| | The First Art Newspaper on the Net |    | Established in 1996 | Thursday, May 18, 2023 |
| | Oldest nearly complete Hebrew Bible sells for $38.1 million | |
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The Codex Sassoon, considered the oldest nearly complete Hebrew Bible, in New York, Feb. 10, 2023. The oldest near-complete Hebrew Bible sold at Sothebys for $38.1 million on Wednesday, May 17, 2023, one of the highest prices for a book or historical document ever sold at auction. (Eric Helgas/The New York Times)
by Jennifer Schuessler
NEW YORK, NY.- The oldest near-complete Hebrew Bible sold at Sothebys for $38.1 million on Wednesday, one of the highest prices for a book or historical document ever sold at auction. The volume, known as the Codex Sassoon, includes all 24 books of the Hebrew Bible, minus about eight leaves, including the first 10 chapters of Genesis. Researchers have dated it to the late ninth or early 10th century, making it the oldest near-complete Hebrew Bible known to exist. Since 1989, it has been owned by Swiss financier and collector Jacqui Safra, and has been seen by few scholars. Speculation had percolated for months over who might have the desire and deep pockets to acquire the Bible, which carried an estimate of $30 million to $50 million. Shortly after the auction, Sothebys announced that the buyer was the American Friends of ANU Museum of the Jewish People in Tel Aviv, Israel, and was made possible by a donation from Alfred H. Moses, a f ... More |
The Best Photos of the Day Abraham Cruzvillegas is presenting his second solo project with kurimanzutto in New York City. The exhibition brings together a new body of sculptural pieces created this year, specifically for kurimanzuttoâs new gallery space in Chelsea. His previous show, Autocontusión, was held at the galleryâs temporary project space on the Upper East Side in 2018.
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| Fair warning: Lots of passes, but Sotheby's Modern sales still bring in $427 million | | An unsigned postcard named four family members who died in the Holocaust. Why? | | Paintings by explorer Thomas Baines come to auction to Bonhams Travel and Exploration sale | 
René Magrittes quintessential Surrealist work L'Empire des lumières achieves $42.3m. Courtesy Sotheby's.
NEW YORK, NY.- Above the fireplace in the Los Angeles living room where music executive Mo Ostin entertained celebrity clients like Frank Sinatra, Paul Simon and Joni Mitchell were two unusual paintings by René Magritte. The Belgian surrealist was still an acquired taste when Ostin started collecting him in the 1990s, long before the painter started commanding upwards of $50 million in the global art market. But the artworks certainly found an audience Tuesday as bidders competed for more than 15 paintings from the collection accumulated by Ostin, who died last year, and another 54 lots included in Sothebys latest Modern Evening Sale, which helped the auction house realize $427 million in a single night. That figure was below the $500 million that the company had predicted but still the third highest total for a single night in its history, Sothebys said. The lots in the Mo Ostin sale, which carried a pre-sale estimate of $103.3 ... More | | 
A portrait of Noémie watches over Anne Berests desk, where she is at work on the next installment of family history, in Paris on April 12, 2023. (Julien Mignot/The New York Times)
by Laura Cappelle
PARIS.- In 2003, an unsigned postcard reached the Berest family home. On one side was an old picture of the Opéra Garnier. On the other, there were four names: Ephraïm. Emma. Noémie. Jacques. All were relatives of French author Anne Berest. All died in Auschwitz in 1942. Berest and her mother, Lélia Picabia, descended from Myriam daughter of Ephraïm and Emma, older sister to Noémie and Jacques, and the single surviving member of the nuclear family. Myriam had not liked to talk about the war, and Berest grew up knowing little of their history. The mysterious postcard, at first, hardly changed her relationship with the past. Without a clue about the identity or the motives of the sender, Berest soon forgot about it. Until one day, her 6-year-old daughter came home and said: They ... More | | 
Tete, Zambesi River, S.E. Africa by Thomas Baines. Estimate: £150,000-250,000. Photo: Bonhams.
