| | The First Art Newspaper on the Net |   | Established in 1996 | Friday, June 19, 2020 |
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| | Four Confederate portraits are removed from US Capitol | |
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House Clerk Cheryl Johnson looks on as Architect of the Capitol maintenance workers remove a painting of former speaker James Orr of South Carolina, from the east staircase of the Speakers lobby, on Capitol Hill, on June 18, 2020 in Washington, DC. The portraits of Robert Hunter, James Orr, Howell Cobb and Charles Crisp were removed on the orders of Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) ahead of the Juneteenth holiday and in the wake of nationwide protests against police brutality and systemic racism. Graeme Jennings-Pool/Getty Images/AFP.
WASHINGTON (AFP).- Four portraits of senior 19th century lawmakers who served in the Confederacy were removed from the US Capitol on Thursday in the latest manifestation of efforts to confront systemic racism and injustice in America. The paintings of the men, all former speakers of the House of Representatives, were taken down at the order of current Speaker Nancy Pelosi. "There is no room in the hallowed halls of Congress or in any place of honor for memorializing men who embody the violent bigotry and grotesque racism of the Confederacy," the top Democrat wrote to the US House clerk Thursday requesting their removal. The symbolic action preceded Friday's observance of Juneteenth, which commemorates the end of slavery in the United States. Pelosi said her order coincided with Juneteenth and the current "moment of extraordinary national anguish, as we grieve for the hundreds of Black Americans killed by racial injustice and police brutality." Protests swept the nation following the May 25 killing of Afr ... More |
The Best Photos of the Day A tourist visits the Alhambra in Granada on June 17, 2020, on the day it reopen to the public after three months of closure due to the coronavirus pandemic. JORGE GUERRERO / AFP
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 | | Barnett Newman's Onement V leads ONE: a Global Sale of the 20th Century at Christie's | | Bids fly for Victor Hugo's Paris siege balloon sketch | | René Magritte's 'L'arc de triomphe, 1962' to highlight the London selection of ONE: a Global Sale of the 20th Century | 
Barnett Newmans sublime Onement V, 1948. Estimate: $30-40 million. © Christie's Images Ltd 2020.
NEW YORK, NY.- On July 10, Barnett Newmans sublime Onement V, 1948 (estimate: $30-40 million) will lead ONE: a Global Sale of the 20th Century. Painted in an ethereal, ink blue palette, dramatically interrupted by a solitary 'zip' of aquamarine, Onement V is a sublime masterpiece that perfectly captures Barnett Newman's abstract aesthetic. Created just four years after his breakthrough painting, Onement I (1948), it represents one of only two paintings from this early, landmark series to remain in a private collection. The other four are currently housed in major American museum collections including: The Museum of Modern Art, New York, Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art, Hartford and the Allen Memorial Art Museum, Oberlin. Ana Maria Celis, Head of Sale, ONE, Christies, New York, remarked: It is such an honor to have the ... More | | 
Victor Hugo, Départ du ballon (detail). dessin original à la plume (130 x 113 mm). Estimate 12,000 18,000 EUR. Courtesy Sotheby's.
PARIS (AFP).- A drawing by the French writer Victor Hugo of a hot air balloon escaping from Paris during the 1870 Prussian siege, sold for more than twice its estimate Thursday. Sotheby's said the sketch by the author of "Les Miserables" went for 37,500 euros ($42,000) at its auction room in the French capital. Hugo was a talented artist, and the drawing entitled "Departure of the Balloon" showed it floating across the rooftops of the encircled and starving city. It was his hommage to the 67 hot air balloons that were launched from Paris during the four-month siege after Napoleon III's humiliating defeat in the Franco-Prussian war. One of them in September 1870 even dropped pamphlets by Hugo over the Prussia lines. The great photographer Nadar asked the writer would he lend his name to another balloon carrying mail that took off three ... More | | 
René Magritte, Larc de triomphe, 1962. Estimate: £6.5-9.5 million. © Christie's Images Ltd 2020.
