| | The First Art Newspaper on the Net |   | Established in 1996 | Friday, March 13, 2020 |
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| | New York's major cultural institutions close in response to coronavirus | |
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The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, May 19, 2019. The Met announced that it will temporarily close its Fifth Avenue flagship and two other locations the Met Breuer and the Met Cloisters starting Friday, March 13, 2020, to support New York Citys effort to contain the spread of COVID-19. Jeenah Moon/The New York Times.
by Robin Pogrebin and Michael Cooper
NEW YORK (NYT NEWS SERVICE).- Several of New Yorks largest and most prestigious cultural institutions including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Metropolitan Opera, Carnegie Hall and the New York Philharmonic announced Thursday that they would temporarily shut down in an effort to contain the spread of the coronavirus. The closures which came after cities in Europe, as well as San Francisco and Seattle, had called off performances underscored the extent to which major institutions of all kinds are trying to prevent large gatherings of people in the hopes of slowing the spread of the disease. Shortly after the closures were announced, Gov. Andrew Cuomo of New York announced that he was moving to ban gatherings of more than 500 people in the state, effectively closing all large performances and shutting down Broadway theaters as well. It would be irresponsible to continue having performances when clearly what is being called for is social distancing, said Peter Gelb, g ... More |
The Best Photos of the Day Not to be missed during Asia Week New York 2020 in God/Goddess, at Kapoor Galleries, is the important Chinnamasta, which literally translates to Âsevered head, one of ten mahavidyas or goddesses worshipped in the Hindu tradition, all incarnations of the great goddess Devi. This rare treasure is signed by master artist Nainsukh of Guler, an important innovator of a strong and widely admired tradition of Indian painting. 34 East 67th Street, 3rd floor.
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 | | The Prado Museum's unsung workers step into the limelight | | Top Dutch museums close over coronavirus | | Scholten Japanese Art presents 'The Baron J. Bachofen von Echt Collection of Golden Age Ukiyo-e' | 
Javier Sainz de los Terreros, a social media manager at the Prado, records Elisa Mora, a restorer, talking about The Countess of Chinchón (1800), by Francisco Goya, at the Prado Museum in Madrid, Feb. 11, 2020. Emilio Parra Doiztua/The New York Times.
by Doreen Carvajal
MADRID (NYT NEWS SERVICE).- Manolo Osuna lacks a formal art education, but he has spent years roaming the galleries of the Prado Museum as a guard and leader of a seven-person moving brigade that hefts national treasures by Spanish masters like Velázquez and Goya around the building. With that homegrown background, Osuna, 56, has emerged from an invisible role at the museum to become an unlikely art critic in an Instagram video series that has become a hit. The videos, shot with a cellphone and selfie stick, have attracted a growing international following of up to nearly 100,000 daily viewers, who are fascinated by the slow-paced, decidedly un-Hollywood view of the museum, where a truly special experience is watching paint dry. Every weekday, in the low hum of voices ... More | | 
Rijksmuseum. Photo: John Lewis Marshall.
THE HAGUE (AFP).- The Rijksmuseum and Van Gogh museums in the Dutch capital Amsterdam said Thursday they were closing until the end of March to help halt the spread of the deadly coronavirus. Several other major tourist draws in the Netherlands including the Anne Frank House in Amsterdam, and major art museums in Rotterdam and The Hague, said they were also shutting their doors. The announcements by the museums, which together attract millions of visitors a year, comes after Prime Minister Mark Rutte announced new rules including a ban on public gatherings of over 100 people. "In line with national policy regarding the coronavirus, the Rijksmuseum will close its doors to the public until March 31, 2020," said the Rijksmuseum, the national museum of the Netherlands, which is famed for paintings such as Rembrandt's "The Night Watch." The Van Gogh Museum, home to a huge collection of paintings by the Dutch post-impressionist master Vincent Van Gogh, made a similar announcement, as did the Mauritshuis in Th ... More | | 
Utagawa Kunimasa (1773-1810), Ichikawa Yaozo III as Mita no Jiro Tomotsuna Disguised as a Bandit, ca. 1796, woodblock print, 14 7/8 by 10 in., 37.7 by 25.5 cm.