LONDON.- In July 1862, the British painter and explorer Thomas Baines (1820-1875) became one of the first foreigners to reach the Victoria Falls, discovered by the Scottish missionary/explorer David Livingstone ten years earlier. In 1858, Baines had been the artist on Livingstones ill-dated expedition to explore the navigability of the Zambesi. Both these experiences are represented by two important paintings by Baines to be offered at Bonhams Travel and Exploration Sale in London on Thursday 8 June 2023. Tete, Zambesi River, S.E. Africa and The Victoria Falls from the southwest are estimated at £150,000-250,000 each. The Norfolk-born Baines joined Livingstones second Zambezi Expedition in 1858 as artist cum storeman. The main purpose of the trip was to explore the navigability of the Zambesi from the east coast of Africa and to reach the Victoria Falls via the Kebrabasa Rapids. With the blessing of the UK government, Livingstone ... More |
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| Ralph Lee, father of puppets and a New York parade, dies at 87 | | Morphy's Spring Coin-Op & Antique Advertising Auction closes the books at nearly $3.7M | | Major collection of rare robots, space toys and superheroes leads Milestone's May 27 Premier Toy Auction | 
A Ralph Lee puppet called Greed From Peace, part of an exhibition at the Museum of the City of New York, on Aug 6, 2021. (Karsten Moran/The New York Times)
by Neil Genzlinger
NEW YORK, NY.- Ralph Lee, a creator of giant crustaceans, lizards, skeletons and sorceresses, as well as one enduring New York tradition, the Village Halloween Parade, died Friday at his home in Manhattan. He was 87. His wife, Casey Compton, confirmed the death. She said his health had been declining for several months. Lee was an actor, writer, producer and director, but above all he was one of puppetrys most prolific and inventive designers. His evocative masks and figures were seen in productions by his own Mettawee River Theater Company and in shows by the Metropolitan Opera, the New York Shakespeare Festival, New York City Opera, Theater for the New City and various dance troupes and stage companies. His menagerie ranged from hand puppets to fantastic figures that towered over the audience and were controlled by multiple puppeteers. One of his most famous puppets ate Gilda Radner, Laraine ... More | | 
Circa-1902 Watling Cupid cast-iron slot machine, only known example with dual coin entry to accommodate both US and Canadian nickels. Also equipped with side gum-vending machine marked 5¢. Sold above high estimate for $72,000.
DENVER, PA.- Morphy Auctions lively April 20-22 Coin-Op & Antique Advertising Auction delivered a fantastic selection of rare slot machines, amusements and early advertising to an eager audience of bidders, cashing out at just under $3.7 million. The multi-session sale featured dozens of sought-after categories, including country store memorabilia, which was represented by one of the largest collections of its type to reach the marketplace in decades. The top lot of the nearly 2,100-lot auction was a circa-1902 cast-iron Watling Cupid coin-op slot machine. According to Morphys CEO Tom Tolworthy, an expert on antique coin-ops, the Cupid is likely to have been located at one time in a US city that bordered Canada, such as Buffalo or Detroit. We believe this to be the case because the machine has a dual coin entry to accept the players choice of either an American or Canadian nickel. Its unusual design also incl ... More | | 
Yone/Yonezawa (Japan) 12in battery-operated 8 Man remote-control Thunderbird car. All original and complete with retractable roof and steerable remote control. Sensational graphics on toy and original box (some restoration). Estimate $3,000-$5,000.
