| | The First Art Newspaper on the Net |   | Established in 1996 | Saturday, May 2, 2020 |
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| | Many museums won't survive the virus. How do you close one down? | |
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This file photo shows visitors looking around the dining room of the Charles Dickens Museum based in a house where the British novelist lived in central London. Housed in a Victorian house where Charles Dickens and his family lived from 1837 to 1840, the museum houses more than 100,000 items, including furniture, letters, books and photos. Carl COURT / AFP.
by Nina Siegal
NEW YORK (NYT NEWS SERVICE).- The Charles Dickens Museum in London has fallen on hard times. For 95 years, the collection, in the home of the Oliver Twist and Great Expectations author, has been financed by ticket sales and other earned income. But with no visitors since March, its director fears that its temporary closure could become permanent. We have funds to get us through the end of April, and weve got a little bit of savings after that, Cindy Sughrue, who leads the museum, said by phone from her office in the empty building. I can see that we can eke out until September. But, if the social distancing measures continue beyond that, then theres a real danger that we will not survive. All but about 5 to 7% of the worlds museums are currently shuttered because of the coronavirus pandemic, said Peter Keller, the general director of the International Council of Museums. According to the councils research, 1 in 10 may not reopen, he added. ... More |
The Best Photos of the Day A mural painting by graffiti artist Eme Freethinker features likenesses of US President Donald Trump (R) and Chinese premier Xi Jinping wearing face covers in Berlin on April 28, 2020 amid the new coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic. John MACDOUGALL / AFP
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 | | Lichtenstein Brushstroke to highlight June Auctions of Contemporary Art at Sotheby's NY | | Artcurial to offer three Astérix pages, a Tanguy et Laverdure page, and a page from Oumpah-Pah | | David Toren, who fought to recover Nazi-looted art, dies at 94 | 
Roy Lichtenstein, White Brushstroke I, executed in 1965. Oil and Magna on canvas. Estimate of $20/30 million. Courtesy Sothebys.
NEW YORK, NY.- Sothebys announced that they will offer Roy Lichtensteins White Brushstroke I from 1965 as a highlight of their upcoming Contemporary Art Evening Auction in New York, carrying an estimate of $20/30 million. White Brushstroke I is one of the most striking examples from Lichtensteins iconic series of Brushstroke paintings, which comprises 15 canvases executed in 1965-66 that are regarded as pivotal masterworks of the Pop Art movement. The painting is one of the few Brushstroke canvases remaining in private hands, with eight examples already held in or promised to such museum collections as the Art Institute of Chicago, Kunsthaus Zürich, Kunstsammlung Nordrhein-Westfalen in Düsseldorf, and the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York, among others. White Brushstroke I was first exhibited in the historic debut of the Brushstrokes series at Leo Castelli Gallery in New York in November-December 1965. The painting also has featured in numerous museum exhibitions ... More | | 
Albert Uderzo, Astérix - Volume 29, page 38 of Astérix and the Secret Weapon, Indian ink on paper. Published in 1991 by Albert René editions, 45 x 32,5 cm. Estimate: 80 000 - 120 000
PARIS.- To honor the memory of Albert Uderzo who passed away on March 24, his wife Ada Uderzo and his daughter Sylvie wanted to pay their respect to the French hospital staff by donating five original pages to be sold during a charity auction organized by Artcurial in Paris on May 26. Among them are three Astérix pages, a Tanguy et Laverdure page, and a page from Oumpah-Pah. My husband was deeply touched by the terrible healthcare crisis we are going through. A month after his passing, my daughter Sylvie and I were determined to carry out what he would have done himself by supporting and thanking caregivers, the new heroes in every French village!, said Ada Uderzo. Five lots will be presented: three pages from the adventures of Astérix, a Tanguy and Laverdure page, and a page from Oumpah-Pah. The Astérix pages are all Indian ink on paper from the albums Astérix and Obélix All at Sea, Astérix and the Actress and Astérix and the ... More | | 
Two Riders on a Beach (1901), by the German painter Max Liebermann. I always liked that painting because I liked horses, Mr. Toren said. I will get it back. He did.
