dixon Gallery and Gardens accepts a major gift of art from John and Susan Horseman | | V&A announces acquisition of an exquisitely designed and crafted pair of Prince's stage shoes | | Climate-disrupting volcanoes helped topple ancient Egypt: study |
Elizabeth Nourse, Mère et Bébé, ca. 1912. Oil on canvas. Collection of Dixon Gallery and Gardens; Gift of Susan and John Horseman, 2017.
MEMPHIS, TENN.- Over the summer of 2017, Susan and John Horseman proposed a contribution of twenty-eight American paintings, sculpture, and works on paper to the Dixon Gallery and Gardens permanent collection. At its September meeting, the Dixon Board of Trustees formally and enthusiastically accepted. Dixon Board Chair C. Penn Owen III notes, The Horseman gift stands among the most important and impressive acts of collection building in our history. The Horsemans unrestricted gift includes examples by such significant American artists as Hugh Breckenridge, Richard E. Miller, Elizabeth Nourse (at left), Hovsep Pushman, Alice Schille, Bessie Potter Vonnoh, and many others. The addition of these works to the Dixon permanent collection will allow the museum to expand its presentation and exploration of the dynamic artistic developments that took ... More | |
Shoes designed for and worn by Prince, circa. 1994 © The Victoria and Albert Museum, London.
LONDON.- The Victoria and Albert Museum in London has acquired a pair of black, satin, floral patterned shoes designed for and worn by Prince. The shoes zips use Princes iconic logo as the tag, meaning love symbol #2, which Prince famously changed his name to in 1993. This unique design resembles the Mars and Venues symbols signifying male and female as one. These shoes demonstrate the important role costume plays in the iconography of the contemporary rock and pop performer. Known for his energetic stage leaps, Princes shoes had special metal braces fitted between the heel and outersole as reinforcements to sustain the physicality of his performance. This creative solution, almost invisible to the audiences eye, supports the shoes structure and ensures no discomfort to the wearer, which is testament to the design and craft skills necessary for a world class performer. The V&A is the leading ... More | |
"Volcanic eruptions may have had a central role in the eventual collapse of the Ptolemaic dynasty," the journal noted in a summary.
PARIS (AFP).- Sun-choking debris cast off by volcanoes more than 2,000 years ago starved headwaters feeding the Nile river and hastened the downfall of ancient Egypt's last kingdom, researchers said Tuesday. Eruptions in the 3rd- and 1st-century BC -- including one of the biggest blasts in the last 2,500 years -- coincided with crop failures, large-scale revolts, and the withdrawal of Egyptian armies from the battlefield, they reported in the journal Nature Communications. Up to now, researchers had struggled to find an explanation for these events. "Volcanic eruptions may have had a central role in the eventual collapse of the Ptolemaic dynasty," the journal noted in a summary. The findings, the authors said, also highlight the risk today of climate engineering schemes that would combat global warming by injecting billions of tiny particles into the stratosphere -- just like a volcano ... More |
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| First UK retrospective of Tove Jansson opens at Dulwich Picture Gallery | | Exhibition of 100 works serve to illuminate central aspects of Robert Frank's work | | Largest ever Mata Hari exhibition on view at the Museum of Friesland |
Tove Jansson, Smoking Girl (Self-Portrait), 1940, Private Collection. Photo: Finnish National Gallery / Yehia Eweis.
LONDON.- Dulwich Picture Gallery presents the first major UK retrospective of work by one of the most celebrated illustrators of the 20th century, Tove Jansson (1914-2001). Known internationally as creator of the Moomin characters and books, a phenomenon which continues to stretch across generations, Janssons wider outputs of graphic illustration and painting are relatively unseen outside her home country of Finland. Tove Jansson brings together 150 works to reintroduce Jansson as an artist of exceptional breadth and talent, tracing the key stages of her prolific career including her surrealist-inspired paintings of the 1930s and abstract work of the 60s, her satirical anti-war cartoons and book jacket designs, as well as a comprehensive display of early sketches for the Moomin characters and original comic strips. The exhibition opens with Janssons self-portraits, landscapes ... More | |
Robert Frank, Drugstore Detroit, 1955. Gelatin silver print © Robert Frank, The Albertina Museum, Vienna Dauerleihgabe der Ãsterreichischen Ludwig-Stiftung für Kunst und Wissenschaft.