NEW YORK, NY.- Scholten Japanese Art is participating in Asia Week 2020 with an extraordinary offering of Japanese woodblock prints: The Baron J. Bachofen von Echt Collection of Golden Age Ukiyo-e. The collection is comprised of a highly selective group of twenty-two figural woodblock prints produced during a period considered the highpoint of the genre, known as the golden age of ukiyo-e, reaching its peak in the last decade of the 18th century. The prints depict bijin-ga (lit. beautiful person), the influencers of their timefamous courtesans, waitresses, and beloved actorswith works by the most acclaimed ukiyo-e artists of the late 18th and early 19th century. There are works in this collection that are possibly unique, or one of only a handful of recorded examples, with connections to some of the most prominent early collectors and dealers of ukiyo-e. In many cases, these are the only examples ... More |
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| | TAI Modern, leading dealer of contemporary Japanese bamboo art, exhibits at Asia Week New York | | Koichiro Isezaki's first NYC solo exhibition opens at Ippodo Gallery | | Thomsen Gallery showcases Modern and Post-War Japanese classics | 
Hayakawa Shokosai IV. Hanging Morikago with a Braid, early 1960s. Madake bamboo, rattan, 16.75 x 17.5 x 17.5 in.
NEW YORK, NY.- TAI Modern is returning to this year's Asia Week New York to exhibit important historic and contemporary works of Japanese bamboo art. As the world's premier gallery for contemporary Japanese bamboo art, TAI Modern embraces this opportunity to provide education and guidance to established collectors and first-time viewers alike. "I am thrilled to be able to bring these works to Asia Week. The knowledgeable and enthusiastic collectors we see there are the perfect audience for our bamboo artists, both historic and contemporary," states Margo Thoma, Gallery Director. Selected Works of Japanese Bamboo Art features works by bamboo's most notable artists, including members of the historic Hayakawa and Tanabe family lineages and contemporary masters such as Honma Hideaki and Ebana Misaki, one ... More | | 
Koichiro Isezaki, PULSE. H: 29.5 W: 12.5 D: 10.5 cm. H: 11 3/4 W: 4 3/4 D: 4 1/4 in.
NEW YORK, NY.- Ippodo Gallery is presenting Koichiro Isezakis first NYC solo exhibition, The Breath of Clay: The Life of Koichiro Isezakis Contemporary Bizen. The show consists of vessels, tea bowls, and Isezakis latest Yō [Conception] series. Works in this exhibition depict a conversation about tradition and a challenge against history. Isezakis Bizen ware reflect the past and give hope for the future. I am not an artist that thinks about the definition of tradition while making [my art]. We are tradition, we are a part of it. Its not in the past. We live and continue through it. - Koichiro Isezaki Bizen ware is a stoneware produced in west Japan. Imbe, Bizen Province, has an 800-year history and is considered one of the Six Ancient Kilns. Bizen ware is composed of sticky, plastic, and fine clay thousands of years old, found in rice paddies. The clay body has a ... More | | 
Thomsen Gallery is renowned for its coverage of artists who sustained and repurposed the centuries-old skills of the Japanese lacquerer.
NEW YORK, NY.- In celebration of Asia Week New York 2020, Thomsen Gallery (9 East 63rd Street, New York NY 10065) opened a special exhibition of Japanese Modern and Post-War Art. Emphasizing the Gallerys established leadership role in the presentation of works by twentieth-century masters, the exhibition offers an overview of Japans artistic achievements in the varied disciplines of bamboo; lacquer; neo-nativist screen and scroll painting; and avant-garde calligraphy and painting. Thomsen Gallery is renowned for its coverage of artists who sustained and repurposed the centuries-old skills of the Japanese lacquerer. A Document Box with Design of Poem and Bush Clover by Kōda Katei (18861961) revives the courtly tradition of designs based on classical literature, its immaculately polished black ... More |
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| | 'Tulip Mania' by Jan Brueghel II to be offered at Dorotheum's Old Master Sale on 28 April 2020 | | D. Wigmore Fine Art, Inc. exhibits works by artists from The Washington Color School | | J. Seward Johnson Jr., sculptor of the hyperreal, dies at 89 | 
Jan Brueghel II (1601 - 1678) Allegory of Tulip Mania (detail), oil on panel, 25.5 x 25.5 cm, estimate 250,000 - 350,000.