WILLOUGHBY, OHIO .- Today, many nations and private companies are engaged in the Space Race, but theres no contest as to who the winner is when it comes to space toys. Japan has been the clear and unchallenged leader in the manufacture of robots and space toys since the end of World War II. The imaginative designs of Masudaya, Yonezawa, Nomura and scores of other Japanese firms of the 1950s-1970s are revered by collectors who love the toys fanciful looks and quirky actions, not to mention the wild artwork on their boxes. Milestone Auctions, the home of great toy collections, will offer a treasure trove of sought-after robots, space toys and dozens of other types of vintage playthings at their big May 27th Spring Premier Toy Sale. The 881-lot auction is led by an out-of-this-world collection of postwar Japanese rarities, including Tetsujin, Astroboy, Space Ace and everyones favorite: a Nomura Walking Batman, ... More |
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| The Estate of Roy Eddlemean to be presented at Bonhams Los Angeles in June | | Items signed by Beethoven, Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson and John Adams headline auction | | Oxford University removes Sackler name from buildings | 
A pair of George IV silver wine coolers by John Edward Terrey, London, 1827, estimated at $50,000 70,000. Photo: Bonhams.
LOS ANGELES, CA.- On June 14, Bonhams will present the estate of philanthropist and Founder and CEO of Spectrum Labs Roy T. Eddleman (1940-2022) in Los Angeles. The sale will include Georgian furniture and silver, a large collection of blue and white Chinese export porcelain, an extensive Meissen Swan Service, and American sterling silver flatware from Eddlemans two homes in Los Angeles. Proceeds from the sale will be donated to The Eddleman Quantum Institute, a charitable organization dedicated to advancing science and technology through quantum science and education. Roy Eddlemans life was defined by his intellectual curiosity and interest in science influencing his career, his prodigious philanthropy, and the shape of his art collection. In 1970 at the age of 30, he founded Spectrum Labs, which specialized in making and patenting products for biotech companies. His achievements in the field ... More | | 
Thomas Stonewall Jackson wrote a one-page autograph letter signed on June 29, 1861, as commander of the 1st Brigade of the Confederate Army, after his springtime raids against the vitally important Baltimore & Ohio Railroad (est. $12,000-$15,000).
WILTON, CONN.- An autograph letter handwritten in German and signed by Ludwig van Beethoven, regarding his only opera, Fidelio; an autograph letter signed by Thomas J. Stonewall Jackson following his historic raid on the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad in 1861; and an autograph letter signed by John Adams in 1801 regarding the influence of Virginia Democrats will headline University Archives next online-only auction scheduled for Wednesday, May 31st. The auction titled Rare Signed Manuscripts, Books & Sports Memorabilia will start promptly at 11 am Eastern time. All 388 lots in the catalog are up for viewing and bidding now (on the University Archives website: www.UniversityArchives.com), as well as Invaluable.com, Auctionzip.com and LiveAuctioneers.com. Telephone ... More | | 
The University of Oxford in England, on Oct. 29, 2022. (Mary Turner/The New York Times
by Emma Bubola
NEW YORK, NY.- Oxford University had a Sackler Library, two Sackler galleries, a Sackler officer and a Sackler keeper of antiquities. But after the familys name an acknowledgment to the dynastys generous donations came under scrutiny because of some of its members ties to the opioid crisis in the United States, Oxford announced on Monday that it would drop mention of it from several of its buildings and staff positions. Oxford has decided that the university buildings, spaces and staff positions using the Sackler name will no longer do so, it said in a statement. Oxford said it had received donations from the Sacklers and related trusts that ranged from 10 million pounds to 15 million pounds (about $12 million to $19 million) since 1993. The elite British university has become the latest in a long series of institutions to publicly distance themselves from the family, ... More |
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| Nell Brookfield now presenting solo exhibition at Duarte Sequeira in Braga, Portugal | | Superb Midwestern collection of cradles and Indigenous material goes to auction at Bonhams | | M+'s exhibition 'Yayoi Kusama: 1945 to Now' concluded with over 280,000 visitations | 
Conversation, 2022 Acrylic Dispersion and Natural Pigment, and Oil Paint on Linen.