by Catherine Hickley
NEW YORK (NYT NEWS SERVICE).- David Toren, a Holocaust survivor and patent lawyer who waged a single-minded quest to recover art looted from his family by the Nazis, died on April 19 at his home in Manhattan. He was 94. The cause was the novel coronavirus, his son, Peter Toren, said. Torens campaign to recover the stolen works drew headlines when a painting by Max Liebermann, Two Riders on the Beach, surfaced in the collection of Cornelius Gurlitt, an elderly recluse. Gurlitt had hoarded the art he inherited from his father, a dealer for the Nazis, in his homes in Munich and Salzburg. Toren had been searching for the painting for years. Images of the work with other rediscovered paintings were displayed at a news conference given by the state prosecutor in Augsburg, Germany, in November 2013. By then Toren was blind, a consequence of a severe ... More |
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| | Munnings Museum publishes illustrated book of correspondence between Sir Alfred Munnings and his wife Violet | | Freeman's Americana auction confirms market strength for American-made objects | | Old Master through Modern prints at Swann May 21 | 
New book reveals intimate, charming and humorous insights into the artists life.
DEDHAM.- The Munnings Art Museum is publishing a new book, written by Brenda Parrish, based on letters written by the celebrated artist, to his second wife, Violet McBride between 1920 and 1922. A century after many of them were first written and posted, this beautiful new book based on fifty-four letters reveals never-before-seen correspondence between the celebrated artist and his wife. Yours with love AJ: Letters from Sir Alfred Munnings to his wife, Violet 1920 1922 also features over 30 illustrations of the paintings and sketches that relate to the subject matters and individuals mentioned in the letters. Intimate, affectionate and often with typically British grumbles about the weather, these early letters from Munnings reveal unique insights about the man and his life during a pivotal point in his career. When the first of the letters was written in April 1920, Munnings had already established himself as an artist of notable repute, not least following ... More | | 
The sale was led by a Chippendale carved walnut tall case clock with works by Pennsylvania clockmaker Daniel Rose (Lot 23), which realized $62,5000one of the highest prices achieved for the maker at auction.
PHILADELPHIA, PA.- Freemans announced the results of its April 28 & April 29 online auctions of American Furniture, Folk & Decorative Arts. Together, the back-to-back sales totaled just shy of $975,000. Both sales elicited the participation of a sizable number of new bidders and ultimately exceeded expectations, nearly reaching their pre-sale high estimates. On April 28, 75 phone bidders competed against nearly 5,000 registered internet bidders resulting in lengthy bidding wars and an 87% sell-through rate. The 160 lot auction realized $886,645, with strong prices achieved for furniture, art, textiles and decorative objects alike. We are delighted with the results from our online auctions of American Furniture, Folk & Decorative Arts, remarked Head of Department Lynda Cain, Fresh-to-market works from early collections and estates achieved strong ... More | | 
Mary Cassatt, Hélène of Septeuil, drypoint, circa 1890 (detail). Estimate $7,000 to $10,000.
NEW YORK, NY.- Swann Galleries will offer a live online sale of Old Master Through Modern Prints on Thursday, May 21. With the largest selection of old master prints to be found at auction in America as well as important modern works, this sale offers an impressive array of fine material, including a special section dedicated to fine old master prints and drawings from the collection of the late art dealer Matthew Rutenberg. Matthew Rutenberg was a respected figure within the art world with an extraordinary knowledge of Western art history, particularly Old Master works. Notable drawings include a late-sixteenth-century sheet of studies of flying putti from the Sienese School ($3,000-5,000); Standing Female Nude, a 1916 black and white chalk study by Julio González ($7,000-10,000); and Ruins of the Temple of Diana, Nimes, a watercolor, pen and ink drawing by Jacob Philipp Hackert ($4,000-6,000). Included among the Old Masters are exceptiona ... More |
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| | RM Sotheby's shifts its annual flagship Monterey auction to its proprietary Online Only sale platform | | CSNS auctions blow past $33.6 million at Heritage Auctions | | Muralist Kobra finds inspiration in confinement | 
