| | The First Art Newspaper on the Net |   | Established in 1996 | Saturday, May 9, 2020 |
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| | John Singer Sargent's drawings bring his model out of the shadows | |
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Sargents Study for Apollo in Classic and Romantic Art for the Rotunda of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, 1916-1921. Sketch of Thomas McKeller is at top, right. Via Museum of Fine Arts, Boston via The New York Times.
by Holland Cotter
NEW YORK (NYT NEWS SERVICE).- The best exhibitions tell strong human stories, ones that we might not otherwise know. Such is the case with Bostons Apollo: Thomas McKeller and John Singer Sargent at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston, a small show thats built around a sensational painting and that has an unreadable relationship at its heart. The Gardner is, of course, in lockdown these days, and theres no telling when that will end. But its show is compelling enough to make an impact even at a distance, through online images, a stirring short video and an excellent book, all of which I recommend. The lead characters of the tale are named in the title, although in an order of importance that might baffle some historians. Surely, they would think, Sargent (1856-1925) should have been listed first. The European-born American was one of the art luminaries of his day, a power-portraitist to the elite on both sides of the Atlantic (Isabella Stewart Gardner was a repeat sitter) who ... More |
The Best Photos of the Day A projection reading "thank You" in Polish, Ukrainian, Bielorussian and Russian, lights up Berlin's Brandenburg Gate on May 8, 2020, on the 75th anniversary of the end of World War Two. The May 8 anniversary of Nazi Germany's unconditional surrender to the Allies is a one-off public holiday in Berlin this year, although events have been scaled down because of the coronavirus pandemic. John MACDOUGALL / AFP.
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 | | Rare first printing of the Star-Spangled Banner to be auctioned online at Christie's | | Toomey & Co. Auctioneers sells paintings for $29,397 to support Oak Park Art League | | Upstate will be first to test New York's arts appetite | 
This first newspaper printing of what would become the national anthem was published in the Baltimore Patriot and Evening Advertiser on 20 September 1814. © Christie's Images Ltd 2020.
NEW YORK, NY.- Christies announced the sale of the first dated printing of The Star-Spangled Banner available for online bidding from June 2-18, 2020, as part of The Open Book: Fine Travel, Americana, Literature and History in Print and Manuscript auction during the Classic Week series of sales. This first newspaper printing of what would become the national anthem was published in the Baltimore Patriot and Evening Advertiser on 20 September 1814, under its original title, The Defence of Fort MHenry, only three days after Francis Scott Key completed the lyrics. This rare printing, which includes all original four verses of the song, is one of only three copies currently confirmed extant, and it is also the first time a copy has ever appeared at auction. The estimate is $300,000-500,000 and the monies realized will benefit the ... More | | 
Carl Krafft, Through the Woods. Estimate $1,000-2,000. Sold for $6,500.
OAK PARK, IL.- On May 6, Toomey & Co. Auctioneers held its first of two Interiors sales this year, which included 600 lots of fine and decorative artwork, sculpture, early 20th century and modern furniture, art pottery, lighting, silver, jewelry, and more. The entire auction had a 90% sell-through rate and the first 17 lots, which all sold, featured paintings deaccessioned from the Oak Park Art League (OPAL) that combined to realize $29,397. Proceeds from the OPAL offering will help this vital Chicago-area organization expand its arts programming, offer more educational scholarships, and improve the historic carriage house where it operates. One of the longest running non-profit art centers in Illinois, OPAL was founded in 1921 by artist Carl Krafft. For nearly a century, OPALs mission has been to enrich Chicagos cultural landscape by providing art education to people of all ages and skill levels, along with ... More | | 
Barry Le Va installing Extended Vertex Meetings: Blocked; Blown Outward (196971) at Nigel Greenwood Gallery, London, 1971. © Barry Le Va. Courtesy the artist and David Nolan Gallery, New York.
NEW YORK (NYT NEWS SERVICE).- About an hours drive from New York City, ensconced in a thicket of greenery near the bank of the Hudson River, the Dia:Beacon art museum has been sitting empty for nearly two months. Mostly empty. Landscapers have shown up to mulch the garden, inspectors have come to check out the sprinkler system, and a couple of staff members have been fixing a section of particularly worn floorboards, all in preparation for some elusive date when visitors will trickle back into the bright, airy gallery rooms of the museum. This uncertain future became a bit more conceivable this week when Gov. Andrew Cuomo outlined his phased plan for reopening during the pandemic. The plan is to allow upstate areas, with fewer coronavirus cases, to transition back to normal life before the downstate regions do and ... More |
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| | Online exhibition presents a selection of new works on paper and recent sculptures by Katharina Grosse | | Impressive 29.84 carat yellow diamond ring leads Freeman's online Fine Jewelry & Watches auction | | Sotheby's Old Masters including portrait miniatures from the Pohl-Ströher collection realises $4.2 million | 
Katharina Grosse, Untitled, 2019. Acrylic on paper, 47 1/4 x 35 1/8 in. 120 x 89.1 cm © Katharina Grosse und VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn 2020. Photo: Andreas Zimmermann. Courtesy Gagosian.