BRAGA.- Duarte Sequeira is now hosting the first solo exhibition in Portugal by English painter Nell Brookfield (b. 1994, London, UK), Real Plastic Roses opened on 13 May in Braga, and will end on July 8th, 2023. Brookfields work considers imagined and metaphorical states in relation to themes of love, tenderness, anxiety and pain. Real Plastic Roses features a new body of work exploring imagined situations drawn from Brookfield's personal experiences, memories, and emotions. Centered on body language, her compositions encourage viewers to imagine what might lie beyond the edge of the canvas and include a consistent colour palette that creates a feeling of movement and texture. Completed through a layering of natural pigments mixed by Brookfield herself with acrylic paint onto linen or cotton canvases, each work has an individual texture and patterned surfaces. The exhibition will feature 11 paintings of varied scale ... More | | 
A Cáuigú Kaigwu (Kiowa) lattice cradle, estimated at $50,000 80,000. Photo: Bonhams.
LOS ANGELES, CA.- On May 24, Bonhams will present Surrounded by Beauty, Carried in Brilliance, a single-owner sale of Native American material that has been assembled with meticulous study and curation over the last five decades by an important Midwest collector. Intricate beadwork is presented throughout the material, but the heart of the collection is almost two dozen remarkable Plains and Plateau cradles, both full-size and models. Highlights include three full-size, museum-quality Cáuigú Kaigwu (Kiowa) lattice frame examples, four Apsáalooke (Crow) flat board types as well as two Tsitsistas/Suhtai (Cheyenne) lattice cradles. Totaling 90 lots, the collection also includes beaded dolls, Plateau pictorial bags, moccasins, and pouches as well as a small selection of fine Pacific Northwest Coast carvings. After the incredible success of the Roy H. Robinson collection in the fall, it is truly exciting to bring another extraordinary single-ow ... More | | 
Yayoi Kusama says thank you for the love Hong Kong, © YAYOI KUSAMA, Photo: Yusuke Miyazaki, Courtesy of Ota Fine Arts.
HONG KONG.- M+, Asias first global museum of contemporary visual culture in the West Kowloon Cultural District in Hong Kong, announced that its critically acclaimed Special Exhibition Yayoi Kusama: 1945 to Now has concluded and had received over 280,000 visitations including local and international audiences since its opening on 12 November 2022. Yayoi Kusama: 1945 to Now was the first special exhibition presented by M+ since its opening in November 2021. Co-curated by Doryun Chong, Deputy Director, Curatorial and Chief Curator, M+ and Mika Yoshitake, independent curator, Yayoi Kusama: 1945 to Now will be on tour to Guggenheim Museum Bilbao in Spain for slightly over three months from 27 June to 8 October 2023. Nearly 200 works exhibited in M+ will be shipped to Spain for the exhibition. Yayoi Kusama: 1945 to Now at Guggenheim Museum Bilbao will be the most extensive retrospective of ... More |
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The Legacy of James Baldwin | Hilton Als and Thelma Golden | S1, E8 | DIALOGUES
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 'King James' review: We'll always have LeBronNEW YORK, NY.- It takes a while to figure out if Rajiv Josephs latest play, King James centered on two fans of the NBA legend LeBron James is actually about basketball. This coproduction between Steppenwolf Theatre, in Chicago, and Center Theatre Group, in Los Angeles, arrives at the Manhattan Theatre Club after runs in both of those cities. Similarly, like an imperfect play on the court, the plot travels quite a bit before making its shot. But with two emotionally precise performances agilely directed by Kenny Leon, Josephs latest rebounds from its initial inertia, revealing a touching examination of male friendship and the powerful social currents beneath it. In 2004, Matt (Chris Perfetti), a Cleveland bartender, is trying to unload his season tickets to the Cavaliers home games after a bad investment leaves him needing cash fast. ... More  Dana DeGiulio's first solo exhibition 'Opening' opening at P⋅P⋅O⋅WNEW YORK, NY.