| | The First Art Newspaper on the Net |    | Established in 1996 | Saturday, November 27, 2021 |
| | Saving history with sandbags: Climate change threatens the Smithsonian | |
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Robert Horton, an assistant director for collections and archives for the National Museum of American History in Washington, in a room where artifacts are stored, Nov. 9, 2021. Beneath the National Museum of American History, floodwaters are intruding into collection rooms, a consequence of a warming planet. A fix remains years away. Erin Schaff/The New York Times.
by Christopher Flavelle
WASHINGTON, DC.- President Warren Hardings blue silk pajamas. Muhammad Alis boxing gloves. The Star-Spangled Banner. Scripts from the television show "M*A*S*H." Nearly 2 million irreplaceable artifacts that tell the American story are housed in the National Museum of American History, part of the Smithsonian Institution, the biggest museum complex in the world. Now, because of climate change, the Smithsonian stands out for another reason: Its cherished buildings are extremely vulnerable to flooding, and some could eventually be underwater. Eleven palatial Smithsonian museums and galleries form a ring around the National Mall, the grand 2-mile park lined with elms that stretches from the Lincoln Memorial to the U.S. Capitol. But that land was once marsh. And as the planet warms, the buildings face two threats. Rising seas will eventually push in water from the tidal Potomac River and submerge parts of the Mall, scientists say. More immediately, increasingly heavy rainstorms threaten the mus ... More |
The Best Photos of the Day This picture taken on November 26, 2021 shows a view of one of the ram-headed sphinxes along the "Rams Road" (Sphinx dromos) outside the South Gate of the Temple of Karnak (background) in Egypt's southern city of Luxor. Egypt on November 25 unveiled in a grandiose night-time ceremony the "Rams Road" (Tareeq al-Kebbash in Arabic), a 2700-metre-long sandstone-paved path lined with ram-headed statues and sphinxes dating over 3000-years-old connecting the Luxor Temple with the Karnak Temple. Named "The Path of God" in Ancient Egyptian mythology, its ram statues -- an embodiment of the ancient Egyptian deity Amun -- were buried for centuries under the sand before being revived and restored for display in recent years. Khaled DESOUKI / AFP.
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| Tributes and mourning in US home of first Thanksgiving | | Bernd and Hilla Becher's unique photography of Welsh industrial structures acquired by National Museum Wales | | Stephen Sondheim, titan of the American musical, is dead at 91 | 
Visitors look over exhibits at the Pilgrim Hall Museum on November 25, 2021 in Plymouth, Massachusetts. Bryan R. Smith / AFP.
by Nicolas Revise
PLYMOUTH.- In the fall of 1621, a handful of English pilgrims and Native Americans shared their first Thanksgiving in the settlement of Plymouth. Four centuries later, their respective descendants commemorated the legendary gathering in markedly different ways: while the pilgrims' successors donned costumes for a re-enactment, the remaining members of native groups held a day of mourning. For tens of millions of American families, Thanksgiving -- falling on the fourth Thursday of November -- brings a traditional all-day meal characterized by stuffed turkey, mashed potatoes and cranberry sauce. But to delve into the founding myth of the United States is to lift the veil on one of the first painful chapters of European colonization in the New World. On Thursday, to the tune of drums, white Protestants in long cloaks and wide-brimmed hats ... More | | 
Preparation Plants, 1966-1974 © Estate Bernd & Hilla Becher, represented by Max Becher.