LONDON.- On 10 July, Christies will offer René Magrittes Larc de triomphe (1962, estimate: £6.5-9.5 million) in London as a highlight of ONE: A Global Sale of the 20th Century. Painted during the opening months of 1962, Larc de triomphe features one of the most familiar pictorial elements of René Magrittes post-war oeuvre the tall, imposing boughs of a verdant tree, meticulously rendered and here, superimposed upon an expanse of its own leaves. The idea first took shape in an ink sketch the artist made in a letter to André Bosmans, dated 14 February 1962. Olivier Camu, Deputy Chairman, Impressionist and Modern Art, Christies: After the outstanding results achieved for René Magritte's work in London in February this year, we are thrilled and honoured to be able to present to the market the artists ... More |
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| | Online Pablo Picasso auction raises almost £5 million | | Lost masterpiece of Chinese porcelain rediscovered in a remote country house in central Europe | | Rijksmuseum presents new acquisition at reopening | 
Pablo Picasso, Le Poussin (Baer 214), 1907, woodcut printed by hand in dark blue and bright blue gouache (est. £30,000 50,000). Courtesy Sotheby's.
LONDON (AFP).- An online auction of almost 200 works spanning the career of world famous Spanish artist Pablo Picasso fetched almost five million pounds, London auctioneers Sotheby's said on Friday. It was the first auction organised by Sotheby's since the UK partially lifted its coronavirus lockdown rules in the first half of May. The 10-day World of Picasso sale ending Thursday included 60 works from the private collection of the artist's granddaughter Marina Picasso. Some 188 works together totalled 4,832,125 pounds or $6,128,101 with 92 percent of lots sold and 83 percent of those "selling for prices above their high estimates," Sotheby's said in a statement. The highest selling item was a 1950 vase - "Grand Vase aux Femmes Nues" - which sold for 435,000 pounds (482,000 euros, $540,000), said Sotheby's. Another notable sale was a palette used by Picasso, which sold for more than 56,000 pounds despite having ... More | | 
A Magnificent and Highly Important Yangcai Reticulated Vase Seal Mark and Period of Qianlong. 31.4 cm. Est HK$70,000,000 90,000,000 / US$ 9,010,000 11,580,000. Courtesy Sotheby's.
HONG KONG.- Sothebys Hong Kong Chinese Works of Art Spring Sale Series 2020 on 11 July will present The Harry Garner Reticulated Vase, a lost masterpiece of Chinese porcelain found in a remote European house almost 60 years since it last came to market. The vase was rediscovered by Amsterdam-based art consultant Johan Bosch van Rosenthal in the country house of an elderly lady who had inherited it. The masterpiece survived the last 50 years almost unblemished, in a lively home surrounded by countless cats and dogs. This magnificent yangcai reticulated vase represents the culmination of centuries of ingenuity in Chinese crafts and carries with it Chinas glorious past. With a singular piece of porcelain, the viewer is taken on a stroll through the riches of Imperial collection, from archaic bronzes and jades via Longquan celadon and blue-and- ... More | | 
Jacob Woutersz Vosmaer (15841641), Still Life of Flowers with Crown Imperial Fritillary in a Stone Niche, 1613. Oil on panel, 110 x 79 cm.
AMSTERDAM.- A recently acquired work is on display in the Rijksmuseums Gallery of Honour. The impressively large Still Life of Flowers with Crown Imperial Fritillary in a Stone Niche was painted by Jacob Vosmaer in 1613, and it is regarded as the artists best work. This acquisition means that for the first time the Rijksmuseum is able to display a painting of the very highest order from the vanguard of the genre that first brought fame to Dutch painting: the floral still life. At the end of 2019, the Rijksmuseum had the opportunity to acquire the painting from a private owner. The purchase was facilitated through the support of the Mondriaan Fund, the Ministry of Education, Culture and Sciences Nationaal Aankoopfonds, the Rembrandt Association (thanks in part to its Nationaal Fonds Kunstbezit, its Themafonds 17de-eeuwse schilderkunst, and a contribution from the Prins Bernhard Cultuurfonds), the ... More |
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| | Vera Lynn: the 'Forces' Sweetheart' of WWII Britain | | Celebrity portraits by Mark Seliger total $232,375 at Christie's | | Violin-makers tune in to tradition of Stradivarius in Italy's Cremona | 
In this file photo taken on October 22, 2009 Forces sweetheart Dame Vera Lynn poses for photographs in central London, on October 22, 2009. SHAUN CURRY / AFP.
