| | The First Art Newspaper on the Net |   | Established in 1996 | Tuesday, August 25, 2020 |
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| | Has the Detroit Institute of Arts lost touch with its hometown? | |
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Andrea Montiel de Shuman, a former digital experience designer at the Detroit Institute of Arts, who quit in June, in Detroit, Aug. 2, 2020. As a person of color, I have experienced censorship of Black voices by Salvador at the DIA, said Montiel de Shuman. Brittany Greeson/The New York Times.
by Graham Bowley
NEW YORK (NYT NEWS SERVICE).- The Detroit Institute of Arts had just avoided selling off parts of its collection to help pay the debts of the city that owned it. It had a new, independent ownership structure, new revenue streams and a new standing as a museum that tried to replace the foreboding demeanor of many art institutions with a more welcoming, visitor-centered experience. And it had a new director, Salvador Salort-Pons, who had come from its ranks, a charismatic curator and Spanish-born scholar of Velázquez, who seemed to understand its struggles and its future and who took office to a rousing ovation at a board meeting in 2015. But five years later, at a time when museum leaders across the country are being challenged on whether their institutions are systemically racist, few are confronting as many thorny issues as ... More |
The Best Photos of the Day Dried out tree trunks are pictured at the two millenia-old site of Jabal Maragha in the desert of Bayouda that was ravaged by gold hunters, some 270 kms (170 miles) north of the Sudanese capital Khartoum on August 20, 2020, The site, dating from the Meroic period from 350 BC to 350 AD, was either a small settlement or a checkpoint. After the diggers, hardly anything remains. The destruction of ancient sites is an added tragedy for a country long riven by civil war between rival ethnic groups, destroying a common cultural identity of a nation. Ebrahim HAMID / AFP
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 | | Gold-hunting diggers destroy Sudan's priceless past | | Art Paris confirmed from 10 to 13 September 2020 at the Grand Palais | | "Sacred and Imperial: The James and Marilynn Alsdorf Collection" headlines Asian Art Week September 2020 | 
Ancient cylindrical stones are stacked up on top of each other to prop up a roof for a dining room to be used by gold hunters. Ebrahim HAMID / AFP.
by Sammy Ketz
JABAL MARAGHA (AFP).- When a team of archaeologists deep in the deserts of Sudan arrived at the ancient site of Jabal Maragha last month, they thought they were lost. The site had vanished. But they hadn't made a mistake. In fact, gold-hunters with giant diggers had destroyed almost all sign of the two millenia-old site. "They had only one goal in digging here -- to find gold," said shocked archaeologist Habab Idriss Ahmed, who had painstakingly excavated the historic location in 1999. "They did something crazy; to save time, they used heavy machinery." In the baking-hot desert of Bayouda, some 270 kilometres (170 miles) north of the capital Khartoum, the team discovered two mechanical diggers and five men at work. They had dug a vast trench 17 metres (55 feet) deep, and 20 meters long. The rust-coloured sand was ... More | | 
Alicia Penalba, Grand double, 1962, PlâtreSigné, 225 x 100 x 90 cm. Courtesy Galerie Jean-Marc Lelouch.
PARIS.- Thanks to the support of the majority of the participating galleries and the very strong commitment of collectors, organizers confirm that Art Paris will open its doors from 9th to 13th September 2020. It will be the first European cultural event of the season. Bringing together 112 modern and contemporaries art galleries from 15 countries, this edition has been the subject of reinforced sanitary measures to guarantee a high level of comfort and safety to all exhibitors and visitors and the green light has been given by the authorities both the government and the Grand Palais. Under its 45-metre-high glass roof, the Grand Palais is an exceptionally spacious venue. The layout of the fair has been modified. Stands along the walls of the Grand Palais have been removed as well as the cloakrooms and VIP lounge. The central aisle, resting and dining areas have been widened. There will be only one main entrance on avenue Winston Churchill w ... More | | 
A Rare and Magnificent Bronze Figure of Shiva Tripuravijaya South India, Tamil Nadu, Chola Period, Circa 1050. Estimate: $1,000,000-1,500,000. © Christie's Images Ltd 2020.