1962 Ferrari 250 GTO by Scaglietti. Photo: Darin Schnabel © 2018 Courtesy of RM Sotheby's.
BLENHEIM, ON.- RM Sothebys announced an online auction unlike any other, Online Only: SHIFT / Monterey. RM Sothebys is bringing its record-breaking, world-renowned Monterey sale to the auction houses proprietary Online Only platform in light of ongoing concerns related to the COVID-19 global pandemic. Set for the original Monterey live auction week, Online Only: SHIFT/ Monterey will open for bidding on 6 August, with lots closing 1315 August, and will present approximately 150 exceptional collector cars on rmsothebys.coman offering of a caliber never before seen in an online sale. The online Monterey sale will build not only on RM Sothebys historic Monterey results, but also on the success of the companys Online Only auctions over the last several months, including its recent shift of the Palm Beach auction to the virtual platform. The new format is backed by the RM Sothebys experience, ... More | | 
1858 Proof Liberty Eagle Gold coin, graded PR64 Ultra Cameo by NGC. Sold for $480,000. Imaged by Heritage Auctions.
DALLAS, TX.- More than $33.6 million in rare coins and currency changed hands during the Central States actions, which were moved from Chicago to Heritage Auctions global headquarters in Dallas, April 23-26 due to the cancellation of the Central States Numismatic Society Convention (CSNS), April 23-26. Considering the worldwide coronavirus crisis, participation was stellar, with more than 6,800 people participating in the auction online, said Jim Halperin, Co-founder of Heritage Auctions. We watched top specimens receive numerous bids and there was exceptional interest in Colonial coins. The auction was 97 percent sold, by both number of lots and by dollar value. U.S. Coins saw the bulk of the action in these auctions, with more than $20.23 million in winning bids. With no surprise, taking top lot honors was a historic 1858 Proof Liberty Eagle Gold coin, graded PR64 Ultra ... More | | 
Brazilian mural artist Eduardo Kobra sits in front of his recent work "Coexistence". NELSON ALMEIDA / AFP.
by Paula Ramon
ITU (AFP).- Professionally speaking, coronavirus confinement is not exactly good for street artists. But famed Brazilian muralist Kobra says he found inspiration staying at home -- and is using it to help those hit by the pandemic. Eduardo Kobra -- the 44-year-old artist's full name -- is known around the world for his brightly colored, kaleidoscopic murals. Among other things, he has set the Guinness World Record, twice, for largest spray-paint mural: first with an acclaimed piece painted by him and his team for the Rio de Janeiro Olympics in 2016, then with an even bigger work in his native Sao Paulo the following year. But what does a street artist from the urban jungle, used to traveling the world and working outdoors at massive scale, do when he is confined to his residence in a sleepy provincial town? "My work is in the streets. ... More |
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| | Create your own digital comics whether you can draw or not | | Winners announced for 2020 Head On Photo Awards | | Steidl to publish François-Marie Banier: Battlefields | 
ComicBook for iOS is just one of many apps that can transform photos onto comic art, all on a mobile device. J.D. Biersdorfer/The New York Times.
by J.D. Biersdorfer
NEW YORK (NYT NEWS SERVICE).- Got a tale to tell but dont want to bang it out as a traditional book? Try doing it as a digital comic and ignore anyone who thinks visual narratives are a lesser art form or basic fodder for Hollywood action movies. The tradition of storytelling through sequential art has a long and noble history, used in ancient cave paintings, Roman carvings, tapestries and woodblock printing. Even if you cant draw or paint, you can still construct a comic. Some educators have found the medium to be a good way to entice children into creative writing. Thanks to a variety of apps, you can make your digital comics on a smartphone, a tablet, a computer or even a plain old piece of paper. Heres a guide. Before you dive in, decide what type of comic you want to make: A single scene like a cartoon from The New Yorker? A Peanuts-style comic strip ... More | | 
Australian photographer and filmmaker Jon Frank s Yuendumu, Northern Territory, 2019, created during his year living and working with the Warlpiri people in the Northern Territory.