CARDIFF.- Amgueddfa Cymru National Museum Wales has bought a unique artwork by two of the most significant artists of the twentieth century, Bernd and Hilla Becher, thanks to support from Art Fund and the Henry Moore Foundation. The German artists are best known for their typologies photographs of a single type of industrial structure, often organised into grids. Preparation Plants, 1966-1974, which is now on display at National Museum Cardiff, comprises nine photographs taken on the Bechers visits to the UK between 1966 and 1974. The photographs include four coal mines in south Wales including Penallta, Fern Hill, Brittanic and Tower collieries. Other collieries depicted include those in Chesterfield, Manchester, Liverpool and Kirkintilloch, Scotland. The function of the preparation plant within the coal-mining complex was to wash coal of soil and rock once it had been brought up from the pithead, crush it into different sized chu ... More | | 
Stephen Sondheim at Playwrights Horizon in New York, Aug. 15, 1990. Fred R. Conrad/The New York Times.
by Bruce Weber
NEW YORK, NY.- Stephen Sondheim, one of Broadway historys songwriting titans, whose music and lyrics raised and reset the artistic standard for the American stage musical, died early Friday at his home in Roxbury, Connecticut. He was 91. His lawyer and friend, F. Richard Pappas, announced the death. He said he did not know the cause but added that Sondheim had not been known to be ill and that the death was sudden. The day before, Sondheim had celebrated Thanksgiving with a dinner with friends in Roxbury, Pappas said. An intellectually rigorous artist who perpetually sought new creative paths, Sondheim was the theaters most revered and influential composer-lyricist of the last half of the 20th century, if not its most popular. His work melded words and music in a way that enhanced them both. From his earliest successes ... More |
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| Crypto donors pay $1 mn in fees for failed US Constitution bid | | Christie's France announces highlights included in its Post War and Contemporary Art sale | | Ketterer Kunst presents a masterpiece by Jawlensky not seen in public in the last century | 
An undated image shows a screenshot of the group, Constitution DAO, via video conference, which consists of thousands of people who are raising money online to bid on a rare, original copy of the Constitution. Via The New York Times.
NEW YORK, NY.- The cryptocurrency donors who banded together for a failed try to buy a rare copy of the US Constitution have had insult added to their injury in the form of over $1 million in fees, data showed Wednesday. Over 17,400 donors joined in the headline-making effort to purchase the document at auction in New York, but people have been seeking refunds this week after losing out to a billionaire's $43 million bid. The crowd-funding endeavor used the digital money ether, which extracts a charge for each transaction -- so donors had to pay both to pitch in and to get their money back. Crypto prices are volatile, but as of Friday's value the donors had collectively lost some 199.5 ether or about $850,000 to donate and another 38.4 ether or roughly $163,000 on ... More | | 
Piero Manzoni, Achrome, 1962. Estimate: 500,000 - 700,000. © Christie's Images Ltd 2021.
PARIS.- Christie's Post War and Contemporary Art department announced its 3 December sale, a rich selection of over hundred lots with a total estimate of 10 million. The sale features a selection of major works, including a Jean Paul Riopelle masterpiece never seen on the market, La Sombreuse (estimate 2,500,000-4,000,000), a superb Outrenoir by Pierre Soulages, Peinture 165 x 130cm, 19 March 2006, estimated at 700,000-1,000,000, a major work by Piero Manzoni, Achrome (1962, estimate 500,000-700,000) and a very large format typical of Anselm Kieffer, Lilith (estimate 250,000-350,000). L'Ogre, a sculpture by Germaine Richier (1949, estimate 250,000-300,000) and Jour et nuit, a large painting by Maria Helena Vieira Da Silva (estimate 250,000-300,000) will put women artists in the spotlight. A group of drawings by Yves Saint Laurent, each estimated ... More | | 
Alexej von Jawlensky, Frauenkopf mit Blumen im Haar, c. 1913, Oil on board, 53.5 x 49.3 cm / 21 x 19.4 inches.
MUNICH.- A work by the Russian Expressionist Alexej von Jawlensky that has been in private hands for the last century, and which has not been seen in public since the 1920s, is being offered for sale by Ketterer Kunst, Germanys premier auction house. Frauenkopf mit Blumen im Haar [Head of a woman with flowers in her hair] does not appear in the artists catalogue raisonné and was only presented to and validated by the Jawlensky archive in 2017. Painted around 1913, the portrait is of significant historical importance as it represents a turning point in Jawlenskys practice as he moved away from the figurative paintings and landscapes which he previously considered his best works. The work, which will be presented by Ketterer Kunst at its Evenings Sale in Munich on December the tenth, with an estimate of 2,500,000 3,500,000. Prior to the sale, the auction house will tour ... More |
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| He's the brusque Mr. fix-it for Mexico City's accordions | | Art Institute of Chicago opens an exhibition of works by Ray Johnson | | 'Dracula' lobby card emerges from the shadows to star in movie posters auction | 
Luis Adrian Ramirez, whose father is one of Mexico Citys most experienced accordion repairmen, at his fathers workshop, Aug. 30, 2021. Alicia Vera/The New York Times.