by Joe Jackson
LONDON (AFP).- As long as there are still Britons alive who fought in World War II, the name of Vera Lynn will open a bittersweet floodgate of nostalgia. The singer, who died on Thursday aged 103, achieved superstar status as "the forces' sweetheart", boosting troop morale with a string of romantic and patriotic ballads. From the battlefields of France, the Netherlands, Italy and North Africa to the Far East, whenever soldiers gathered around a radio set or gramophone, the smooth vocal tones of Vera Lynn were sure to be heard. It is impossible to gauge whether the outcome of the war was swayed by songs like "There'll Always Be an England", "We'll Meet Again", "(There'll Be Bluebirds Over) The White Cliffs of Dover" and "A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square". But for countless men ... More | | 
Mark Seliger (b. 1959), Jennifer Aniston, Los Angeles, CA, 1995. Estimate: $5,000-7,000. Price realized: $16,250. © Christie's Images Ltd 2020.
NEW YORK, NY.- Christies reported RADArt4Aid, a special fundraising collaboration for COVID-19 relief, totaled $232,375. 100% of the proceeds of sale from the online auction, produced in partnership with award-winning photographer Mark Seliger and RAD (Red Carpet Advocacy), will benefit 19 charities around the world that support communities impacted by the coronavirus pandemic. Bidders from the Americas, Asia and Europe converged on Christies online sale platform to compete for 26 of Seligers most celebrated portraits, driving the final sale total to more than twice the pre-sale estimate with every lot sold. A new auction record price was set for any work by Mark Seliger, with the sale of his iconic and instantly recognizable 2010 portrait of President Barack Obama which achieved $37,500. Additional top prices were achieved for Jennifer Aniston, Los Angeles, CA, 1995, which realized $16,250, against ... More | | 
Cremona's current oldest luthier, Hungary's Stefano Conia (74) is pictured with a violin at his workshop in Cremona on June 9, 2020. Miguel MEDINA / AFP.
by Céline Cornu
CREMONA (AFP).- Working in the shadow of the great masters, the violin-makers of Italy's Cremona are valiantly fighting a shrinking market and foreign competition as they seek perfection, one violin at a time. The birthplace of Stradivarius, Cremona is a veritable laboratory for luthiers from all over the world, where violin workshops seem to be everywhere you look. Stefano Conia's studio -- just one of the 160 in this northern Italian city of 70,000 inhabitants -- has not changed for decades. It's situated at the back of a flower-filled courtyard, and this native Hungarian, one of the doyens of Cremonese violin-makers, heads there every day, despite retiring nearly 10 years ago. "If I stopped making violins, life for me would be over. Every day I'm here in the workshop. It's an antidote to old age," said a smiling Conia, 74, whose father crafted violins ... More |
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| | Contemporary Art at Swann June 25: Helen Frankenthaler, Richard Hambleton, Roy Lichtenstein, Julie Mehretu & more | | Giorgio Morandi's classic 'Natura Morta 1951' leads Sotheby's Contemporary Art sale in Milan | | Von Bartha announces representation of Barry Flanagan Estate in Switzerland and of Francisco Sierra worldwide | 
Roy Lichtenstein, Reverie, color screenprint, 1965. Estimate $100,000 to $150,000. Image courtesy of Swann Auction Galleries.