SYDNEY.- Head On Photo Festival, Australias leading international annual photography event, have today announced the winners of the 2020 Head On Photo Awards. Judged anonymously by a panel of internationally recognised photographers, editors and leading industry professionals, the annual awards celebrate excellence in three categories including Portrait, Landscape and Student. The winners were announced on Friday 1 May as part of the Head On(line) Photo Festival digital launch event hosted by Bachelor Host Osher Günsberg. Exhibitions featuring the winners and finalist works for each category will be presented online as part of the 2020 Head On(line) Photo Festival. Running from 1 17 May 2020, the digital festival features 110 exhibitions by leading international and local photographers from around the globe alongside a public program of over 80 artist talks, panel discussions and ... More | | 
François-Marie Banier: Battlefields Text by François-Marie Banier. 16.5 x 24.5 cm. Black and white, one color image. Hardback. US$ 45.00 / 28.00 ISBN 978-3-95829-678-7
NEW YORK, NY.- Battlefields is François-Marie Baniers celebration of gay culture at its most flamboyant and proud. Comprised of photos taken at Gay Prides in Brussels, London, New York, Paris and Rome between 1994 and 2018, Banier captures the full glamorous spectrum of those parading, all the feathers, sequins and leather; but, more importantly, also the characters beneath the make-up and wigs. I photograph the poetry, the humor, the confrontation with blinkered convention. Having lost close friends to AIDS, he remembers the tragedy of this elusive, diabolical virus, but also the compassion of those who nursed and supported its victims: More than angels. Such delicate devotion, full of invention. Loyalty, so touching, overwhelming. For Banier, light inevitably conquers darkness: I follow and paint as usual with my camera, almost always in black and white. The wild ones, ... More |
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At Home with Christie's: Intimacy & Impressionism
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| | More News |
 Mount Rushmore drawing visitors escaping US virus lockdownsKEYSTONE (AFP).- The steep and winding roads leading up to the iconic Mount Rushmore memorial are deserted these days. This mecca of tourism in South Dakota, which ordinarily swarms with tourists, is now drawing only the occasional handful of visitors desperate to escape their extended confinement in the time of the coronavirus. Linda and Stevie Easterling had grown weary and depressed by the steadily mounting toll of COVID-19 deaths in their hometown of Chicago. Longing for fresh air and a change of scenery, they piled into their car for the 14-hour drive west. But they did first take a few precautions for the trip to South Dakota, one of the few US states not under virus-imposed lockdown. "We have a car full of masks, gloves and disinfecting wipes," said Linda Easterling. "We're probably safer being here in a place with very few people," she ... More Some pros let it go on TikTok: 'Is this the future?'NEW YORK (NYT NEWS SERVICE).- At this time of year, dancer Erica Lall, a member of the corps of American Ballet Theater, would normally be preparing for eight weeks of performances at the Metropolitan Opera House. But in mid-March, as the company moved toward calling off its spring season, she found herself back in her hometown of Cypress, Texas, with some time on her hands. It wasnt long before Lall, far from her busy New York life, decided to open up TikTok, an app she had used before but hadnt explored too deeply. I was bored, and I was like, All right! Its time to try out one of these dances, she said by phone from Texas. Lall, 22, was referring to the viral dance challenges that circulate on TikTok: short, music-driven sequences of choreography, created by individual users or swiped from other video platforms and replicated ... More Barney Ales, indispensable Motown executive, is dead at 85NEW YORK (NYT NEWS SERVICE).