NEW YORK, NY.- Christies announces final details of the most anticipated auction for the Fall season of Asian Art: the sale of the private collection of James and Marilynn Alsdorf. Aptly titled Sacred and Imperial: The James and Marilynn Alsdorf Collection, the sales pay homage to the objects the Alsdorfs spent their lives supporting and collecting. The collection will be sold across two sale sessions on September 24, with a complementary online auction from September 4 to 29. The collection will be presented in an exhibition open by appointment starting September 16th during Asian Art Week at Christies New York. Known for their generosity of spirit as significant arts patrons in their hometown of Chicago, James and Marilynn Alsdorf spent their 38-year marriage building a wide-ranging collection marked by both quality and diversity. For the Alsdorfs, collecting represented ... More |
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| | Auckland Art Gallery launches te reo Māori virtual tour | | Troubled Olympic flame diverted to Tokyo museum | | Christie's announces Collections: A new sale concept debuting in Paris | 
Using navigation tools to virtually walk through gallery spaces, users can explore Enchanted Worlds via high-resolution digital images offering close-up views of the intricate, hand-painted details of over 70 exquisite and rare artworks, including delicate silk paintings, precious scrolls and vibrant folding screens.
AUCKLAND.- Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki launched an update for its virtual tour platform that includes a fully translated te reo Māori experience and audio tours. The virtual tour of major exhibition, Enchanted Worlds: Hokusai, Hiroshige and the Art of Edo Japan, has been updated to now include audio tours and a te reo Māori experience. Available at virtual.aucklandartgallery.com, the immersive, interactive online experience means the exhibition forced to close five days early as part of Aotearoa New Zealands response to COVID-19 continues to be accessible to audiences right around the country and beyond. Auckland Art Gallery Director Kirsten Paisley says the Gallery wants to see more programming available in te reo ... More | | 
The Olympic Rings are on diplay inside the Olympic museum in Tokyo on August 23, 2020. Charly TRIBALLEAU / AFP.
TOKYO (AFP).- The Olympic flame will go on display at a Tokyo museum in September, organisers said Monday, after the coronavirus pandemic forced them to scrap the torch relay and put the Games on hold. The flame, which arrived in Japan for the nationwide relay in March, will be available for public viewing from September 1 to November 1 at Tokyo's Olympic museum, officials said. The symbolic flame, lit in an elaborate ceremony at the ancient Greek site of Olympia, has been mired in uncertainty since the historic decision to postpone the Tokyo 2020 Games by a year. It has had a troubled journey so far, after even the lighting ceremony was held without spectators to avoid the spread of the virus. The Greek leg of the torch relay was then cancelled when large crowds mobbed Hollywood actor Gerard Butler as he lit a cauldron in the town of Sparta. The flame arrived to a muted welcome cere ... More | | 
Rembrandt Bugatti, 'Elephant d'Afrique et deux biches, une bonne branche'. Estimate: 200,000-300,000. © Christie's Images Ltd 2020.
PARIS.- Christie's introduces Collections: a new sale concept debuting in Paris following successful iterations in New York and London. Presenting curated ensembles of artworks and furniture from prestigious provenances, this exclusive sale explores four collections, four universes. The first is a selection of Old Master paintings and works of art from King Leopold II's villa in Saint Jean Cap Ferrat; the second is a tribute to the craftsmanship from Mr Henri Klingers collection; and a European collection partly composed of HRH Princess Murats former private collection housed in her hôtel particulier on rue de Monceau - make up the third element. Lastly, drawings, paintings, furniture and works of art belonging to Mrs Françoise Heftlers estate, will close this auction full of charm and elegance. Lionel Gosset, Director of Collections, comments: "We are very pleased to launch the ... More |
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| | Items from the Estate of Penny Marshall head to auction | | Fine Autographs and Artifacts featuring Hollywood up for auction | | Berlin film fest to drop sex distinctions in awards | 
Treasured belongings of the acclaimed Hollywood actress, director and producer head to online auction on September 13 in Los Angeles.
LOS ANGELES, CA.- Celebrating its 104th year, Abell Auction Co. will present a collection of one-of-a-kind pieces from the estate of Penny Marshall on Sunday, Sept. 13 at 10 a.m. PDT. The online-only auction will offer an impressive collection of rare American lighting and personal belongings from the late actress, director and producers prominent Los Angeles estate. Marshall is most beloved for her role as Laverne DeFazio on the award-nominated television sitcom Laverne & Shirley (1976-1983), for which she received three Golden Globe nominations. Marshall made her directorial debut with Jumpin' Jack Flash (1986) before directing Big (1988), which became the first film directed by a woman to gross more than $100 million at the U.S. box office. Among numerous other television shows and films, she subsequently directed Awakenings (1990), which was nominated for the Academy Award for Best ... More | | 
The two-page contract for Dean's most celebrated films: Rebel Without a Cause and Giant, April 2, 1955.