NEW YORK, NY.- Gagosian is presenting a selection of new works on paper and recent sculptures by Katharina Grosse for the online edition of Frieze New York. These works are on view simultaneously on the Gagosian website and in the inaugural Frieze Viewing Room, accessible at viewingroom.frieze.com and on the Frieze app. Grosse works with a spray gun, stylizing gesture as a propulsive mark of personal agency while distancing the artistic act from her own hand. Often vast in scale, her spectacular compositions are forceful, dynamic, and distinctyet never fully predetermined. Using stencils to either filter or block out areas of negative space, she produces dense, vividly coloured fields modulated with geometric forms and transparent areas. Grosses in situ paintingswhere she renders paint across the surfaces of objects, rooms, or entire buildings and landscapestransform ... More | | 
An impressive fancy light yellow diamond ring radiant-cut diamond weighing 29.84 carats, with GIA certificate stating fancy light yellow, VS2 clarity. Estimate: $ 350,000-450,000.
PHILADELPHIA, PA.- On Thursday May 21, Freemans will hold its online Jewelry & Watches auction. Spanning periods, the 125-lot auction includes an array of impressive diamonds; colorful gemstones; vintage, retro and antique jewels; and a strong selection of iconic, signed pieces by renowned makers such as Cartier, Tiffany & Co., Rolex, Van Cleef & Arpels, and most notably, David Webb. The auction is led by a rare 29.84 carat radiant-cut fancy light yellow diamond (Lot 125; $350,000-450,000). Set in an eighteen karat gold ring and flanked by triangular-cut diamonds, this stunning and remarkably large stone is accompanied by a GIA report stating natural fancy light yellow color and VS2 clarity. The sale features a number of pieces by important American jeweler, David Webb. Recognized for his bold and eccentric designs, Webb is best known for his ... More | | 
Cornelius Johnsons portrait of Thomas, 1st Baron Coventry (Lot 64) sold for £87,500 over a pre-sale estimate of £30,000-50,000. Courtesy Sotheby's.
LONDON.- Converted from a live to an online auction, the Old Masters mid-season sale including Portrait Miniatures from the Pohl-Ströher Collection brought in a total of £3.4 million / $4.2 million, more than doubling its pre-sale estimate of £1.5-2.1 million to become the highest value online sale of Old Masters at Sothebys to date. The sale saw over 70% of lots exceeding their high estimates, with a strong sell through rate of 86% - a new record for a mid-season sale of Old Masters at Sothebys. The auction was led by a depiction of Saint John the Baptist by Bernardo Zenale (Lot 7) which soared to £225,000/$279,900, setting a record for the artist and achieving more than 10 times its pre-sale estimate (£20,000-30,000) after more than 30 bids were placed online. A Still Life work by Orsola Maddalena Caccia (Lot 28) set a new record for the artist, climbing to £212,500 /$264,350, more than 20 times its pre- ... More |
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| | Sotheby's Hong Kong announces EYE/EAST, a cross-category sale showcasing Eastern aesthetics | | Michael Jordan's game-worn, autographed Nike Air Jordan 1s from 1985 offered at Sotheby's New York | | 1934 Alvis Vanden Plas, one of only eight known survivors, to be offered by H&H Classics | 
A Large Limestone Head of Avalokiteshvara, Liao Dynasty. Est: HK$600,000 - 800,000. Courtesy Sotheby's.
HONG KONG.- Sotheby's Hong Kong will present EYE/EAST, a cross-category sale that showcases Eastern aesthetics with works from the Neolithic period to the present day. Compelling and aesthetically engaging, the sale to be held on 22 May comprises around 240 works encompassing Modern and Contemporary Asian art, Chinese Paintings and Calligraphies, as well as Chinese Works of Art. Highlights include Léonard Tsuguharu Foujitas Printemps, Sofu Teshigaras Dragon (Folding Screen), evening scenery by Singaporean modern master Cheong Soo Pieng, a calligraphy work by Qing dynasty calligrapher He Shaoji and a large Liao dynasty stone head of Avalokiteshvara, a series of calligraphy works by contemporary scholars, and classical and modern paintings from a Hong Kong private collection. ... More | | 
Michael Jordan's Game-Worn, Autographed Nike Air Jordan 1s, 1985. Courtesy Sothebys.