NEW YORK, NY.- Swann Galleries will offer a sale of Contemporary Art on Thursday, June 25 with a standout selection of paintings and works on paper from notable Abstract Expressionists, Pop Artists, street artists of the 1980s, alongside contemporary multiples. Leading the sale is Roy Lichtensteins celebrated color-screenprint Reverie, 1965one of the artists first pop prints, expected to sell for $100,000 to $150,000. Additional Pop Art features by Robert Indianas The American Dream, a 1997 portfolio with complete text and 30 color screenprints ($10,000-15,000); James Rosenquists Horse Blinders (East), color lithograph and screenprint with pressure-sensitive bright silver foil, 1972 ($4,000-6,000); and one Andy Warhols iconic Campbells soup can color screenprints, Consommé (Beef), 1968 ($20,000-30,000). A stellar group of works by Abstract Expressionist artists of the New York school includes a run ... More | | 
The sale was led by Giorgio Morandis tranquil painting, Natura Morta, from 1951, which soared above its high estimate to 1.452.500 / $1,629,531 the third highest price ever achieved for an artwork in an online sale at Sothebys (lot 19, est. 750.000-1.000.000). Courtesy Sotheby's.
MILAN.- Sothebys online sale of Contemporary Art in Milan realised 10.415.375 / $11,684,801, soaring above its pre-sale estimate of 6.625.000-9,167,000. This is the second highest total ever achieved for an online sale staged by Sothebys globally, and the highest-achieving online sale mounted in Europe. 89% of the lots offered were sold, with 70% of those exceeding their high estimates. The auction also saw activity from 20% more bidders than in Milans last live Contemporary Art sale in November 2019, with participants hailing from 23 countries almost double the number of regions than in the previous live auction. Attracting an average of 8.6 bids per lot, the auction saw competitive bidding through to the final day and in the final seconds. Contemporary Art | ... More | | 
Barry Flanagan (Unihare on Crescent and Bell), 1995. Bronze, 134 x 95.6 x 57.8 cm. AC 2 from an edition of 8 plus 4 ACs. Courtesy von Bartha and the artist.
BASEL.- Von Bartha announced representation of the Estate of Barry Flanagan in Switzerland, and representation of Francisco Sierra worldwide. Works by both artists feature in the gallerys presentation at Art Basels Online Viewing Rooms, 19 26 June 2020. Additionally, works by Flanagan and Sierra will be presented in the group exhibition S-chanf 4 + 2, at the gallerys S-chanf space, 30 June to 25 July 2020. Flanagans work Unihare on Crescent and Bell (1995) and Sierras Like a Fire (2020) will be shown alongside a selection of works by Anna Dickinson, Imi Knoebel, Landon Metz, and Beat Zoderer. Stefan von Bartha, Director said: "It's with great pleasure that we are showing the work of Barry Flanagan within the gallery programme. I remember well the exhibitions my parents did over 20 years ago and since then I have followed and studied the work closely, so it means a lot to me to be showing the work of ... More |
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5 Questions: Megan DiRienzo
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 Denny O'Neil, writer who left his mark on Batman, dies at 81NEW YORK (NYT NEWS SERVICE).- Denny ONeil, a leading comic-book writer who in the 1970s acquainted readers with Batmans tougher, urban roots and injected social issues into the joint adventures of Green Lantern and Green Arrow, died on June 11 at his home in Nyack, New York. He was 81. His son, Lawrence, said the cause was cardiopulmonary arrest. ONeil not only reinvigorated Batman and unified Green Lantern and Green Arrow; he also wrote comic books featuring Spider-Man, Iron Man, Doctor Strange, Daredevil and the Question in a 35-year career that included two stints at both DC Comics and Marvel Comics. Jim Lee, DCs chief creative officer and publisher, wrote on Twitter that ONeils focus on social issues pushed comics to wider respectability & acceptance as an art form, adding, Through his work & mentorship, ... More Yupadee Kobkulboonsiri, designer of otherworldly jewelry, dies at 51NEW YORK (NYT NEWS SERVICE).