BOSTON, MASS.- With more than 1,200 items up for bidding, RR Auction's September sale features an abundance of signed Hollywood photographs, plus a nice selection of awards, props, and costumes. Highlights include; a James Dean document dealing with Rebel Without a Cause and Giant. The two-page contract for Dean's most celebrated films: Rebel Without a Cause and Giant, April 2, 1955. Warner Bros. document sent to James Dean, notifying him that they have extended his term of employment for the completion of Rebel Without a Cause, and the production of his last film, Giant. At the time Dean signed this contract, shooting had just begun on Rebel Without a Cause: the movie was in production from March 28 to May 25, 1955. Portraying Jim Stark in the classic coming-of-age film, Dean exemplified teenage angst and was recognized by Jack Warner as a rising star. At Warner's behest, what began as a black-and-white B-movie became a full-color ... More | | 
Mariette Rissenbeek and Carlo Chatrian, the co-directors of the Berlin Film Festival, in Berlin, Jan. 20, 2020. Lena Mucha/ The New York Times.
BERLIN (AFP).- There will be no more separate Silver Bear awards for best actor and best actress at the Berlin film festival in future, organisers announced Monday, saying they want to eliminate forms of hierarchy between men and women. From next year, the German capital's Berlinale will only crown the best performances in a leading and a supporting role. The announcement follows years in which the film world has been shaken by MeToo sexual abuse and harassment scandals that spread far beyond Hollywood. An end to sex-separated awards represents "a signal for a more gender-sensitive awareness in the film industry, the two festival directors Mariette Rissenbeek and Carlo Chatrian said in a statement. Alongside the Cannes and Venice film festivals, the Berlinale is one of the European highlights of the annual cinema industry calendar. Cannes still singles out a best actor and actress, while ... More |
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| | World's finest comic book preservation project, featuring hundreds of crucial issues, heads to auction | | A cross-category online sale of contemporary art, watches and jewellery to kick off Phillips' fall season | | Digital essay rebalances Lee Krasner's contributions to Abstract Expressionism | 
Famed firsts, unforgettable debuts and historic titles fill Q-Collection bound for Heritage Auctions September event.
DALLAS, TX.- There has never been anything like The Q-Collection Comic Book Preservation Project. And its reasonably safe to say there will never be anything like it ever again. This is not the hyperbole of a media release. It is just bald-faced fact. Never again is someone likely to spend almost two decades chasing down low-grade, beat-up copies of The Most Important Comic Books Ever Published. Then slice apart each valuable issue, page by page. Then laminate each one of those pages in specially made UV-resistant Mylar. Then reconstruct each disassembled issue in special binders stored in custom-made aluminum-and-resin cases so that readers can safely flip through these storied comic books for hundreds, if not thousands, of years. Im a member of Mensa and a PhD, says the collections creator and caretaker, John Sindall, who also spent five years ... More | | 
Josh Sperling, Untitled, 2016, Estimate: HK$400,000-600,000. Image courtesy of Phillips.
HONG KONG.- Open for bidding from 2 to 14 September, Intersect is an online-only auction with a one-stop lifestyle concept that embodies the idea of art-meets-luxury. Following the notable success of Phillips first cross-category online auction held in May, the second cross-category online auction assembled by its Asia team comprises a tightly-curated selection of contemporary artworks and editions, alongside watches and jewellery, totaling more than 110 lots. Featured in the sale are works by established and in demand artists such as Banksy, Yayoi Kusama, and Keith Haring, as well as cutting-edge contemporary artists such as Daniel Arsham, Josh Sperling, Izumi Kato, and Mr.. The sale also offers elegant wristwatches by Vacheron Constantin, IWC, alongside edgy timepieces from Urwerk, MB&F, and colourful jewels created by renowned jewellery houses including GRAFF, Bulgari and ... More | | 
Lee Krasner, Sunwoman, I, 1957. Image courtesy Kasmin Gallery. Photo by Diego Flores. © 2020 Pollock-Krasner Foundation / Artists Rights Society.