by Jordan Salama
MEXICO CITY.- Your accordion is a piece of garbage. Francisco Luis RamÃrez shook his head. The old man was carefully inspecting the dusty instrument that Id brought to his workshop, and he had seen enough. Una porquerÃa! I cannot fix this. Well, I could, but it would make more sense for you to buy a better one. He put down his cigarette and picked up another accordion that was sitting on his wooden worktable. It was large and white and shiny. Now, this is an accordion. Italian-made. Listen. He began to play, and suddenly, thick-sounding notes filled the small, dark room. I looked around: All along the white walls were shelves crammed with skeletons from the past half-century of his work: wood casings, sagging bellows, and mangled keyboards ... More | | 
Ray Johnson. Walking Man, 1958. Promised gift of The William S. Wilson Collection of Ray Johnson. © Ray Johnson Estate.
CHICAGO, IL.- Dubbed New Yorks most famous unknown artist, Ray Johnson was a pioneer of mail art, a groundbreaking figure in the worlds of Fluxus and Conceptual Art, and an early Pop artist whose use of celebrity imagery heralded Andy Warhols own appropriation in the 1960s. Indefinable and prolific, he circulated much of his work outside official channels, questioning the boundaries of where and when art occurred. On view from November 26, 2021 to March 21, 2022, Ray Johnson c/o brings together more than 200 works from across the artists multidisciplinary practice in the most exhaustive exhibition of Johnsoniana in over two decades. Presented exclusively at the Art Institute, it is organized by Caitlin Haskell, Gary C. and Frances Comer Curator, Modern and Contemporary Art, with Jordan Carter, associate curator, Modern and Contemporary Art. Emphasizing ... More | | 
Dracula (Universal, 1931). Very Fine. Lobby Card (11" X 14").
DALLAS, TX.- A rare lobby card from one of the most popular horror films ever made sold for $108,000 to lead Heritage Auctions' Movie Posters Signature® Auction to $2,422,630 in total sales Nov. 20-21. Last weekend's event drew 2,070 global bidders to chase the 891 lots offered. The sale, like all of Heritage Auctions' Movie Posters events, was a near sell-out. The lobby card at the top of the sale was from the 1931 classic Dracula; it drew 29 bids before it was done, soaring past its pre-auction estimate of $20,000-40,000. "This is an extraordinary card, with exceptional color," says Heritage Auctions Vintage Posters Director Grey Smith. "Dracula was the film that earned Bela Lugosi the most fame, but even after he successfully played the role on Broadway, he wasn't even the first choice to play the role in the film. Once he earned the role, however, he turned in a brilliant performance. This film is considered one of the finest horror films ever mad ... More |
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| Habda Rashid appointed Curator of Modern and Contemporary British Art | | 'Dr. Strange' No. 1 original art, Promise Collection power Heritage's Comics & Comic Art Auction past $17.8 million | | Cuba inaugurates center to preserve Castro writings | 
Habda moves to Kettles Yard and the Fitzwilliam Museum from Create London where she worked as Senior Curator: Contemporary Art and most recently as Interim Artistic Director: Contemporary Art.
CAMBRIDGE.- Kettles Yard and the Fitzwilliam Museum announced the appointment of Habda Rashid to the new post of Curator of Modern and Contemporary British Art. Habda will work across the two Cambridge University museums with a remit to shape and deliver collections-based research, public programming and curatorial work on the collections of 20th and 21st-century British art, within a global context. A specific focus of the role is to bring new and under-represented perspectives, voices and artworks into these collections, including through new acquisitions and commissions. The appointment reflects an increasingly close collaboration between museums and departments across Cambridge, to catalyse research and public engagement. Habda moves to Kettles Yard and the Fitzwilliam Museum from Create London where she worked as Senior Curator: ... More | | 
Frank Brunner Doctor Strange #1 Cover Original Art (Marvel, 1974).
