| | The First Art Newspaper on the Net |   | Established in 1996 | Friday, May 10, 2019 |
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The fishing vessel "Barca Nostra" (Our Ship) that sank on April 18, 2015 trapping hundreds of migrants in its hull, is being installed in Venice's former shipyards as part of the centerpiece of a new art project by Swiss-Icelandic artist Christoph Buechel, prior to the the 58th International Art Exhibition of the Venice Biennale, on May 7, 2019 in Venice. The 58th International Art Exhibition will open to the public from May 11 to November 24, 2019. Tiziana FABI / AFP.
by Kelly Velasquez
VENICE (AFP).- The remains of the worst known Mediterranean migrant shipwreck, in which up to 900 people died, will be exhibited at the prestigious Venice Biennale art fair this week. The blue and red fishing boat was carrying almost 1,000 migrants when it struck a Portuguese cargo ship that was coming to its aid off the coast of Libya during the night of April 18-19, 2015. The boat sank quickly as the cargo ship's horrified crew raced to save 28 people. Swiss artist Christoph Buchel obtained permission from Italian authorities and a group that represents the victims to transport the hull to Venice as part of a project called "Barca Nostra" (Our Boat). It will be shown in a shipyard by itself, without any explanation. "It is a quiet site, sheltered from noise, an invitation to silence and meditation," said Paolo Baratta, the head of the Venice Biennale which opens on Saturday. ... More |
The Best Photos of the Day Visitors tour the new International Spy Museum during a media preview ahead of its opening in Washington, DC, May 7, 2019. A lipstick pistol, a button-hole camera, a lethal umbrella and an authentic waterboarding table: the espionage worlds' heroic, ingenious and sordid sides are all on show in Washington's all-new, much-expanded International Spy Museum. SAUL LOEB / AFP
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 | | Christie's announces highlights included in the spring sales of American Art | | Christie's to offer 'The Collection of Drue Heinz: Townhouses in London and New York' | | Scientists prove gold purifying process used in medieval West Africa works | 
Norman Rockwell (1894-1978), The Homecoming, oil on canvas, 28 x 22 in. (71.1 x 55.9 cm.) Painted in 1945. Estimate: $4,500,000 6,500,000.
NEW YORK, NY.- Christies announced the spring sales of American Art will feature a superb selection of paintings, sculpture and works on paper spanning all genres of the category. Following the record-breaking auctions of American Modernist works from the Barney A. Ebsworth Collection at Christies in November 2018, this season offers another strong representation of American Modernist works led by the Michael Scharf Family Collection, which includes works by Georgia OKeeffe, Marsden Hartley and Arthur Dove, among others. The American Art sale on May 22 is comprised of 88 lots and distinguished by rare and fresh to the market paintings, many with important provenance. The American Art online auction opens for bidding May 15-22 and features works from some of the most noteworthy American artists of the 19th and 20th centuries, from Milton Avery, Edward Hopper, and Andrew Wyeth to Asher B. Durand and George Inness, with estimates s ... More | | 
German, follower of Giuseppe Arcimboldo, four anthropomorphic figures as allegories of the four seasons: Spring; Summer; Autumn; Winter, oil on canvas, 28 x 23¼ in. (71.2 x 59.1 cm.) Estimate: £15,000-25,000. © Christie's Images Ltd 2019.
LONDON.- A remarkable and rare opportunity for collectors and decorators alike; Christies London will present The Collection of Drue Heinz: Townhouses in London and New York with Interiors by John Fowler and Renzo Mongiardino, on 4 June in a dedicated collection sale. The collection of Drue Heinz reflects the innate eye and refined personal taste with which she assembled this incredible collection, which was largely amassed during her marriage to H.J. (Jack) Heinz II CEO of the H. J. Heinz Company from 1953 until his death in 1987. Mrs Heinz (1915-2018) was also a renowned philanthropist and throughout her life she enjoyed nothing more than taking on new endeavours, particularly those which helped to advance the work of a wide spectrum of emerging artists. Her spirit is very much reflected in her collection, and, as such, the proceeds from its sale will go to ... More | | 
Installation view of Caravans of Gold, Fragments in Time. This room includes two of the molds used to produce unmarked gold coins in Tadmekka, Mali, and three replica coins made of wax. Photograph by Clare Britt, courtesy of The Block Museum of Art.