NEW YORK, NY.- The Pollock-Krasner Foundation today announced the publication of Lee Krasner: The Unacknowledged Equal by art critic, poet, and writer Carter Ratcliff. In the long-form essay, Ratcliff investigates Krasners life and practice from her early days as Hans Hofmanns student to the production of her late masterworks. Through meticulous research and careful analysis, Ratcliff provides detailed insight into the evolution of Krasners work, worldview, and relationship with Jackson Pollockdefinitively bringing her out of Pollocks shadow. Ratcliff goes beyond giving Krasner her rightful due, he sheds new light on her accomplishments and argues that Krasner was as much the inventor of allover painting as Pollock. The scholarly essay is available to download at no charge at pkf.org. A bound, fully illustrated, print version of the essay will be available later this year. The ... More |
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Anne Desmet RA: engraving angels
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| | More News |
 The Peabody Essex Museum reimagines its curatorial department to focus on collaboration and impactSALEM, MASS.- The Peabody Essex Museum announced a series of curatorial promotions that are focused on teamwork, collaboration, and impact. Following the departure of PEMs Deputy Director and Chief Curator Lynda Roscoe Hartigan, who recently assumed a new role at the Royal Ontario Museum, PEM is restructuring its curatorial department to align with the evolving needs of the organization and to better serve the public. PEM is creating a curatorial leadership team, expanding the roles of five staff members with the following appointments: Petra Slinkard, The Nancy B. Putnam Curator of Fashion and Textiles, is now Director of Curatorial Affairs; Karina Corrigan, The H.A. Crosby Forbes Curator of Asian Export Art, is Associate Director Collections; Daniel Finamore, The Russell W. Knight Curator of Maritime Art ... More Speed Art Museum opens two exhibitions as part of Shaker CommonwealthLOUISVILLE. KY.- The Speed Art Museum is presenting Shaker Commonwealth, a celebration of the creative output representing Kentuckys Shaker communities. Shaker Commonwealth is a combination of two exhibitions: Careful, Neat & Decent: Arts of the Kentucky Shakers and Mariam Ghani + Erin Ellen Kelly: When the Spirits Moved Them, They Moved. Developed by Scott Erbes, Curator of Decorative Arts and Design, Careful, Neat & Decent: Arts of the Kentucky Shakers explores over 50 objects from Kentuckys Pleasant Hill and South Union Shaker communities, borrowing heavily from the collections of both to tell the rich and complicated history of these communities from their founding in the early 1800s through their eventual decline. From handsome furniture and shimmering silks to inspirational hymns and popular fruit preserves, ... More Blackwell Auctions selling scarce 1850s lithograph of Black musicianCLEARWATER, FLA.- On September 12, Blackwell Auctions is offering an antebellum lithograph of an African-American musician. The original, titled The Bone Player, was painted by New York artist William Sidney Mount (American, 1807-1868) in 1856, only a few short years before the Civil War would -- to summarize Lincoln -- test the strength of a nation founded on and dedicated to racial equality. The lithograph can rightly be called rare for several reasons. First, from a market perspective, there appear to be few examples of The Bone Player (other than the original, which hangs in the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston). The only other period version of the litho found online resides in the permanent collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. The lithograph is rare also from the perspective of art history. Just prior ... More New book offers a forensic view of the government's failure to protect Britain during the pandemicLONDON.- Life in a Time of Plague is a new book by Julian Roup, author of A Fisherman in the Saddle and Boerejood. Life in a Time of Plague is the story of Britain under the first 75 days of its unprecedented Covid-19 lockdown, seen from the author's rural East Sussex valley home. From the refuge of a seemingly idyllic country idyll, the book monitors in bleak and forensic detail the failure of the Government to protect Britain, and its woeful response at every stage of the pandemic. The author's age and medical issues colour this diary with a dark humour, as his age group is most at risk. He is determined to make his 70th birthday at least, despite the thousands of death in Britain to date. It is a quiet slow appreciation of the bright and dark spring and summer of 2020 in the English countryside, set against ... More Cadogan Tate, Heritage Auctions lock arms for The Heart of Art & DesignDALLAS, TX.- Heritage is partnering with Cadogan Tate on The Heart of Art & Design, a charity auction to benefit the American Nurses Foundations Coronavirus Response Fund. Opening Aug. 31 for bidding, the auction ending Sept. 14 will include nearly 50 works donated by prominent artists, galleries and collectors with a total retail value of over $200,000. The event includes works by such renowned and collectible artists as Kehinde Wiley, Mira Nakashima, Takashi Murakami, Damien Hirst and Faith Ringgold, to name a few, along with outstanding Design furniture from Ateiler Demiurge, Mark Albrecht and Grosfield House. The idea behind this charity auction came about during the New York City lockdown in April, Cadogan Tate General Manager Michael Driver said. We wanted to make use of our idle time in a productive way and help give back to ... More The Timken Museum of Art plans to reopen in Spring 2021SAN DIEGO, CA.