VIENNA.- The Dorotheums spring Auction Week will take place at the end of April and will include auctions of Old Master Paintings, 19th-century Paintings, Furniture, Works of Art and Jewellery. A painting entitled An Allegory of Tulip Mania is one of the highlights of the Old Master Paintings sale on 28th April, along with works by Pieter Coecke van Aelst, Jusepe de Ribera, Massimo Stanzione, Lavinia Fontana and Anthony van Dyck. This satirical painting, by Jan Brueghel the Younger, caricatures the so-called tulip mania, a frenzy which overwhelmed the Netherlands in the 17th century, leading to the first financial bubble in history. The artist depicts misguided burghers as richly dressed monkeys, spending every penny they have on flowers that will soon be worthless. In the next issue of DOROTHEUM myART MAGAZINE, Dorotheum expert Damian Brenninkmeyer and Sigmund Oakeshott co-author an article about the backgroun ... More | | 
Thomas Downing, Red Arc, 1964. 76 3/4 x 77 inches. Acrylic on canvas.
NEW YORK, NY.- D. Wigmore Fine Art, Inc. announced its exhibition Dot, Stripe, Drip: Washington Color Painters featuring the work of Gene Davis, Thomas Downing, Howard Mehring, and Paul Reed. The Washington Color School was a group of artists connected by location, materials, and style. Their distance from New York allowed them to experiment with an opening up of color using new acrylic paints stained into raw canvas that broke with the heavy gesture of Abstract Expressionism. Morris Louis (1912-1962) and Kenneth Noland (1924-2010) started staining acrylic paint into raw canvas after Clement Greenberg took them to Helen Frankenthalers studio in 1953 to see Mountain and Sea (1952). Noland was the connector among the group. He taught Howard Mehring (1931-1978) and Thomas Downing (1928-1985) at Catholic University in the mid-1950s and gave Gene Davis (1920-1985) a solo exhibition at the university in 1953. Davis and Paul Reed (1919-2015) w ... More | | 
A photo provided by The Seward Johnson Atelier, Inc., J. Seward Johnson Jr. works on his first sculpture, Stainless Girl in 1969. The Seward Johnson Atelier, Inc. via The New York Times.
by Neil Genzlinger
NEW YORK (NYT NEWS SERVICE).- J. Seward Johnson Jr., a sculptor who may be responsible for more double takes than anyone in history thanks to his countless lifelike creations in public places a businessman in downtown Manhattan, surfers at a Florida beach, a student eating a sandwich on a curb in Princeton, New Jersey died Wednesday at his home in Key West, Florida. He was 89. His family said through a spokesman that the cause was cancer. Johnson had another distinction besides his art. As a member of the family that founded Johnson & Johnson, the pharmaceutical and consumer products giant, he was one of six siblings who, in a high-profile court case in the 1980s, sought to overturn his fathers will, which left his vast fortune to a former maid, Barbara Piasecka ... More |
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| | Peregrine Pollen, who livened up auctions, dies at 89 | | Some paleontologists seek halt to Myanmar amber fossil research | | V&A acquires unique piece of buried treasure - a late Medieval cluster brooch discovered by a metal detectorist in a for | 
Peregrine Pollen in 1964, the year Sothebys acquired a controlling interest in Parke-Bernet and made Pollen its president. Jack Manning/The New York Times.
by Neil Genzlinger
NEW YORK (NYT NEWS SERVICE).- Peregrine Pollen, who brought a sense of showmanship to the sedate New York auction scene of the 1960s and early 70s while helping to implement a startling consolidation of two auction-house giants, died Feb. 18. He was 89. The Times of London reported that he died after being struck by a truck. It did not say where the accident occurred. In 1960, Pollen was put in charge of the New York operation of the British auction house Sothebys as it began to take more interest in art and other collections held by Americans. He scored several coups for the house, striking agreements to auction important American-owned works in England, including, in June 1964, Vasily Kandinsky paintings offered by the Guggenheim Foundation and sold for $1.5 million. Such successes were particularly nettlesome for the Parke-Bernet ... More | | 
An ant inside Baltic amber. Photo: Anders L. Damgaard.