EVANSTON, ILL.- Humble fragments of clay crucibles and coin molds flecked with gold excavated by a joint team of British and Malian archaeologists in 2005 led archaeologist Sam Nixon, in consultation with Thilo Rehren, a specialist on ancient materials and technologies, to theorize how West Africans used them to purify gold and cast unmarked coins during the 10th and 11th centuries in Tadmekka, Mali. The theory was supported by writings from that time -- largely thought in recent times to be exaggerated -- that praised Tadmekkas pure gold blank dinar [coins]. Now a team of Northwestern University materials scientists have experimentally replicated the medieval gold purification method outlined by Nixon and Rehren in a 2014 paper using the same material resources and found the process works incredibly well. The unusual method involves ... More |
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| | | French village offers reward to decipher its 'Rosetta Stone' | | Zapata sets print record for Diego Rivera at $45k | | Three acquisitions announced for the Van Gogh Museum collection | 
French local councillor in charge of small heritage Michel Paugam poses on May 7, 2019 as he shows inscriptions composing indecipherable words on a rock in the Brittany village of Plougastel-Daoulas. Fred TANNEAU / AFP.
PLOUGASTEL-DAOULAS (AFP).- Lapped by the waves of the Atlantic and visible at only low tide, a mysterious rock inscription believed to be centuries old and so far undeciphered lurks outside a French village in Brittany. The town hall in Plougastel-Daoulas in the Finistere region of Brittany in northwest France is now offering a 2,000-euro ($2,250) reward for anyone who can decrypt the sequence of letters and symbol. Could the small boulder have been used for a love letter whose secret has remained untouched for centuries, or a proud note left by an eighteenth-century fort-builder? Or something even more mysterious? Locally, the rock is sometimes compared to the Rosetta Stone, the great ancient Egyptian stele now in the British Museum whose inscription was partly deciphered by the French Egyptologist Jean-Francois ... More | | 
Diego Rivera, Zapata, lithograph, 1932. Sold for: $45,000.
NEW YORK, NY.- With seven records and a standout selection of Latin American art, Swann Galleries sale of Old Master Through Modern Prints on Thursday, May 2 offered works by the greatest innovators in the field. The houses largest-ever offering of Latin American prints and originals proved to be popular. Of the selection Todd Weyman, Vice President and Director of Prints & Drawings, remarked While bidding on our multiple platforms was spirited as usual in this auction, with many international buyers, it was especially heightened during our first-ever focused, standalone catalogue of Latin American Art, where we set a record for any lithograph by Diego Rivera, and records for color Mixografia prints by Rufino Tamayo. Highlights included two 1932 lithographs by Diego Rivera: Zapata, which brought $45,000, a record for any print by the artist, and El Sueño (La Noche de los Pobres), which earned $27,500. Mixografia print ... More | | 
Letter from Vincent van Gogh to Albert Aurier, 9 or 10 February 1890. Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam (gift of Mr and Mrs Cheung Chung Kiu).
AMSTERDAM.- The Van Gogh Museum has secured three new acquisitions for its collection: an Impressionist still life by Gustave Caillebotte, a landscape with a house by Gabriele Münter the first painting by Münter to enter a Dutch museum and a significant Vincent van Gogh letter, which he wrote to Albert Aurier in response to the art critics comprehensive review praising his work. The letter, the still life and the landscape went on display today in a special presentation at the museum, in which 13 acquisitions from the 13 past years are used to reflect on Axel Rügers 13 years as Director of the Van Gogh Museum. The museum acquired the letter that Vincent van Gogh wrote in February 1890 to poet, author and art critic Albert Aurier (1865-1892). Shortly before, Aurier had published a comprehensive and laudatory review of Van Goghs work in a literary magazine. ... More |
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| | | New Zealand's pavilion opens in Venice with Dane Mitchell's 'Post hoc' | | The first Apple Computer leads 'On the Shoulders of Giants: Making the Modern World' at Christie's online | | Collection of Lalique and other glass masterworks now open for bidding on the iGavel Auctions platform | 
Dane Mitchell, Post hoc (detail) 2019. Mixed media installation. New Zealand Pavilion 58th International Art Exhibition La Biennale di Venezia.