NEW YORK, NY.- Sothebys announced that they will auction The One | MJs Air Jordan 1s a special single-lot, online auction for Michael Jordans Game Worn Autographed Nike Air Jordan 1s from 1985. Made by Nike exclusively for the iconic Chicago Bulls shooting guard, the pair represents the first ever signature sneaker, paving the way for other star players like Scottie Pippen, Penny Hardaway, Charles Barkley, Kobe Bryant, and LeBron James to have their own signature shoes. Estimated to sell for $100/150,000, the Vintage Originals are among the most valuable pairs of sneakers ever, following last years record-setting sale at Sothebys of the Nike Moon Shoe, which achieved $437,500. The dedicated, online auction is open for bidding today through 17 May, coinciding with the 35th anniversary of Air Jordan, and the final episode of popular ESPN documentary The Last Dance, ... More | | 
Introduced in late 1931, the Alvis Speed 20 SA was the first model which Follett could really sink his teeth into.
LONDON.- H&H Classics will offer this magnificent Alvis for sale at their next Live Auction Online on May 27th. Charles Follett was a mercurial character who became renowned within the London motor trade for sourcing the very best pre-owned exotica. He would travel anywhere in the UK for the right car, building-up an enviable client base in the process. A member of the Brooklands set, his black book comprised societys elite from racing drivers to celebrities via members of the aristocracy. Given sufficient funding to buy showrooms in the heart of Mayfair, he became the Alvis concessionaire for London and the Home Counties during 1931. Seriously impressed by the Coventry firms engineering integrity but dismayed at the staidness of its offerings, Follett set about turning the marque into a Lagonda, Sunbeam, Invicta and (later) Bentley rival. Decades before ... More |
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| | Artist brightens up pandemic-weary Montreal with balcony banners | | Michael Jordan rookie card brings almost $100,000 at Heritage Auctions | | Millie Small, 'My Boy Lollipop' singer, dies at 73 | 
Artist Patsy Van Roost works on a banner during the coronavirus pandemic on May 6, 2020, in Montreal. Sebastien St-Jean / AFP.
MONTREAL (AFP).- Artist Patsy Van Roost is brightening up Montreal balconies and putting smiles on pandemic-weary passersby with a variety of personalized messages on multicolored banners hung across the city. "The idea is to spread a little love for people during their solo walks," she told AFP. The notes "are like whispers in people's ears as they walk past or little kisses strewn across the city," she said, sitting at her sewing table stitching together new banners. "People give me messages that I turn into banners, and they put them on their balconies so that their balconies can 'sing' to pedestrians during their brief escapes from self-isolation," Van Roost said. Since she started her project on March 26, Van Roost has created more than 150 banners cut from waterproof foam sheets. "I only ... More | | 
1986 Fleer Michael Jordan #57 PSA Gem Mint 10.
DALLAS, TX.- Michael Jordan, retired since 2003, holds more than a dozen NBA records. And late Thursday, at the end of Day One of Heritage Auctions three-day Spring Sports Collectible Auction, his rookie basketball card set a milestone of its own. Jordans 1986 Fleer debut graded PSA Gem Mint 10, the highest rating possible sold for $96,000. That nearly doubles the previous highwater mark for a PSA-graded Jordan rookie set only a week ago. Another Chicago sports star, at least until his fall from grace, also shined in Thursdays sale: An ultra-rare 1910 T210 Old Mill card featuring Shoeless Joe Jackson sold for $492,000, the top sale during a card auction that saw scores of cards soar in value. All told, Thursday nights sale brought in $8,025,974, which toppled the pre-sale estimate of $6 million The card market, said Chris Ivy, Heritages Director of Sports ... More | | 
My Boy Lollipop was the first big success for Blackwell, whose Island label would go on to release music by Marley, Toots and the Maytals, Roxy Music, U2 and others.