NEW YORK (NYT NEWS SERVICE).- Fossils preserved in amber are giving paleontologists exceptional glimpses into the age of the dinosaurs, be it through the preserved tail of a dinosaur that still bears feathers, or a frog frozen in time. But much of the fossil-rich amber is mined in Myanmar, a country recently ordered by the U.N. International Court of Justice to protect its Rohingya Muslim minority against genocidal acts. The mining and sale of the amber may also be a source of profit for the countrys military. A report published last year in Science Magazine detailed how the amber is mined in a state where Myanmars military has long fought another ethnic minority, the Kachin, and how amber gets smuggled into China, where it can fetch high prices, potentially fueling that conflict. These concerns are leading more scientists, especially in Western countries, to shun the use of this amber in paleontological research. Ever since the Rohingya crisis, Ive boycotted the purchase of ... More | | 
Late medieval gold cluster brooch with diamonds, cabochon spinel and enamel decoration, German or French, c1400-1450 (c) Victoria and Albert Museum, London.
LONDON.- Today the V&A announced it has acquired a rare jewelled late Medieval cluster brooch after it was uncovered in 2017 by a metal detectorist in a former royal hunting ground known as Great Park near Brigstock, Northamptonshire. The brooch, dating from c. 1400-1450, and made in either France or Germany, is the only one of its kind to be found in the UK, and one of only seven known examples in the world. The second acquisition the V&A has ever made through the National Treasure Act, the sculptural brooch measures 23.63mm x 22.71mm x 16.81mm in size and weighs 16.60 grams. It is now on display in the V&As William and Judith Bollinger Jewellery Gallery as part of a display on Medieval jewellery. Triangular in shape, the gold brooch in the form of a flower is mounted with two diamonds and one central cabochon spinel, with enamel decoration, and pearls, which have since been lost due to degradation. ... More |
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Contemporary Arts Month: Lee Hallman
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| | More News |
 National Portrait Gallery unveils new portrait of Andy Murray by Maggi HamblingLONDON.- The The National Portrait Gallery, London has unveiled a new portrait of Olympian and Wimbledon Champion, Andy Murray by Maggi Hambling. The multi-figured portrait will join the Gallery's Collection, accompanied by four preparatory charcoal drawings from life completed in the artist's studio in September last year. The painting and two of the drawings are now on public display in the Gallery until 3 May 2020. Andy Murray has for many years been a hero for Maggi Hambling and in early 2019 she discovered that he was interested in her work. Following Murray's first visit to the artist's studio in London, the two became friends and Hambling invited him to sit for a portrait. On the morning of September 9 2019, Murray posed for a series of drawings wearing his Wimbledon whites and the painting then evolved. Following its display at the National ... More These custom designs are anything but customaryNEW YORK (NYT NEWS SERVICE).- How many French factory workers does it take to screw in 220 light bulbs? Just one, according to Jérôme de Lavergnolle, chief executive of the crystal company Saint-Louis, describing the final step in making a bespoke chandelier for a client in Russia. But it took 25 craftsmen to shape and cut the stupendous metal structure with its 3,000 mouth-blown crystal pieces, de Lavergnolle said. The glittering behemoth, designed for the stairwell of a private home, was 30 feet high with 12 tiers and weighed more than 5,500 pounds. In a world of well-oiled factory production, affluent consumers routinely challenge designers and fabricators to break the mold. Made-to-order or, in de Lavergnolles phrase, made-to-dream objects are emblems of singularity that astonish the beholder and almost throb with ... More Activist museum director named New York Cultural Affairs commissionerNEW YORK (NYT NEWS SERVICE).- If there is a museum director who embodies Mayor Bill de Blasios commitment to empowerment and inclusion, it is Gonzalo Casals, who leads the Leslie-Lohman Museum of Art in SoHo, which is devoted to queer art. Now the mayor has given Casals a new title: New York Citys Cultural Affairs Commissioner, for the largest local funder of arts and culture in the United States. Art and culture should enrich the lives of all New Yorkers not just a select few, de Blasio said in a statement. Gonzalo understands how to uplift the experiences of New Yorkers from all five boroughs. Casals is an immigrant from Argentina who identifies as queer. Since 2017, he has led the Leslie-Lohman, a museum with roots in the LGBTQ civil rights movement, diversifying its collection and programming with contributions from the gay ... More Galerie Thaddaeus Ropac opens an exhibition of new sculptures and drawings by Antony GormleyPARIS.