VENICE.- Post hoc by Dane Mitchell is a multi-site artwork commissioned by the Arts Council of New Zealand for its 9th national presentation at the International Art Exhibition La biennale di Venezia. Mitchells meditative work resonates with some of our most pressing global concerns, including climate change, technological advancements, the loss of histories and cultures and our shared material history. Comprising a sonic network of sculptural installations, Post hoc broadcasts an elegiac archive to communications towers disguised as pine trees across Venice from the hub of the New Zealand Pavilion. In contrast to the linear history of progress a narrative which underpins so much of Western understandings of the world Post hoc foregrounds histories of extinctions, oversights, obsolescence and absences to raise questions about how we might shape our ... More | | 
Apple I computer. Estimate: £300,000-500,000 | US$400,000-650,000 | 350,000-580,000. © Christie's Images Ltd 2019.
LONDON.- Christies will present collectors the opportunity to acquire a rare Apple-1 computer, the first personal computer ever made, during its online auction On the Shoulders of Giants: Making the Modern World, open for bidding between 16 and 24 May 2019. Produced in 1976 and still in working condition, this legendary item is known to have launched Apple Computer, the perennially pioneering company that defined and redefined its industry while changing the lives of its millions of customers. Number 10 on the online Apple-1 Registry and accompanied by a group of Apple related artefacts, including the first manual ever issued, the lot is estimated between £300,000 £500,000. Fifteen examples are extant in public collections, including in the Smithsonian Museum of Art, and in twelve other museums of technology or science worldwide. A recent example at auction ... More | | 
Lalique Lavender Glass Vase, circa 2000 GL4S.
NEW YORK, NY.- Lark Mason Associates has announced that a significant auction of Lalique, Baccarat, and other fine glass is open for bidding through May 20th on www.igavelauctions.com. Estimated to ring up $1.5 million in sales, this single owner sale of 134 lots includes a spectacular array of over 100 Lalique glass vessels. The collector focused on Laliques early designs from the first quarter of the 20tth century. Among the offerings are: the Courges Vase (model no. 900) designed in 1914, the Sauterelles Vase (model no. 888) 1912, and the 1919 Perruches Vase (model no. 876). Rene Lalique started his career as a jeweler and was extremely influential in the emerging Art Nouveau movement, creating jewelry and then later glass, and finally opening a glass production shop in Paris in 1909, which produced the works represented in this auction. Many of Rene Laliques most popular patterns dated to the 1920s. Works from this peri ... More |
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| | | Map of first lunar landing site signed by Apollo 11 navigator up for sale at £7500 | | Art Gallery of Ontario makes bold new pricing changes | | A 118 year old London to Brighton veteran for sale with H&H Classics | 
Map of the First Lunar Landing Site, Apollo XI, July 20th 1969. Signed by Buzz Aldrin, 2nd man to walk on the moon and navigator of the Eagle lunar module. Asking price: £7500.
LONDON.- Although Neil Armstrong was the first man to walk on the Moon, it is Buzz Aldrin, his fellow astronaut and navigator, who can be seen in the majority of the lunar surface photographs from that historic Apollo 11 mission. The reason? Armstrong spent most of his time behind the camera. Armstrong died in 2012 at the age of 82, leaving Michael Collins the third member of the crew who remained in the command module while the other two headed for the surface of the Moon and Aldrin as the two survivors, now aged 88 and 89 respectively. As the 50th anniversary of the first Moonwalk approaches on July 20, this map of the lunar landing site, signed and inscribed by Aldrin, will appear for sale with the Map House at the London Map Fair at the Royal Geographical Society in Kensington Gore London. The fair runs on June 8 and 9 and the asking price for the map is £7500. With prices from £10 to £100,000, The ... More | | 
The AGO is celebrating this landmark initiative with the launch of AGO All Hours, an unmissable event that will happen three times a year. Courtesy AGO.