VIENNA.- Robert Frank, one of the most influential photographers of the 20th centurys postwar years, revolutionized classic reportage and street photography. Over a period spanning six decades, this Swiss-American artist created photographs, experimental montages, books, and films. The Albertina is showing selected works and series that trace Robert Franks development: from his early photojournalistic images created on trips through Europe to the pioneering work group The Americans and on to his later, more introspective projects, over 100 works serve to illuminate central aspects of his oeuvre, which has never before seen presentation in Austria. Born in Zurich in 1924 to a German-Jewish family, Robert Frank was granted Swiss citizenship only just before the end of the Second World War. He began his ... More | |
Mata Hari as a dancer in Paris, 1905, Museum of Friesland Collection, Leeuwarden.
LEEUWARDEN.- From 14 October 2017 to 2 April 2018, the Museum of Friesland in Leeuwarden presents the exhibition Mata Hari: the myth and the maiden. Exactly 100 years after her death, the museum tells this icons full story for the first time. Margaretha Geertruida Zelle from Leeuwarden transformed into the world-famous dancer Mata Hari at the beginning of the last century. During the First World War, she was arrested by the French secret service on suspicion of espionage and executed. More than 100 objects from the Netherlands and abroad have come to Leeuwarden especially for this exhibition. Among them is a selection of recently declassified French military files, which are being displayed in public for the first time. Mata Hari: The myth and the maiden is the largest exhibition ever about Margaretha Geertruida Zelle's life. On 13 March 1905, Mata Hari made her dance debut in the library ... More |
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Inside Photographer Robert Frank's The Americans
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Exhibition explores the relationship between arts patron and artist
OTTERLO.- The Kröller-Müller Museum is presenting The patron and the house painter. Helene Kröller-Müller and Bart van der Leck. A selection of the forty-two paintings and approximately four hundred drawings from the collection are on display. This exhibition examines the development of Van der Leck from the perspective of Helene Kröller-Müller. As his patron, she is closely involved with him. Based on the many letters, we follow her train of thought and see how the new work relates to the rest of her collection. The exhibition is showing until 2 April 2018. Between 1912 and 1918 Van der Leck receives an annual allowance from Helene Kröller-Müller, on the recommendation of her advisor Hendrik Bremmer. Thus she becomes Van der Lecks patron and in 1914 the artist is employed by the firm Wm H. Müller & Co. Van der Leck makes a large stained ... More
Swann Auction Galleries to sell Marlene Dietrich's unique 'short snorter' bankroll of signatures
NEW YORK, NY.- Few things help us connect with our heroes like a sample of their writing, whether it is their autograph, a letter, musical manuscript or other work. So says specialist Marco Tomaschett as he unveils examples by Albert Einstein, George Washington, Sigmund Freud, Marlene Dietrich and others for his November 7 Autographs sale at Swann Auction Galleries in New York. The centrepiece of the auction will be the 76-lot consignment from the Jimmy Van Heusen collection of autograph works by some of the greatest figures of Western classical music, as well as autograph manuscripts of some of Van Heusens most celebrated compositions for the likes of Frank Sinatra and Bing Crosby, such as Love and Marriage, High Hopes and All the Way. It is being sold to benefit Cazenovia College in Cazenovia, New York. Other notable highlights ... More
New book released on celebrated Arab-American poet-artist, Kahlil Gibran, author of The Prophet
NEW YORK, NY.- A new book on Kahlil Gibran, the celebrated and best-selling early 20th century Arab-American poet-artist and writer (often most known in the West as the author of The Prophet) written by Paul-Gordon Chandler, has just been released by Rowman and Littlefield (September 1, 201), the largest independent publishing house in the US. The books release was celebrated at a lecture by Paul-Gordon Chandler hosted by The Kahlil Gibran Chair for Values and Peace at the University of Maryland. The new book, titled In Search of a Prophet: A Spiritual Journey with Kahlil Gibran, is a journey through the all-embracing nature of Kahlil Gibran, author of the bestselling book The Prophet. Capturing the readers imaginations and enriching their spirits, Paul-Gordon Chandler explores this beloved writer and poet-artist, a mystic who sought to build bridges and tear down wa ... More