- Starting May 18th P·P·O·W is presenting Opening, Dana DeGiulios first solo exhibition with the gallery, which will end on June 24th. In Opening, DeGiulio presents 80 perceptual paintings made at home next to the window as an iterative project that began in 2013. The object of attention of each is a bunch of cheap dead roses at rest on the radiator. DeGiulio offers: Gender, genre, flails, flies, or falls apart or wanders off; theres a gulf between a body and its representation and its will to represent, its ability to determine and record edges. It is a decision to use the act of painting to stage a negotiation between figure and ground every day, as recuperation of and rehearsal for being in the world outside. How things feel if not are. What can be done. Painting posited as a container into which you can pour thanksgiving, ... More  Antwerp Art Weekend from May 18th to May 21stANTWERP.- The upcoming 9th edition of the Antwerp Art Weekend takes place 18 - 21 May, 2023. The Antwerp Art Weekend is hte best way to experience the city's fourishing art scene, with a plethora of galleries, art spaces and museums to discover. "Since 1995, Antwerp Art unites Antwerps museums, galleries, non-profit organizations, artist-run spaces, kunsthal and art schools. Our mission is to highlight and connect Antwerps vibrant contemporary art scene.For its 9th edition, our citys vibrant and thriving contemporary art scene is highlighted in all its variations. Going from independent artist-run spaces to internationally renowned galleries, museums, and everything in be- tween, the Antwerp Art Weekend shows the breadth of contemporary art the city of Antwerp has to offer. ... More  Affordable Art Fair Hong Kong celebrates 10th AnniversaryHONG KONG.- Affordable Art Fair is set to celebrate its 10th anniversary in Hong Kong. The fair team is delighted to extend a warm invitation to visitors to attend the upcoming Affordable Art Fair at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre, scheduled to take place from 18 to 21 May 2023. With the resurgence of international travel, this edition promises to be unmissable, featuring an exciting and diverse range of galleries, artists and creative projects. 93 galleries from 15 countries and territories across Asia, Europe, Australia and America will be featured in the fair, including both returning and new galleries. 270 new artists will attend the fair for the first time, presenting visitors with diverse works that showcase creativity, bold experimentation and expressivity. Through this immersive cultural experience, visitors will discover the unlimited potential of contemporary art created by living artists. ... More  Athena Anastasiou: 'Zoom, Zoom, Zoom, We Are Going to The Moon!' at UniX GalleryNEW YORK, NY.- UniX gallery is now opening Zoom, Zoom, Zoom, We Are Going to The Moon!, an exhibition of new paintings by Athena Anastasiou. This will be her first gallery presentation in the US. The show opens with a public reception on May 18, from 6 8 pm and is on view through July 1, 2023. It features new large-scale oil paintings that boldly push and expand the boundaries of this traditional genre. Anastasiou creates elaborate compositions that blend realism, abstraction, traditional oil painting techniques, and textile weaving. Textile threads become organic parts of the canvas and often explode from the usual rectangular picture frame into multidimensional mixed-media installations. Her works directly reflect her mental and creative pursuits with works like Rae on Mars, depicting the artists daughter in the fiery red backgrounds reminiscent ... More  Night Gallery presents Hot Glue at NADA East BroadwayNEW YORK, NY.- NADA East Broadway is now hosting Night Gallery, Los Angeles for Hot Glue, a special exhibition featuring work by Shagha Ariannia, Reginald Armstrong, Sarah Awad, Samara Golden, Conrad Guevara, Julia Haft-Candell, Khari Johnson-Ricks, Libby Rosen, Magnus Maxine, Alex Andrew Sanchez, Elaine Stocki, Sterling Wells, and Rikkà Wright. The show unites artists of divergent practices into a conversation surrounding reinvention, permanence, and materiality. Rather than an unsubtle or literal framing of glue as a common adhesive, the presentation considers the artist as a kind of binding agent who possesses an alchemical capacity to forge something unprecedented out of seemingly disparate materials and to unite families and chosen communities. Such processes of renewal invoke a range of formal ... More  Museum of London Docklands announces Indo + Caribbean: The creation of a cultureLONDON.