TORONTO.- Today the AGO (Toronto) announced bold and exciting changes that will ensure greater museum access than ever before. Starting on May 25, admission for visitors 25 and under is free all year, anytime, including for special exhibitions. For visitors over 25, single-visit tickets are now $25 and include the AGO Collection and all special exhibitions with no added fees. And the AGO is launching a new Annual Pass that provides unlimited museum admission for a year for $35. According Stephan Jost, the AGOs Michael and Sonja Koerner Director and CEO, the goal is to make it easier for everyone to make art a part of their everyday lives. We will test and learn from this new model over the coming year, with the goals of increasing engagement with our audiences, and also gaining new understandings of visitor patterns that will help us better meet their needs. The AGO is celebrating this landmark initiative with the launch o ... More | | 
This magnificent piece of French automotive history seats three or four people and has been in its current ownership for 20 years.
LONDON.- This wonderful 118 year old French De Dion Bouton TYPE G a veteran of 14 completed London to Brighton runs in 20 years - is for sale with H&H Classics for £50,000 to £60,000 at their next Duxford sale at the Imperial War Museum on June 19th. This magnificent piece of French automotive history seats three or four people and has been in its current ownership for 20 years. For transportation purposes it fits snugly into a single horsebox. This De Dion Bouton appeared in Autocar Magazine for the 1953 London to Brighton Run and the pictures come with the car. It is fitted with an uprated 6hp engine in place of the original 4.5hp unit, making the Surrey and Sussex hills easier to climb. Dated by the Veteran Car Club of Great Britain in 1950 as being of 1900 manufacture (hence the brass plaque) it was later reviewed by the VCC and re-dated as being of 1901 manufacture. This is car number 4978, engine number 1125 and has its origi ... More |
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2019 Met Gala Red Carpet Arrivals
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 Hales London opens a solo exhibition of Frank Bowling's most recent paintingsLONDON.- Hales London is presenting More Land Than Landscape, a solo exhibition of Frank Bowling OBE RAs most recent paintings. The exhibition coincides with Bowlings major retrospective at Tate Britain celebrating his sixty-year career, which runs from 31 May to 26 August 2019. Frank Bowling OBE RA (b. Guyana, 1934) moved to London in 1953, where his artistic career started shortly after his arrival at the Royal College of Art (1959 62). Bowling began as a figurative painter incorporating personal and political subject matter, before moving to New York in 1966, where he made a decisive turn towards abstraction. In this career-defining moment, he developed a process-based practice initially one committed to formalism, exploring the nature and possibilities of paint. Through his monumental colour field paintings, he cemented himself ... More Pussy Riot member, six others, arrested in Moscow: spokeswomanMOSCOW (AFP).- A member of the Pussy Riot protest collective was arrested in Moscow Thursday, for the second time in a month, along with six friends, a spokeswoman for the group said. Veronika Nikulshina and four friends were picked up during an overnight police raid at her home in the Russian capital and detained, the spokeswoman said. Later in the day, two other activists were also arrested. The anarchist Pussy Riot collective -- often decked out in neon balaclavas and tights -- made its name with politically-charged performances, lambasting everything from the Russian church to the persecution of the country's gay community. "It's the second time in a month that she's been arrested," the group's spokeswoman said. "She will spend the night at a police station." Police officers said she was being questioned over damage to government property ... More Martos Gallery opens exhibition of works by Math Bass, Edith Baumann, Lindsay Burke, and Anne NeukampNEW YORK, NY.