- Yupadee Kobkulboonsiri made fantastical jewelry neck cuffs with silver springs ending in pearls that looked like asteroids, necklaces that looped over a shoulder and erupted in diamonds and pearls. She won awards at every trade competition she entered. She transformed everyday objects into artworks, too: She would buy sandals and weave shells into them. She would crochet flowers with saffron yellow yarn for the Buddhist temples she frequented (and knit tissue-box covers for the monks there). She could peel an apple in one stroke with her eyes closed. Kobkulboonsiri died on April 27 at Woodhull Medical Center in Brooklyn. She was 51. Steven Fishman, her husband, said the cause was the novel coronavirus. Kobkulboonsiri was a couture jewelry designer whose whimsical pieces made her stand out at the Fashion ... More Frederick C. Tillis, composer who straddled genres, dies at 90NEW YORK (NYT NEWS SERVICE).- Frederick C. Tillis, an American composer who straddled the worlds of jazz and classical music, died May 3 at his home in Amherst, Massachusetts. He was 90. His daughter Pamela Tillis said the cause was complications of a hip operation that he underwent after a fall. Tillis who spent much of his career at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, teaching composition and music theory was known for creating and performing versatile works that spanned American jazz and European traditions. My influences and inspirations are all over the place, he said in an interview for William C. Banfields book Musical Landscapes in Color: Conversations with Black American Composers (2003). What is challenging for me to do is to combine seemingly disparate music traditions and idioms and still speak in a language ... More My journey to writing an opera about police violenceNEW YORK (NYT NEWS SERVICE).- Editors Note: When the opera Blue had its premiere last summer at the Glimmerglass Festival in Cooperstown, New York, Anthony Tommasini wrote in The New York Times that it featured one of the most elegant librettos Ive heard in a long time. Its author was playwright and director Tazewell Thompson, who wrote the story about a black family the father a police officer that is torn apart when the son is killed at a protest by another officer. In March, before several stagings of the work were canceled because of the coronavirus pandemic, the Music Critics Association of North America decided to award Blue its prize for best new opera. Announced Wednesday, that honor is sadly timely as the nation is roiled by unrest over police brutality and race relations. In the fall of 2015, I received an email ... More Phillips announces 20th Century & Contemporary Art Sales in New York NEW YORK, NY.- Phillips announces its forthcoming 20th Century & Contemporary Art Evening Sale in New York City via livestream to bidders worldwide on July 2, 2020 at 5pm EDT. The sale will debut an enriched digital experience on Phillips.com, including augmented multimedia content, enhanced visuals, and art historical and market analysis that will allow for deep viewer engagement. A dynamic live auction streamed on our online platform will bring the live auction experience to collectors and viewers around the world using a virtual international bidding room of Phillips specialists. Phillips has been at the forefront of identifying the future of the bidding and buying experience online with the ability to bid on our app along with live streaming for nearly half a decade. Were thrilled to bring our marquee Evening Sale to collectors worldwide in a format ... More 100% sell-through rate in The Artist's Studio auction at Freeman'sPHILADELPHIA, PA.- On the heels of the extraordinarily successful American Art & Pennsylvania Impressionists auction, Freemans announced that its June 16 American Art @1600 auction featuring The Artist's Studio: John Winters achieved an 100% sell-through rate and more than doubled its pre-sale low estimate. With works offered at accessible price points by reputable artists such as Francis Hopkinson Smith, Theodore Robinson, Jane Peterson, Martha Walter as well as Pennsylvania Impressionists Walter Baum, Antonio Martino, husband and wife Arthur Meltzer and Paulette van Roekens, the auction welcomed a host of new online bidders who accounted for nearly 30% of successful buyers, confirming Freemans streak of success in the online art market. The auction marked the launch of Freemans new auction series The Artists Studio, ... More Tunisia rediscovers traditional art of calligraphyTUNIS (AFP).- Tunisia's president has become a surprise champion of Arabic calligraphy in his country, shining a light on the artistic tradition as Arab states lobby for its recognition by UNESCO. President Kais Saied sparked both admiration and mockery on social media when images emerged of hand-written presidential letters on official paper not long after he took office in October last year. An academic with a keen interest in the art form, Saied had studied with well-known Tunisian calligrapher Omar Jomni. To prove that Saied had penned the documents himself, the presidency released a video showing him writing in a guest book. The president "writes official correspondence in maghrebi script and private letters in diwani", Jomni said, referring to two forms of Arabic calligraphy. Maghrebi script is a form of the older, angular style of Kufic calligraphy, ... More Shannon's announces highlights included in its Summer Online Fine Art AuctionMILFORD, CONN.