by Steven Kurutz
NEW YORK (NYT NEWS SERVICE).- Millie Small, the Jamaican singer whose 1964 hit, My Boy Lollipop, introduced the upbeat rhythms of ska to international audiences, died Tuesday in London. She was 73. Her death was announced by Chris Blackwell, the founder of Island Records and the songs producer. The announcement did not specify the cause, but Blackwell told the Jamaica Observer that Small had suffered a stroke. Although My Boy Lollipop was Smalls only major hit, reaching No. 2 on both the American and British charts, it was a significant one. It was a turning point in Jamaican music that brought the islands signature sound to a wider ... More |
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A Window into the Sacred and Secular Work of Brice Marden
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| | More News |
 Ian Whitcomb, rocker turned pop music historian, dies at 78NEW YORK (NYT NEWS SERVICE).- Ian Whitcomb, who had a rock n roll hit in 1965 with You Turn Me On before becoming a celebrated historian and performer of forms of popular music that peaked decades before rock, died on April 19 in Pasadena, California. He was 78. His wife, Regina Whitcomb, said the cause was complications of a stroke he had in 2012 that had left him in declining health. From the time he was a boy in Britain, Whitcomb was deeply enamored of ragtime and other older styles of music. After playing blues, jazz and skiffle music, he found widespread (if short-lived) fame with You Turn Me On, released while he was still a college student. I was ready to contribute to American popular culture: some finely wrought yet unpretentious work that might appeal to the masses, Whitcomb wrote in Rock Odyssey: A Chronicle of the Sixties ... More kamel mennour releases artist video directed by We Are From LA's Pierre DupaquierPARIS.- A video directed and edited by Pierre Dupaquier (We Are From LA, known for the Grammy he won for his video for Pharrell Williams Happy) and produced by kamel mennour sees the gallerys roster of artists alongside children around the world connect virtually to send messages of hope and wishes for the future. Paper planes are launched into the air that unfold with messages encouraging us all to stay home, socially distance and wear masks, while thanking all the key workers and front line staff who are keeping society running, set to the soundtrack of M.I.As Paper Planes. Kamel Mennour is now asking other children to join in with an open invitation to respond to the question "how do you see the world after this?" with a drawing on an A4 sheet of paper - kids are invited to post, email or leave their creations at the Paris gallery (rue Saint ... More Robust bidding and strong results in Shannon's online spring auctionMILFORD, CONN.- Shannons online-only Fine Art auction on April 30th exceeded expectations, selling 80 percent of the 185 lots. Shannons spring auction is usually a destination for collectors, with a busy preview, a full saleroom and a bank of 20-plus phone lines. Adapting to the COVID global pandemic, Sandra Germain, managing partner, made the decision to hold an online sale with fewer lots in place of the full catalog auction, which has been postponed. Instead of in-person interactions, the staff at Shannons fielded phone calls and emails from their home offices, sent video previews to clients and scheduled previews by appointment. The day of the sale, the absentee bid book was full and online demand soared. Bidders from all over the world participated online driving the strong results. Leading the auction were two paintings ... More An evil doctor who casts a spell on subjects and viewers alikeNEW YORK (NYT NEWS SERVICE).- The title card for Dr. Mabuse the Gambler, German director Fritz Langs 4 1/2-hour silent so-called super-film, promises a portrait of our time. That time was 1922. Yet Langs tale of financial panic, profiteering and doomsday revelry speaks to our own. Mabuse, which was originally shown in two parts but may be streamed as one uncut film online, was greeted by its initial German audiences as akin to a news bulletin. One Berlin paper speculated that a century hence, the movie will show people a time that they could perhaps scarcely comprehend, a time that saw the extravagance of the newly rich, the rapid gambling on the stock exchange, the clubs, the addiction to pleasure, the speculation, the vast amount of smuggling, counterfeiting and more. Adapted from a popular novel by journalist Norbert Jacques, ... More 'The universe hit pause': The ripple effects of Broadway's shutdownNEW YORK (NYT NEWS SERVICE).- By the time cast, crew and fans assembled March 9 for the first preview of a new musical version of Mrs. Doubtfire, the coronavirus was at the stage door. All over Broadway, theater operators were installing hand sanitizer dispensers and scrubbing armrests. Ticket holders were beginning to bail. Hadestown barred stage-door greetings. An usher who worked at Whos Afraid of Virginia Woolf? and Six tested positive for COVID-19. And Moulin Rouge! canceled a days performances because a company member was feverish. Mrs. Doubtfire got through three performances before Broadway shut down. Our house manager texted us and told us to hold on, and then she said, Dont come, dont come, dont come, recalled Lisa Berger, a Doubtfire usher. It wasnt a total surprise, to be honest. I just didnt think ... More London's Notting Hill Carnival cancelled over virus: organisersLONDON (AFP).