Fondazione Prada opens third chapter of exhibition project "Slight Agitation"
MILAN.- Fondazione Prada is presenting Slight Agitation 3/4: Gelitin, the third chapter of the exhibition project conceived by Fondazione Prada Thought Council, whose members are Shumon Basar, Cédric Libert, Elvira Dyangani Ose, and Dieter Roelstraete. Slight Agitation, a four-part project of newly commissioned, site-specific works hosted in sequence within the Cisterna in the Milan venue of Fondazione, continues with a third instalment by the Austrian collective Gelitin. Their work follows on from Tobias Putrih (Slovenia, 1972) and Pamela Rosenkranz (Switzerland, 1979), while Laura Lima (Brazil, 1971) will produce the final chapter. Following Tobias Putrihs installation which engaged with ideas of play, politics and emancipation and Pamela Rosenkranzs intervention that offered visitors a multi-sensory immersion into a new perception of embodiment and ... More
Fresh-to-market Ernst leads Bonhams Impressionist & Modern Art Sale
NEW YORK, NY.- Bonhams Impressionist & Modern Art Sale on November 14 will be led by works by Max Ernst, Alberto Giacometti, and Diego Rivera. These fresh-to-the-market pieces highlight a 55-lot sale which includes fascinating works from across the period, including a notable Latin American section. We are excited to present a core group of works from international private collections which have never appeared before at auction, said William OReilly, Vice President, Impressionist & Modern Art at Bonhams New York. The sale is particularly strong in the Modern period, showing artists such as Ernst, De Chirico and Giacometti exploring the possibilities of art in the mid-20th Century. We also celebrate the enduring popularity of Latin American art, with works by Diego Rivera from the collection of Dean Martin, and from the collection of José Ferrer. ... More
Thousands of Proust letters to be posted online
NEW YORK (AFP).- A trove of Marcel Proust's correspondence is to be digitized and put online for free, with the first batch of letters timed to coincide with the 100th anniversary of the end of World War I, organizers of the US-French initiative say. The nearly 6,000 letters to and from the author of "In Search of Lost Time," one of the great masterpieces of western literature, are drawn mainly from the work of Philip Kolb, a University of Illinois professor. Kolb, who died in 1992, assembled and published all of Proust's surviving correspondence -- about 5,300 letters -- in 21 volumes between 1970 and 1993. Several hundred more letters have since been identified. Kolb estimated the size of Proust's correspondence at some 20,000 documents, but most were lost or destroyed over the years. The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is leading the project to digitize the ... More
Swann Galleries sets new artist record for Saul Leiter
NEW YORK, NY.- On Thursday, October 19, Swann Auction Galleries sale of Art & Storytelling: Art & Photobooks combined works spanning the lifetime of the medium into an auction intended to highlight the interrelationships between fine art, documentary and vernacular photographs, according to Daile Kaplan, Vice President and Director of Photographs & Photobooks at Swann Galleries. Ms. Kaplan has long been an advocate for the inclusion of vernacular works and photobooks in the fine art sphere, and organized the first auctions devoted to those subjects in 2014 and 2006, respectively. She added, We're successfully building a new, broader market of crossover and emerging collectors who enjoy discovering the ways in which art tells a story." Interest in vernacular photography was so high that the opening bid for many works exceeded the high ... More
Einstein note on modest living sells for $1.56 million