- Galerie Thaddaeus Ropac Paris presents In Habit, an exhibition of new sculptures and drawings by Antony Gormley, centred around one immersive site-specific installation. Run II is a singular, continuous, square aluminium tube that fills the space of the main gallery in snaking 90-degree turns, the horizontal sections recalling heights familiar to us in our built environment: chair or table, worktop or shelf, door or ceiling. It uses the simplest means to activate and energise space, to create awareness of the way we move about in our constructed habitat. Run II runs freely through the gallery and, by stepping through the work, our bodies can recognise and be liberated from the effects of what the Japanese call the culture of the chair. Run II is, in Antony Gormleys words, a zone of reflexivity in which light, air, volume and your displaced biomass are ... More Exhibition of new work by John Keane opens at Flowers GalleryLONDON.- Flowers Gallery opened an exhibition of new work by John Keane as part of the celebratory programming taking place during the gallerys 50th Anniversary year. John Keane is a renowned political artist whose work continues to address the most pressing social and political issues of our time. His sustained artistic inquiry into military and social conflicts around the world has extended from Northern Ireland to Central America and the Middle East, where he was commissioned as the Official British War Artist of the Gulf War. The collection of works in this exhibition have been created over the last two years amid seismic shifts in the domestic and global political landscape. From conspiracy theories to data mining, Keanes subjects span the evolving and influential world of information technology and the resulting network of alternative facts, ... More Galerie Nathalie Obadia opens exhibition of portraits from the 17th to the 21st centuryBRUSSELS.- Galerie Nathalie Obadia is presenting an exhibition dedicated to portraits in its Brussels base. For the first time, the exhibition opens a dialogue between classic and contemporary artworks from the 17th century up until today. In that context, the gallery invited its artists to make proposals in relationship with a unique selection of portraits from private collections especially gathered for the occasion. Photographic, pictorial and graphic works by Valérie Belin, Guillaume Bresson, Luc Delahaye, Youssef Nabil, Mickalene Thomas, Andres Serrano, Agnès Varda and Jérôme Zonder are being presented alongside historic artists like Jean-Baptiste Camille Corot, Jacques-Louis David, Edgar Degas, Hyacinthe Rigaud and Ãlisabeth Louise Vigée Le Brun. This exhibition also includes portraits by emblematic figures like Elizabeth Peyton, Cindy ... More Broadway, symbol of New York resilience, shuts down amid virus threatNEW YORK (NYT NEWS SERVICE).- The adage is synonymous with Broadway itself: The show must go on. And for decades, through wars and recessions and all forms of darkness, Broadway, the heart of Americas theater industry and an economic lifeblood for many artists, has kept its curtains up and its footlights on. But Thursday, facing a widening coronavirus pandemic and new limitations on large gatherings, the industry said it was suspending all plays and musicals for 32 days, effective immediately. The idea that our venerable, majestic houses are dark, and that there will be no lights on Broadway Im romanticizing, but thats the heartbeat of the city, and to think that theyve been forced into darkness is shocking, said Patti LuPone, a beloved Broadway titan who has won two Tony Awards and has been performing in previews for a revival ... More University Auctions announces highlights included in its next online auctionWESTPORT, CONN.