- This year has been one for the record books. The pandemic has brought about extraordinary changes. Earlier this summer, the staff of the Timken Museum of Art in Balboa Park in San Diego was diligently preparing to welcome visitors back to the Museum. No sooner had the Timken started to receive its first guests when word came from state and county officials that many businesses including museums would have to close once again. As a result and with the date of another possible reopening uncertain at this time, the Timkens board of directors and leadership has made a strategic decision to look beyond 2020 and reopen in the spring of 2021. However, the Timken is not simply shutting its doors until next spring. During this pause, there will be lots of activity going on inside the Museum. With a renewed sense of optimism ... More New online exhibition celebrates artists' love of beautiful region DUMFRIES .- Nearly 40 artists and makers have responded to the challenge to create small-scale artworks for an online exhibition called A Postcard From D&G. Organised by Upland Arts Development CIC, the idea was for them to come up artworks that showcase and celebrate whats special about this large and beautiful rural region with its rich pastures, rugged coastline and wild hills and moorland. Joanna Macaulay, Assistant Director for Upland, said: For much of this year weve been unable to welcome to visitors to Dumfries & Galloway. So we came up with the idea of A Postcard From D&G which lets people know that we wish they were here and that we really look forward to welcoming them back. Its also a region with a large and vibrant creative community so we also saw this as the perfect moment to invite artists and makers to create pieces ... More Los Angeles artist Mary Little opens her first digital exhibitionLOS ANGELES, CA.- Mary Little is a quintessential artist in American craft today. She is a graduate of Londons Royal College of Art and has showcased work around the world, with permanent collections in prestigious galleries and museums such as the Vitra Design Museum, Basel and Musée des Arts Décoratifs, Paris. She is best known for her sculptural textile works with a signature hand creating pieces that interact with light, surface and gravity. Having grown up in Belfast, Northern Ireland, Little is inspired by the gentle nature of the countryside which she evokes in her work through sensible serenity. Little began her career in furniture design in 1985. It was in 2014, and a move to Los Angeles that Little discovered heavy weight canvas and started working with it exclusively pushing herself to finally let go of the singular identity of a designer and evolve ... More Western Design artists go virtual with 2020 Digital SourcebookJACKSON HOLE, WYO.- The Western Design Conference Exhibit + Sale 2020 Digital Sourcebook will go live on September 10, 2020, featuring more than 100 artists who will virtually showcase and sell their handmade pieces for an entire year. A sneak peek at this first-time-ever opportunity to shop the popular 28-year-old Jackson Hole event online reveals artisans at the top of their craft, creating innovative Western-inspired one-of-a-kind furnishings and fashion ranging from Wild West traditional to sleekly contemporary. The decision to go digital with this years Sourcebook, creating a year-long virtual experience while pausing the in-person Jackson, Wyoming, event until 2021, was a difficult one for the WDC, but ultimately promises a new nationwide online marketplace for the hard-working artists and their museum-quality work at a time when ... More Seattle Art Museum to reopen to the public September 11SEATTLE, WA.- The Seattle Art Museum (SAM) reopens its downtown museum to the general public on Friday, September 11. The museum will initially be at a limited capacity and open Fridays through Sundays, 10 am5 pm. SAM Shop and SAM Gallery will also reopen. TASTE Café at SAM, the Seattle Asian Art Museum, and the PACCAR Pavilion at the Olympic Sculpture Park remain closed until further notice. Timed tickets will be sold online only beginning September 4 for the September 11 general public reopening. We are so excited to welcome everyone back to the museum, says Amada Cruz, Illsley Ball Nordstrom Director and CEO. Seeing art in person is an irreplaceable experience, and with fewer visitors in the space, it will also be a uniquely intimate one. Our galleries are filled with works from our global collection, and later this fall, ... More Oregon Jewish Museum and Center for Holocaust Education to create a photography exhibition fundPORTLAND, ORE.- Oregon Jewish Museum and Center for Holocaust Education announced the creation of a fund to support on-going photography exhibitions through a gift from the Arnold and Augusta Newman Foundation. The gift of $250,000 will create the Arnold and Augusta Newman Photography Fund and will ensure that the museum can bring national and international photography exhibitions to Portland as well as supporting lectures, receptions, workshops, and the acquisition of photographs for the Museums permanent collection. The Foundations mission is to further the legacy of Arnold Newman, the influential and revered photographer and educator who had a profound influence on photographers in the latter half of the 20th Century. "This generous donation makes it possible for OJMCHE to continue to mount powerful photography exhibitions that ... More |
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Flashback On a day like today, French painter Henri Fantin-Latour died August 25, 1904. Henri Fantin-Latour (14 January 1836 - 25 August 1904) was a French painter and lithographer best known for his flower paintings and group portraits of Parisian artists and writers. In this image: People gather in Arthur Rimbaud's museum as part of celebrations marking the 150th anniversary of the famed poet's birth, Wednesday Oct.20, 2004 in his native town Charleville-Mezieres, eastern France. Rimbaud is seen at left on a copy of Fantin Latour's painting "Rimbaud en discussion avec Verlaine" (Rimbaud Talks with Verlaine). Other characters on painting are unidentified.
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