- Shannons expanded schedule of Online Fine Art Auctions has been a treasure trove for new and seasoned collectors. With diverse lots ranging from 19th century American and European Art to Contemporary Fine Prints, the offerings in Shannons online auctions attract a broad audience at every price-point. The Thursday, June 25th sale of nearly 200 lots, starting at 2 pm Eastern time, is no exception. Headlining the auction are several fresh-to-the-market, quality paintings by leading American Impressionists. Offerings include A View of Greenwich Harbor by John Henry Twachtman (est. $20,000-30,0000); Winter Stream by George Gardner Symons (est. $15,000-25,000); A View of the Bronx River by Ernest Lawson a highly comparable work to another painting by Lawson in the Metropolitan Museum of Art (est. $15,000-25,000); ... More Fantastic firsts and dynamic debuts soar in Heritage's July Comic & Comic Art eventDALLAS, TX.- First issues of milestone titles. Debut appearances of beloved and immortal superheroes. And a comic book from the days before there were such things. There are more than 1,300 lots in Heritage Auctions Comics & Comic Art event, which takes place July 9-12 at our world headquarters in Dallas and online. But the expanse of historic issues alone feels almost endless. For this supersized event, its best to begin at the beginning: a DC Comics title pre-dating the first appearance of Superman by three years the very birthplace of the Golden Age. New Fun No. 5, in FN/VF condition, is a hard-to-come-by early-days landmark the fifth issue of the first title that collected all-new stories featuring characters created specifically for a single title. The handiwork of pulp writer and U.S. Army Major Malcolm Wheeler-Nicholson, founder of DCs predecessor ... More Picasso's 1934 portrait of muse, Marie-Thérèse Walter to highlight Sotheby's sale NEW YORK, NY.- Sothebys unveiled the full contents of the New York Impressionist & Modern Art Evening Sale, to be held live on 29 June. The e-catalogue showcasing all of the works on offer is now live on sothebys.com, presenting enhanced visual storytelling through video, interactive media, and more rich content. Sothebys three New York evening sales on 29 June will be presided-over remotely by Chairman and auctioneer Oliver Barker from London, and will be live-streamed to the world. Bidders can take part live via Sothebys state-of-the-art proprietary bidding platform, or on the phone with Sothebys specialists on phone banks around the globe in New York, Hong Kong and London. The auctioneer will see and accept bids via zero-latency video streams, broadcast to giant screens in an impressive control center studio setup. All ... More As London bookstores reopen, eager readers returnLONDON (NYT NEWS SERVICE).- Just after 10 a.m. Monday, Cathy Slater, the owner of Dulwich Books, stood waiting to welcome her first customers into the store in months. Bookstores in England were allowed to open their premises Monday for the first time since the country went into lockdown in March. Slater said she was overjoyed to be back and had prepared especially: There was a vase of flowers on a table by the entrance, and a huge bottle of hand sanitizer on the counter. The first customer wasnt what she had hoped for. About 20 minutes after opening, a man stuck his head around the front door, and shouted, Do you sell Post-it Notes? But at 10:30 a.m., Helen Boome arrived and headed straight to the childrens section. Is it OK to touch? she asked. After getting the all-clear, she grabbed a book about Greek myths for ... More |
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Flashback On a day like today, American painter Lee Krasner died June 19, 1984. Lenore "Lee" Krasner (October 27, 1908 - June 19, 1984) was an American abstract expressionist painter in the second half of the 20th century. She is one of the few female artists to have had a retrospective show at the Museum of Modern Art. In this image: Installation view. Photo by: Diego Flores / Paul Kasmin Gallery. © 2017 The Pollock-Krasner Foundation / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York.
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