- Martos Gallery announces Eight Ball, a group presentation featuring new works by Math Bass, Edith Baumann, Lindsay Burke, and Anne Neukamp. The Magic 8 Ball is a novelty toy that holds the answers to all of your questions, assuming you ask the right questions. This show considers what you might uncover when using a particular lens, or school of thought, or line of questioning while gazing at walls. Eight Ball envisages the line between: figuration and abstraction; human and object; sign and signifier, and incites your own associations to symbols, colors, materials, and authors. Math Basss tall canvases combine line and color to shape an experience. The work slips past the didactic and into an undefinably vague place, if you let it. Here, the instinct to assign meaning to what might look like a familiar object is discouraged and looking from ... More Havana's Chinatown dreaming of a new lease on lifeHAVANA (AFP).- Nestling alongside Havana's old town, surrounded by colonial buildings and swept by the exhaust trails of passing 1950s American convertibles, stands a large arch with an ornate roof. It's the entrance gate to Havana's Chinatown, once the biggest in Latin America, whose residents are now dreaming of recovering its past glory. Here, taxi drivers joke that it's the only Chinatown in the world without any Chinese, a testament to the assimilation of a migrant community that first arrived in Cuba in the middle of the 19th century. "Since its creation, it was an open Chinese neighborhood that produced this mix between the Chinese and the country's original population," said Teresa Maria Li, director of the local House of Traditional Chinese Arts. Li comes from a family with a Chinese grandfather and a Spanish grandmother. "First of all I feel Cuban. ... More MOCA announces the appointment of Mia Locks as Senior Curator and Head of New InitiativesLOS ANGELES, CA.- The Museum of Contemporary Art announces Mia Locks as Senior Curator and Head of New Initiatives, the latest addition to the MOCA curatorial team. In her new role she will not only curate exhibitions and help steward the continued growth of the museums collection, but she will also help identify and develop initiatives to address the important social, civic, and political concerns of our times. I am thrilled that Mia will join MOCAs curatorial team, says MOCA Director Klaus Biesenbach. She has an outstanding curatorial track record that embodies research and courage, scholarship and innovation. As a contemporary art museum, MOCA needs to anticipate and respond to the world around us, and Mia will help us to lead efforts to support the issues that artists care about most. For example, museums have to address pressing issues ... More Newly conserved Arts & Crafts gem on display for the first timeKENDAL.- A century old Arts & Crafts chair once sold at iconic Liberty & Co of London has gone on display at Blackwell, The Arts & Crafts House. The magnificent Liberty chair, manufactured around 1900, is a significant new acquisition generously donated to Blackwell from a private collection. The chairs fabric was designed by the Silver Studio, one of the most influential textile design studios in Britain between 1880 until the mid-twentieth century. Probably designed by Harry Napper, the piece retains its original Liberty & Co upholstery. When Blackwell received the chair in 2017 it was in need of careful conservation to the fabric and underlying structure to enable it to go on display. Specialist textile and upholstery conservator Kate Gill was brought in to assess the condition of the chair and plan a five-week conservation strategy. Liberating History: ... More LiveAuctioneers partners with eBay to bring unique fine art, antiques and collectibles inventory to buyersNEW YORK, NY.- LiveAuctioneers and eBay have jointly announced a new partnership that will expand selling opportunities for auction houses in a way that is unprecedented in the art and collectibles sector. The combined force of eBays incomparable presence in the online retail marketplace with LiveAuctioneers peerless technology and client database of more than 5,000 premier auction houses will form the infrastructure for a Buy It Now after-sale venue set to launch this spring. With the goal of bringing exceptional art, antiques, jewelry and vintage collectibles inventory to the eBay platform, were excited to partner with a highly regarded industry leader in LiveAuctioneers, said Katerina Frank, Category Manager of Art and Antiques at eBay. LiveAuctioneers partners will benefit by having their coveted goods ... More Leading artists shine at TEFAF New York Spring 2019NEW YORK, NY.