DALLAS, TX.- A frenzy of eager bidders drove Frank Brunner's Doctor Strange No. 1 Cover Original Art (Marvel, 1974) to $408,000, and an important collection kept its Promise of spectacular results to lead Heritage Auctions' near-sellout Comics & Comic Art Signature® Auction to $17,823,949 last weekend. When Doctor Strange was published in 1974, he was not yet a major Marvel character, but he has evolved into a major figure in the Marvel Comics Universe in the nearly six decades since. The Master of the Mystic Arts has solidified his stature through his role in MCU movies, as a character in Strange Tales and ultimately in his own title, with this image fronting the premiere issue. "For original art from the 1970s to top $400,000 is incredible," Heritage Auctions Senior Vice President Ed Jaster said. "Frank Brunner's Doctor Strange covers set an unmatched standard for the character's artwork." Meanwhile, 355 lots from the historic Promise Collection Ped ... More | | 
In this file photo taken on December 06, 2005 Cuban President Fidel Castro delivers his speech during a political meeting, in Cardenas, province of Matanzas, some 80 miles east of Havana. Adalberto ROQUE / AFP.
HAVANA.- Cuba on Thursday inaugurated a center to preserve the writings of its revolutionary hero Fidel Castro as part of commemorations marking the fifth anniversary of his death. The Fidel Castro Ruz center in the capital Havana is the first and only Cuban building to carry his name. A law passed a month after his death in 2016 bans the naming of institutions, squares, parks, roads or other public places after the former president and Communist Party leader. Also banned, following Castro's wishes, is the erection of monuments, busts, statues or plaques in his name or image -- though this has not prevented the proliferation of murals and placards in honor of the late leader on the streets of Havana. The only exceptions to the rule are made for institutions created solely for "the study and dissemination of his thinkings ... More |
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The Treasures of Empress Josephine Bonaparte
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 Latin America's women writers ride wave of acclaimMEXICO CITY.- From Uruguay to Mexico, Argentina to Ecuador, women writers from across Latin America are enjoying growing acclaim after years of marginalization by an industry they say has long favored male authors. They reject the label of a new "Latin American boom" like the one that thrust male writers such as Peru's Mario Vargas Llosa and Colombia's Gabriel Garcia Marquez to prominence in the 1960s and 1970s. Instead, they see their success as a welcome break from the prejudice that sidelined many of their predecessors during the 20th century. This weekend, hundreds of writers, editors and literary agents are expected to gather in Mexico's second city for the Guadalajara International Book Fair, considered one of the world's most important. Uruguayan writer Fernanda Trias will receive the Sor Juana Ines de la Cruz Prize for her novel "Mugre ... More  Noah Gordon, 95, dies; American novelist with an audience overseasNEW YORK, NY.- Noah Gordon, an American author who was virtually unknown at home but whose novels about history, medicine and Jewish identity transformed him into a literary luminary abroad, died Monday at his home in Dedham, Massachusetts. He was 95. His death was confirmed by his wife, Lorraine Gordon. Noah Gordons debut novel, The Rabbi (1965), which dealt with the title characters marriage to a ministers daughter, was lodged for 26 weeks on The New York Times bestseller list. But most of his subsequent eight books fared less successfully when they were published domestically, although they have proliferated since as e-books. When I began, my market was America: You either made it in America or didnt make it, he told the Times in 1996. Well, now your market is the world. Michael Gordon, his son and literary agent, said in an email ... More  Ballroom takes root in Colombia. But who is it for?BOGOTA.