- Part 1 of the Forbes Collection 49 lots of phenomenal items from the estate of Malcolm Forbes (1919-1990), the multimillionaire magazine publisher and discerning collector of Americana and Part 2 of items from the estate of Beat Generation writer Jack Kerouac will headline University Archives next online auction slated for Wednesday, March 25. The auction will start promptly at 10:30 am Eastern time. In total, 215 lots are scheduled to come up for bid. The catalog has been posted online and bidding is available via LiveAuctioneers.com, Invaluable.com and Auctionzip.com. Telephone and absentee bids will also be accepted. Folks can visit the website and browse the full color catalog now, at www.UniversityArchives.com. The auction is packed with rare books, manuscripts, relics and more, many of them signed by ... More Contemporary Jewish Museum Executive Director Lori Starr announces she will step downSAN FRANCISCO, CA.- Executive Director of The Contemporary Jewish Museum, Lori Starr, announced today that she will conclude her more than seven-year tenure there on December 31, 2020 to pursue new opportunities and professional projects. The Board of Trustees will launch a search for her successor that will begin immediately. I am so proud of all that we have accomplished together at The CJM, said Starr. Working with The Museums extraordinary staff, Board, volunteers, and community of supporters, we have made remarkable strides in realizing The CJMs potential, expanding its reach and base of support, and advancing its mission to make the diversity of Jewish life relevant for twenty-first-century audiences. When I began my tenure in June 2013, I felt that The CJM could become a leader in its field, a pacesetter for intellectual and artistic content that would resonate in todays global, ... More Art Paris 2020 announces new datesPARIS.- Art Paris announced its 22nd edition as it returns to the Grand Palais from May 2831, 2020. In the 20 years since its founding, Art Paris has established itself as Pariss major spring fair for modern and contemporary art. Bringing together more than 150 galleries from over 20 countries from the post-war to the contemporary period, Art Paris is a place for discovery, placing special emphasis on the European scene, whilst exploring the new horizons of international creative hubs, whether in Asia, Africa, the Middle East or Latin America. This year, the fair will showcase a two-fold Focus turning to both the French contemporary art scene and the emerging Iberian art hubs, specifically Barcelona, Lisbon, Madrid and Porto. In parallel, the Solo Show sector will be dedicated to monographic exhibitions, while Promises pursues its support to young and emerging galleries. New par ... More Şenes Erzik donates his personal collection to the FIFA World Football MuseumZURICH.- The Honorary President of the Turkish FA, Şenes Erzik, has donated his personal collection to the FIFA World Football Museum. More than 200 objects, including coins, medals, mini-trophies and jerseys, have been handed over to the home of football history in Zurich. This is an important day for me. It was my decision and my explicit wish that the football memorabilia that I have collected over my entire life so far go to where football heritage belongs, said Erzik, an Honorary Member of both FIFA and UEFA. Football has given me so much, and I am very happy to give something back. Born in the city of Giresun in the Black Sea region on 18 September 1942, Şenes Erzik was educated at Robert College in Istanbul, going on to Boğaziçi Universitys school of business administration and economics. Erzik worked as a banker, a UNICEF project ... More Bonhams achieves exceptional results for the Estate of Diahann CarrollLOS ANGELES, CA.- On March 10, Bonhams dedicated sale of the Estate of Diahann Carroll, realized $396,176 with 94% sold by lot and 97% sold by value. The collection came from her home in Los Angeles, which included 155 memorabilia items, furniture, personal items, photos, clothing, handbags, and jewelry. The top lot of the sale was her elegant diamond and cultured pearl toi et moi ring, which achieved $56,325. Emily Waterfall, Head of Jewelry, Los Angeles, commented: This sale truly surpassed our expectations, which offered a glimpse into her iconic lifestyle. The incredible enthusiasm and excitement with which her collection was received is a testament to the lasting legacy of the beloved, Diahann Carroll. Additional highlights in the sale included: A Steinway ebonized baby grand piano, 20th century, sold for $45,075 (estimate: ... More |
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Flashback On a day like today, French painter Georges de La Tour was born March 13, 1593. Georges de La Tour (March 13, 1593 - January 30, 1652) was a French Baroque painter, who spent most of his working life in the Duchy of Lorraine, which was temporarily absorbed into France between 1641 and 1648. He painted mostly religious chiaroscuro scenes lit by candlelight.
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