- TEFAF New York Spring 2019 ran from May 3rd to 7th, with an Preview Day on Thursday the 2nd of May, dazzling visitors with an unparalleled collection of contemporary and modern art and design from 93 bluechip, specialist dealers. The Spring Fair, which has developed a distinguished reputation among collectors in three short years, enjoyed record crowds from around the world and impressive multi-million sales throughout its run. While sales spanned eras and disciplines, the spotlight shone notably on work by both major modern and contemporary artists. One of the most prominent sales came from White Cube (Booth 345), which sold Gone, an early painting from 2006 by Mark Bradford (b. 1961) for $2.75 million. The London and Hong Kong gallery also sold an untitled polished brass sculpture, 1969, by Donald Judd (1928- ... More Priest's Rosary from Parkland Hospital in Dallas among Kennedy items sold at auctionBOSTON, MASS.- A remarkable assortment of 19 original negatives of President John F. Kennedy sold for $9,492 according to Boston-based RR Auction. The images were taken at the Winter White House, the Kennedys Palm Beach residency at 1095 N. Ocean Boulevard, in December 1962 and January 1963. The images were taken by photographer Eddie Johnson, who traveled to the Floridian getaway as the personal assistant of Elaine de Kooning, a celebrated portrait artist recently commissioned to paint President Kennedys official portrait for the Truman Library. A total of nine strips, feature 19 images of either JFK, De Kooning, or both, with all but two images featuring the president, who is either captured in a full-length stance or in a seated pose reading or conversing with Secretary of Agriculture Orville Freeman. The negatives include ... More Mrs Thatcher Part III: 100% sold, realising $1,415,163 NEW YORK, NY.- 100% sold, the much-anticipated online sale Mrs Thatcher, Part III, far exceeded pre-sale expectations realising a total of £1,087,750/ $1,415,163 / 1,262,878. Coinciding with the 40th anniversary of Margaret Thatchers historic election as the United Kingdoms first female Prime Minister (1979-1990), the sale attracted bidders from 36 countries across 6 continents. The top lot of the sale was a multi-gem and diamond brooch Van Cleef & Arpels which sold for £50,000 (estimate: £10,000-15,000, Adrian Hume-Sayer, Director, Specialist, Private Collections: We are thrilled with this strong result which concludes the series of three successful sales held at Christies following Mrs Thatchers death in 2013. The result of Part III illustrates the enduring interest in the United Kingdoms longest serving 20th Century Prime Minister. Among the top selling lots, ... More Bright and colorful painting by American artist Hunt Slonem sells at Bruneau & Co. Auctioneers auctionCRANSTON, RI.- A bright and colorful neo-expressionist painting by American artist Hunt Slonem (b. 1951), titled Butterflys (2003), sailed past its pre-sale estimate of $8,000-$12,000 to finish at $15,000 in a Spring Fine Art & Antiques Auction conducted May 4th by Bruneau & Co. Auctioneers, online and in the Cranston gallery at 63 Fourth Avenue. It was the sales top lot. The 30 inch by 40 inch oil on canvas composition of blue, red green and yellow butterflies amongst foliage over a white background was executed using Slonems unmistakable sgraffito technique. His work is included in over fifty permanent museum collections (including the Met in New York City) and is a featured component of several very important corporate collections. It was a thrill to hammer down the Hunt Slonem to an inhouse bidder against fierce competition ... More |
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Flashback On a day like today, Japanese painter and illustrator Hokusai died May 10, 1849. Katsushika Hokusai (c. October 31, 1760 - May 10, 1849) was a Japanese artist, ukiyo-e painter and printmaker of the Edo period. Born in Edo (now Tokyo), Hokusai is best known as author of the woodblock print series Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji (Fugaku Sanjuroku-kei, c. 1831) which includes the internationally iconic print, The Great Wave off Kanagawa. In this image: A woman looks at the artwork 'Women in various walks of life' (around 1793) during a press preview of the Hokusai retrospective at the Martin Gropius Bau museum in Berlin, Germany.
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