- In the summer of 1964, Motown was in a bind. Its biggest female star, Mary Wells, had just reached No. 1 with My Guy and then quit the label the first major defection from the young company, which had set itself up in Detroit as a flawless factory of black pop. So Berry Gordy Jr., Motowns founder, and his team tried to craft a hit for a trio of young women from the labels bench, the Supremes, who had struggled to crack the Top 40. Their chosen song, Where Did Our Love Go, was carefully arranged for hit potential all that was left was to sell it to radio programmers. That job fell to Barney Ales, Gordys indefatigable lieutenant, who proclaimed in a company news release that Where Did Our Love Go would be Motowns next No. 1. He was soon proved correct, and the Supremes, led by Diana Ross, were ... More Despite pandemic H&H Classics sale achieves £600,000 with 70% sold, led by a fast FordLONDON.- The 70% selling rate and £600,000 total achieved at the latest H&H Classics sale on Wednesday 29th April 2020 further embeds the success of the companys Live Auction Online platform with four successful sales held during the Covid 19 pandemic. The sale attracted some 387 online bidders with log-ins from as far afield as California and New Zealand. With mouse clickers vying against telephone and commission bidders, plenty of lots sold over top estimate but perhaps more impressively 48 percent of those participating in yesterdays auction were new to H&H. Top Lot in the sale was a very fast Ford a 1967 Ford Mustang 390 GT Fastback which made £63,250. Damian Jones, Head of Sales for H&H Classics, comments: If you are a fan of the model of Mustang immortalised by Steve McQueen's Lieutenant Frank Bullitt and one ... More Five artists to follow on Instagram nowNEW YORK (NYT NEWS SERVICE).- Instagram reminds me of a strobe-lit party sprawling down an infinite corridor. Frankly, I find it a little overwhelming. You may start off somewhere familiar, with a small group of friends, but before you know it, youre bumping into famous photographers, stumbling upon a lecture about women in art history or an archive of public-domain art works, or getting lost amid imagery that swings rapidly from cheerful to moody and back again. As my colleagues have recently documented, Instagram can take you all over the world. But what I really appreciate about the platform is the feeling it gives you of peering into someone elses half-conscious mental cinema, and I use it, mainly, to keep up with artists whose work Ive encountered IRL. Here are five of my favorite accounts; New York Times critics will be posting their ... More Racine Art Museum virtual experiencesRACINE, WI.- In response to the current health situation caused by the coronavirus (COVID-19), Racine Art Museum is creating opportunities for would-be museum visitors to engage with art from the comfort of their home. RAM Executive Director and Curator of Collections, Bruce W. Pepich, is taking to the internet to introduce twenty women artists in the museum's collectionincluding Mary Bero, Mara Superior, Toshiko Takaezu, and Elise Wintersin a new series of short, educational videos titled RAM Introduces. Viewers are invited to watch for new videos in this continuing series by subscribing to RAM's YouTube channel, and by following RAM on Facebook. By current count, 40% of the artists in RAM's collectionthe largest collection of contemporary craft in the United Statesare women. This percentage, which is consistently increasing, is already ... More Original art, classic titles take flight as Heritage Auctions kicks off 4-day comics event with $5.1 millionDALLAS, TX.- From a 1908 Little Nemo in Slumberland Sunday comics strip to beloved images by the influential artists whose superheroes revolutionized comic books, there was something for every collector in the Platinum Session that kicked off Heritage Auctions April 30-May 3 Comics & Comic Art Auction Thursday afternoon, and when final hammer fell in the first of five sessions, the haul was $3,648,300. Results from the second session, which began immediately after the Platinum wrapped and included everything from collectible comics to Star Wars action figures, pushed the first days total pull past the $5.1 million mark. The bidding was as deep and as active as weve ever seen in one of our Platinum Sessions, said Todd Hignite, Vice President of Heritage Auctions. Prices were strong across the board, and there were a handful ... More Museum of Contemporary Art Australia appoints new ChairmanSYDNEY.