- The theme was Met Gala that is, if the Met Gala had vibrators and whips. On a Friday night in October, hundreds of attendees crammed into a second-floor dance studio near the northern edge of Bogotá adorned with flowers, chains, corsets and long flowing wigs, their carefully painted makeup smearing as the night wore on. Contestants were vying for a grand prize, and when it came time to compete in the sex siren category, contenders pulled out all manner of props, including lollipops and bottles of liquor to tantalize the judge as they stripped down to near nudity. Sitting next to the judge, the competitions commentator, Jhon Dewar Cordoba Valdes, known to most as Papu, chanted phrases of encouragement, interspersing his raps and rhymes and shouting various unprintable expressions for female genitalia at the dancers. These land as compliments ... More  They adapted 'Mrs. Doubtfire,' and their personal beliefsNEW YORK, NY.- Wayne and Karey Kirkpatrick could spend hours discussing the psychology of growing up the sons of a Louisiana pastor and ending up in show business. Wayne, 60, the older brother, made this remark with all due seriousness, during a break from polishing a musical version of the 1993 comedy Mrs. Doubtfire ahead of its Dec. 5 opening at the Stephen Sondheim Theater. That will be nearly 21 months after the show closed three performances into previews, shuttered by the pandemic. Karey, 56, is more talkative, but the brothers complete each others sentences with the rapport of siblings who began recording pretend radio shows as kids. Over two hours in a hotel lobby in Manhattan, he and Karey recounted their religious Southern upbringing, their early careers and how they went from singing in Southern Baptist churches ... More  Kariamu Welsh, pioneer of African dance studies, dies at 72NEW YORK, NY.- Growing up in the Bedford-Stuyvesant section of Brooklyn in the 1950s, Kariamu Welsh was enchanted by the older girls and their double Dutch jump rope moves. When she was old enough to join in, she quickly excelled, bobbing and weaving with the best of them. Years later, in the 1970s, when she became an innovative choreographer of Afrocentric dance, she would incorporate this kinetic sidewalk poetry into her work, noting how the bold improvisations of Black girls jumping rope on a Brooklyn street drew from traditions born in Africa. Welsh, an early scholar of African diaspora dance who was professor emerita of dance at Temple University in Philadelphia and the artistic director of her own troupe, Kariamu & Company: Traditions, died on Oct. 12 at her home in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. She was 72. The cause was complications ... More  This year's 'Nutcracker' kids: Taller, older and savoring it allNEW YORK, NY.- They need to be at least 12. They need to be vaccinated. And they need new costumes. But what they dont need to be? Short. If the kids in New York City Ballets production of George Balanchines The Nutcracker look more like teenagers this season, it is because in many cases they are. When rehearsals began this fall, vaccinations were open only to those ages 12 and older. Normally, 12 is the upper cutoff age for participation meaning the kind of 12 that can pass for 11. Little. Size is an issue. Ordinarily, children picked for the production from the company-affiliated School of American Ballet top out around 5 feet, 1 inch tall. What will it look like when a giant Mouse faces off with a 5-foot-7 Soldier? (Hopefully still hilarious.) For Dena Abergel, City Ballets childrens repertory director, the height requirement can be a source of anguish. ... More  Now open: Golden shells and the gentle mastery of Japanese lacquer at NGV InternationalMELBOURNE.- The beauty and artistry of the historical Japanese shell matching game, kai-awase, is being celebrated in a new exhibition at the centre of which is a contemporary 720-piece set commissioned by Melbourne philanthropist and NGV donor, Pauline Gandel AC. Comprising two Japanese lacquerware shell boxes and 720 gold-gilded and hand-painted clam-shaped shells, this new edition of the game is the only complete set known to be in existence that has been produced in the traditional manner using specialised techniques and materials, offering audiences with a rare opportunity to admire the craftsmanship behind this centuries-old pastime. Kai-awase is a game of memory and historically shell interiors were painted with matching scenes from classical Japanese literature, including the Tale of Genji and Tales of Ise. For ... More  MIA Fair will stage its 11th edition in Milan from April 29 to May 1MILAN.