- London's Notting Hill Carnival, held annually over a long weekend in late August, has been cancelled this year due to the coronavirus pandemic, organisers announced on Thursday. "After lengthy consultations with our strategic partners and our advisory council, the board has taken the decision that this year's carnival will not take place on the streets of Notting Hill as it has done for over 50 years," they said in a statement. "This has not been an easy decision to make, but the reality of the COVID-19 pandemic and the way in which it has unfolded means that this is the only safe option. "Everyone's health has to come first." The west London carnival traces its roots back to Caribbean music festivals in the 1950s after the first surge in arrivals from former British colonies post-World War II. Feathered dancers, steel bands and earth-shaking ... More Drive-in cinema summer tour set in USNEW YORK (AFP).- The team behind the Tribeca Film Festival is organizing a summer film series across the United States at drive-in theaters, which are experiencing a renaissance thanks to the coronavirus pandemic. Organizers are partnering with telecoms giant AT&T and big-screen company IMAX for the event, which will kick off on June 25. Screenings of new, classic and indie films -- as well as special music and sports events -- will take place at drive-ins and other locations to be announced later on, along with the schedule. "We're excited to give people something to look forward to this summer and reinvent a classic moviegoing experience for communities to enjoy together safely," said Tribeca festival co-founder Robert De Niro. After putting on a digital version of its own festival, the Tribeca team announced it would work with the world's ... More Sotheby's MayDay charity auction raises $450,000 for Covid-19 relief effortsNEW YORK, NY.- Charles Stewart, Sothebys CEO, commented: We are thrilled with the outpouring of support we received for this special charity auction to raise much-needed funds for the International Rescue Committee and their Covid relief efforts. We are also extremely grateful to our partner Google for providing the support needed to bring these virtual experiences to life, as well as sincerely thankful to each participant who so generously donated their time for this important cause. Full list of participants and virtual experiences: Win a chance to record a song with Sting! You and a friend will virtually join the 17-time Grammy Award-winning artist at his home studio in England to sing one of his many hit songs together. If interested, he will also offer coaching and advice on vocal styling. The result will be a memorable recording for posterity. A ... More Nye & Company Auctioneers to hold Estate Treasures Part I & II online-only auctionBLOOMFIELD, NJ.- A late spring auction just after Memorial Day offers an eclectic mix of fine and decorative arts with a focus on modern art and traditional European and American furniture. The Estate Treasures Auction, Part 1 and 2, is scheduled for Wednesday and Thursday, May 27th and 28th by Nye & Company Auctioneers, online-only, starting both days at 10 am Eastern time. Internet bidding will be provided by LiveAuctioneers.com, Invaluable.com and the Nye & Company website. In accordance with the New Jersey State mandate, we cannot open our doors to the public, said Andrew Holter of Nye & Company Auctioneers. However, we plan to deliver clients a seamless online experience, where we will strive to deliver accurate condition reports and images for all the items we offering. We will be closely monitoring our ... More The long silence of the Auschwitz cellistBERLIN (AFP).- One of the last living members of the women's orchestra at Auschwitz, Anita Lasker-Wallfisch, is at 95 among the most prominent survivors raising her voice against hate. But for four decades she kept her silence. Even her two children were long kept in the dark about what their steely, stoic mother suffered at the Nazi death camp in today's Poland and at Bergen-Belsen, where she was liberated 75 years ago. Born in 1925 into a Jewish family in what was then the German town of Breslau, today Wroclaw in Poland, Anita was sent to Auschwitz in 1943 while still a teenager. Her sister Renate was deported on a separate train. Already an accomplished cellist, she was able to join the camp's orchestra for women and girls -- a fact she says likely saved her life. The musicians were forced to play marches for slave labourers on their way to and from ... More The Outsider Art Fair launches "Art Brut Global," a virtual exhibition in three phasesNEW YORK, NY.- The Outsider Art Fair announces Art Brut Global, a curated virtual exhibition of artworks sourced from the Fairs renowned galleries and dealers. Art Brut Global is being presented in three phases, providing an engaging platform on which collectors can find and purchase vetted works of excellent quality and provenance from Outsider Art Fair exhibitors, the worlds leading experts in Outsider Art. Works by twenty canonical artists have been selected by OAF for the first phase of Art Brut Global, aligning them with their countries of origin. The exhibition is live on the Outsider Art Fairs website, from May 8 - 29, 2020, and includes works by: Antigua - Frank Walter Austria - Johann Hauser China - Guo Fengyi Croatia - Sava Sekulic Cuba - Felipe Jesus Consalvos Czech Republic - Anna Zemánková France - Augustin Lesage, ... More |
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Flashback On a day like today, Victorian painter James Collinson was born May 09, 1825. James Collinson (9 May 1825 - 24 January 1881) was a Victorian painter who was a member of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood from 1848 to 1850. In this image: Mother and Child by a Stile, with Culver Cliff, Isle of Wight, in the Distance, 1849-50.
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