- This May, the Museum of London Docklands will open a new free display Indo + Caribbean: The creation of a culture, in its London, Sugar and Slavery gallery. Working together with Londoners of Indo-Caribbean descent, it will tell the underrepresented history of Indian indenture in the British Caribbean and explore Indo-Caribbean culture in London today. Following the Slavery Abolition Act of 1833, British planters in the Caribbean devised a new scheme to source cheap labour for their plantations, recruiting workers from India to work for three to five years in return for transport, a minimal wage and some basic provisions. Having successfully petitioned the British government for their support, the first indenture ships- Hesperus and Whitby- set sail in 1838. Between then and its end in 1917, around 450,000 Indians ... More  Chloë Sevigny sold her old clothes, and people came in drovesNEW YORK, NY.- For a certain kind of fashion fiend, it was a dream: shop actress Chloë Sevignys closet, with her present. Sevigny, lauded as a fashion influencer and enthusiast, held a sale on Mothers Day in a studio space in the NoHo neighborhood of Manhattan. Customers had the chance to buy items from Sevignys own wardrobe, Academy New York, pieces she had designed with Opening Ceremony, and costumes from various roles. I decided to properly care for or store some things in Los Angeles, said Sevigny, who wore a black Comme des Garçons shirtdress and Manolo Blahnik slides. And then there was a lot left over and I was like, you know what, Im 48, Im a mother, theres a lot of stuff I dont want to wear anymore. This is a big purge to pay for a few years of storage, give a chunk to a charity and pay for some more storage. ... More  Marvelous Chupicuaro mask is the face of Heritage's June 2 Ethnographic Art AuctionDALLAS, TX.- Two questions that drive humanity are straightforward yet profound: Where did we come from, and where are we headed? One of the ways we answer the latter question is by studying the former. As we wonder what tomorrow may look like, we increasingly search our distant and recent past to figure out which aspects of human nature are timeless which pieces of our ancestors' output make sense to us still. When it comes to the history of civilization, there is a talisman-like seduction in the useful and decorative objects created, by hand, by those who came before us. The works and artifacts made by our progenitors take on increased significance and an even more enduring appeal as we hurtle toward an uncertain tomorrow. On June 2 Heritage presents an auction packed with gorgeous and historic objects that both veteran ... More  Massive Japanese incense burner sells for $250,000, ignites Heritage's $1.5 million Silver AuctionDALLAS, TX.- The origin of the massive dragon incense burner that helped lead Heritage Auctions' Fine Silver & Objects of Vertu Signature ® Auction to a $1,501,201 finish on Tuesday might be a mystery, but what's no longer in question is the final selling price of this exceptional example of Japanese Meiji craftsmanship. The dragon-form incense burner, which contains nearly 45 pounds of 99% pure silver, sold for $250,000, shattering its high pre-auction estimate of $70,000 and prompting an enthusiastic round of applause in the auction room. Accented with eyes of over 22k gold, the theatrically fierce piece, which hails from the Meiji Period, stands a staggering 32 inches high and 40 inches wide. To produce a piece of this scale required exceptional craftsmanship and an extraordinary amount of time. The finely articulated scales and barbs ... More |
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PhotoGalleries 
Gabriele Münter 
TARWUK 
Awol Erizku 
Leo Villareal
Flashback On a day like today, German-American architect Walter Gropius was born May 18, 1883. Walter Adolph Georg Gropius (18 May 1883 - 5 July 1969) was a German architect and founder of the Bauhaus School, who, along with Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, Le Corbusier and Frank Lloyd Wright, is widely regarded as one of the pioneering masters of modernist architecture. In this image: Walter/Ise Gropius, 1928. Blick auf Lower Manhattan von der Brooklyn Bridge, New York. Bildnachweis: Bauhaus-Archiv Berlin/ © VG Bild-Kunst Bonn, 2008.
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