- The Board of the Museum of Contemporary Art Australia announced the appointment of respected businesswoman and passionate contemporary art collector Lorraine Tarabay as its new Chairman. Tarabay succeeds Simon Mordant AM in this role. The MCA Board has paid tribute to Simon Mordant, acknowledging his visionary leadership and significant contribution during his tenure as the Museums Chairman. Mordant has held a number of roles with the MCA since the beginning: Chair of the Finance Committee from 19961999; Chair of the MCA Foundation, which was re-established to raise funds for the $53 million capital campaign for the new building expansion; and Chairman of the MCA Board from 20102020. MCA Director, Elizabeth Ann Macgregor OBE said: Simons contribution to the MCA has been immeasurable. Simon and Catriona [Mordant] ... More Bollywood reels from deaths of 2 stars in 2 daysNEW DELHI (NYT NEWS SERVICE).- In less than 24 hours, Bollywood has lost two legends, back to back. On Wednesday morning, Irrfan Khan, a beloved actor who broke through to Hollywood and seemed to resonate especially well with fans, died at age 53. Khan had cancer and was admitted to a hospital in Mumbai for a colon infection last week. Then, Thursday morning, India was shocked to learn of the death of Rishi Kapoor. Kapoor, 67, was a Bollywood giant, a handsome, charming matinee idol who starred in dozens of films in the 1970s and 80s, and hailed from an illustrious film family. Kapoor found out he had leukemia in 2018 and was admitted to a hospital in Mumbai on Wednesday, but an exact cause of death was not immediately given. It seems like were in the midst of a nightmare, tweeted Akshay Kumar, one of Bollywoods most successful ... More Joy Harjo is named U.S. Poet Laureate for a second termNEW YORK (NYT NEWS SERVICE).- Joy Harjo has been appointed to a second term as the nations poet laureate, the Library of Congress announced Thursday. A member of the Muscogee Creek Nation, Harjo is the first Native American and the 23rd poet to hold the post, joining writers such as Tracy K. Smith, Rita Dove and Louise Glück. During her first year in the role, Harjo focused on expanding her digital presence, connecting with other Native poets and highlighting the intersection between music and poetry. That synergy was something that we wanted her to continue and add to, Carla Hayden, the librarian of Congress, said. It broadens your concept of poetry. When you hear lyrics of a song, thats poetry. In her second term, which starts Sept. 1, Harjo will focus on a project called Living Nations, Living Words: A Map of First Peoples Poetry ... More Parrish Art Museum presents its first online exhibition: Telling StoriesWATER MILL, NY.- The Parrish Art Museum presents Telling Stories: Reframing the Narratives, a robust online exhibition that highlights the role that narrative plays in understanding the world through the work of eight contemporary artists who transform their unique personal histories into participatory dramas. The first online exhibition created by the Museum, the project launches Friday, May 15 at 5pm with a live presentation by Parrish Adjunct Curator David Pagel and Museum Director Terrie Sultan. Through work that references memory and history, fact and fancy, dreams and nightmares, the participating artists in Telling Stories engage in varied approaches to and styles of stories that change by virtue of who is telling them. These artistsworking in a variety of media and ranging in age, career stage, geographic location, and heritageinclude: ... More |
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Flashback On a day like today, Italian artist Leonardo da Vinci died May 02, 1519. Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci (15 April 1452 - 2 May 1519), more commonly Leonardo da Vinci or simply Leonardo, was an Italian Renaissance polymath whose areas of interest included invention, painting, sculpting, architecture, science, music, mathematics, engineering, literature, anatomy, geology, astronomy, botany, writing, history, and cartography. In this image: Codex Forster 1¹, 6v-7r, Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519), pen and ink, Italy (Florence), about 1505, V&A: Forster MS.141/1, Forster Bequest. © V&A Images/Victoria and Albert Museum.
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