- MIA Fair, the Italian art fair dedicated to photography, will stage its 11th edition in Milan from Friday, April 29 to Sunday, May 1, 2022 at Superstudio Maxi. The VIP preview will take place on Thursday, April 28. MIA Fair is currently accepting applications from galleries presenting curatorial projects for the Main Section and the MIDA (Milan Image Design Art) section. The 2021 edition welcomed 90 galleries both Italian and international with more than 300 exhibited artists, 22 art publishers and a rich cultural program, displaying events such as conferences and talks, covering subjects including the photography market system and the world of collecting, book presentations and book signings within an exhibition area of 7,000 square meters. In addition to the Main Section, the heart of the fair, particularly appreciated was the section MIDAMilan ... More  Yorkshire Sculpture Park announces retirement of founding director Peter Murray CBEWAKEFIELD.- Establishing YSP in 1977 with a grant of £1000 and no staff, YSP has evolved into a major international centre for sculpture; a cultural beacon for Yorkshire, attracting artists and visitors from all over the world. Peter has taught in Primary, Secondary and Higher Education and in 1977, when he was Principal Lecturer in Art Education at Bretton Hall College, he started YSP in the grounds of the college which at that time were not open to the public. There were many obstacles to overcome, not least the lack of funding and staffing. Over time through tenacity, political acumen, total commitment, and the support of others, YSP emerged as an important cultural venue contributing significantly to the economy. Learning has been fundamental to the organisation, along with the development, understanding and enjoyment of sculpture ... More  'I savor everything': A soprano's star turn at the Met OperaNEW YORK, NY.- Soprano Erin Morley is no stranger to the Metropolitan Opera, where she has been a fixture for more than a decade. But until now she has never been the face of the company. That changed in recent weeks, as her likeness blown up to the size of buses and billboards has promoted her star turn in Eurydice, which had its Met premiere Tuesday. I feel like Ill never get used to seeing my face on a billboard, Morley, 41, said Wednesday morning. Its definitely been strange to walk by it every day on my way to rehearsal. Morley sings the title role in the opera, composed by Matthew Aucoin and with a libretto by Sarah Ruhl based on her 2003 play. Eurydice is the heart of this retelling of the classic myth, which premiered at Los Angeles Opera in early 2020. In Ruhls conception, she is reunited with her dead father ... More  Morphy's welcomes holiday season with bounteous Nov. 30-Dec. 2 Toys & Collectibles AuctionDENVER, PA.- Many lucky antique toy collectors will be enjoying their holiday gifts early this year, thanks to Morphys Nov. 30-Dec. 2 gallery auction of fine toys and popular collectibles. The 1,633-lot catalog reveals a fantastic selection that ranges from early American cast-iron, German tin toys, and a famous biscuit tin collection to a trove of rare 1952 baseball cards, boxed collectible sneakers, and one of the rarest of all Japanese robots. Distance will be no obstacle, since all forms of remote bidding will be available, including live via the Internet through Morphy Live. Day 1 starts off with an array of more than 180 cast-iron mechanical banks including many favorites from J & E Stevens, such as a Dentist ($3,000-$5,000), a near-mint Artillery bank ($6,000-$9,000, a Bad Accident with its original wood box ($4,000-$6,000), Professor Pug Frogs Great ... More |
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PhotoGalleries 
Pera Müsezi 
Matisse 
NATHALIE DJURBERG AND HANS BERG 
Alex Katz
Flashback On a day like today, sculptor and architect Jacopo Sansovino died November 27, 1570. Jacopo d'Antonio Sansovino (July 2, 1486 - November 27, 1570) was an Italian sculptor and architect, known best for his works around the Piazza San Marco in Venice. Andrea Palladio, in the Preface to his Quattro Libri was of the opinion that Sansovino's Biblioteca Marciana was the best building erected since Antiquity. Giorgio Vasari uniquely printed his Vita of Sansovino separately. In this image: Two restorers work on Jacopo Sansovino's Madonna and Child, which was presented after its restoration at the Lab Opificio Pietre Dure, Florence, 10 November 2010.
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