JERUSALEM (AFP).- A note that Albert Einstein gave to a courier in Tokyo briefly describing his theory on happy living sold at auction in Jerusalem on Tuesday for $1.56 million (1.33 million euros), the auction house said. The winning bid for the note far exceeded the pre-auction estimate of between $5,000 and $8,000, according to the website of Winner's auction house. "It was an all-time record for an auction of a document in Israel," Winner's spokesman Meni Chadad told AFP. The buyer was a European who wished to remain anonymous, he said. The note, on Imperial Hotel Tokyo stationery, says in German that "a quiet and modest life brings more joy than a pursuit of success bound with constant unrest." Bidding, in person, online and by phone, started at $2,000. A flurry of offers pushed the price rapidly up for about 20 minutes until the final two potential ... More
Museum of Contemporary Art Toronto Canada announces Executive Director and CEO Heidi Reitmaier
TORONTO.- Heidi Reitmaier has been appointed the Executive Director and CEO of the Museum of Contemporary Art Toronto Canada. Reitmaier will be joining MOCA in January 2018 from the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago (MCA) where she is currently the Dr. Robert N. Mayer Director of Learning and Public Programs. I am pleased to welcome Heidi to this key role, says MOCA Board of Directors Chair Julia Ouellette. We set out to find someone with an excitement for how contemporary art museums can play a role on the world stage. With her experience here, in the UK and in the US, she will add an extraordinary global perspective and a track record of bringing relevance and engagement with the contemporary art, artists and ideas of our times. At the MCA, Reitmaier was most recently responsible for leading the strategic initiative to re-imagine ... More
After 25 years, Los Angeles Modern Auctions continues to grow
LOS ANGELES, CA.- Los Angeles Modern Auctions, celebrated its 25th Anniversary Auction on Sunday with strong results in the October 22, 2017 Modern Art & Design Auction, proving once again that LAMA, and Los Angeles as a whole, is a global art marketplace. Shannon Loughrey, President of LAMA, noted, "With a record setting number of participants in the audience, bidding on our App, and on the telephone, the auction's success was attributed to a perfect storm of offering 'fresh' material to an eager audience of worldwide bidders." The top lot of the auction was an iconic screenprint by Roy Lichtenstein, Reverie (from 11 Pop Artists Portfolio, Vol. II) (1965), estimated at $60,000-$90,000, which nearly doubled the high estimate, realizing $175,000. Important pieces by Paul Klee, Gunther Gerzso, Marcel Duchamp, Nathan Oliveira, and Ed Ruscha all exceeded ... More
Jerseys from Mantle and Mays, rookie cards from Ruth and Alcindor may rewrite record books
DALLAS, TX.- Heritage Auctions expects to continue to continue its lengthy streak of eight-figure quarterly auctions in mid-November, as nearly 4,000 lots are placed upon the auction block for the hobby's largest global bidding audience Nov. 16-18. As is traditional for Heritage's spring and fall events, the offerings span a vast range of sports, formats and values, ensuring that there will be targets for collectors of all disciplines and collecting budgets. "We feel that these are the auctions that really help to bring 'new blood' into the hobby," said Chris Ivy, director of Sports Collectibles at Heritage. "Every one of these auctions tends to add a several hundred new bidders to our ranks, and this kind of growth is essential to maintaining the bull market in sports collectibles that has endured for more than a decade now, and to keep Heritage in command of the pricing ... More
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Flashback On a day like today, Spanish painter Pablo Picasso was born October 25, 1881. Pablo Picasso (25 October 1881 - 8 April 1973), was a Spanish painter, sculptor, printmaker, ceramicist, and stage designer who spent most of his adult life in France. As one of the greatest and most influential artists of the 20th century, he is widely known for co-founding the Cubist movement, the invention of constructed sculpture, the co-invention of collage, and for the wide variety of styles that he helped develop and explore. Among his most famous works are the proto-Cubist Les Demoiselles d'Avignon (1907), and Guernica (1937), a portrayal of the German bombing of Guernica during the Spanish Civil War. In this image: Pablo Picasso watches the filming of his life story in Nice, France, on July 26, 1955. Henri Georges Clouzot, seated, is producing the picture. Picasso's daughter Maya is at left.
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