| | The First Art Newspaper on the Net |   | Established in 1996 | Tuesday, June 18, 2019 |
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| | French billionaire Drahi acquires Sotheby's in $3.7 bn deal: auction house | |
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In this file photo taken on October 30, 2017 the auctioneer (C) gestures during an auction sale at Sotheby's action house in Paris. French billionaire Patrick Drahi says on June 17, 2019 he acquires Sotheby's auction house in $3.7 bn deal. CHRISTOPHE ARCHAMBAULT / AFP.
by Julie Jammot / Clare Byrne
PARIS (AFP).- French telecoms and media mogul Patrick Drahi is acquiring Sotheby's auction house, one of the world's biggest art brokers, in a $3.7 billion deal, the British-founded company announced Monday. Drahi, the billionaire founder of the Altice empire which owns SFR telecoms company and several French media houses including BFM news channel and Liberation newspaper, is paying $57 per share to acquire Sotheby's through his company BidFair USA, the art house said. His foray into the art market sees him follow in the footsteps of fellow French billionaire, Kering chairman Francois Pinault, who acquired a majority stake in Sotheby's rival Christie's in 1998. The deal returns British-founded Sotheby's to private ownership after 31 years as a publicly traded company on the New York Stock Exchange. ... More |
The Best Photos of the Day Guests attend the Downton Abbey exhibition on June 14, 2019 in Boston, Massachusetts. Darren McCollester/Getty Images for Downton Abbey: The Exhibition/AFP
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 | | Gun 'Van Gogh killed himself with' to go under hammer | | Newly discovered photograph of Albert Einstein | | Drahi, self-made French cable tycoon with rich taste in art | 
A revolver believed to be the gun Dutch 19th century painter Vincent Van Gogh would have used to kill himself on 27 July 1890 is on public display at Paris' Drouot auction house. FRANCOIS GUILLOT / AFP.
PARIS (AFP).- The revolver with which Vincent van Gogh is believed to have shot himself is to go under the hammer Wednesday at a Paris auction house. Billed as "the most famous weapon in the history of art", the seven mm Lefaucheux revolver is expected to fetch up to 60,000 euros ($67,000). Van Gogh experts believe that he shot himself with the revolver near the village of Auvers-sur-Oise north of Paris, where he spent the last few months of his life in 1890. Discovered by a farmer in 1965 in the same field where the troubled Dutch painter is thought to have fatally wounded himself, the gun has already been exhibited at the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam. While Art Auction, who are selling the gun, say there is no way of being absolutely certain that it is the fatal weapon, tests showed it had been in the ground for 75 years, which would fit. The Dutch ... More | | 
Albert Einstein and Chaim Weizmann aboard of the SS Rotterdam, March 1921. Collection Center for Jewish History, New York.
ROTTERDAM.- In my research for the future museum on migration, the Fenix, a never before published photograph of Albert Einstein surfaced from the archives of the Center for Jewish History in New York. This is extremely seldom, since the life of Albert Einstein is very well documented and published. Thanks to his several letters, almost on a daily base, to scientists all over the world, his fame and well documented public life, we almost know everything of the whereabouts of Einstein. However, not this picture. The newly discovered photograph was taken during his first trip to the US in 1921. This journey is well documented. He left the port of Rotterdam aboard of the SS Rotterdam, traveled first class with his wife Elsa. They departed March 23th, arrived on April 2nd in New York. Einstein travelled with Chaim Weizmann, who later would become the first president of Israel. On the way over, Einstein tried to explain relativity ... More | | 
Patrick Drahi, 55 years old, is a global entrepreneur with telecommunications, media and digital properties across the globe. Courtesy Sotheby's.
PARIS (AFP).- French billionaire Patrick Drahi, who is buying Sotheby's auction house, has kept a low profile despite his sweeping international business interests. The father-of-four is an avid art collector, and "a longtime client and lifetime admirer" of Sotheby's, he admits. France's ninth-richest man, whose fortune is estimated by Forbes magazine at $9.1 billion, has multiple citizenships -- French, Israeli and Portuguese -- and lives in Switzerland. But unlike billionaire Francois Pinault, or fellow telecoms and media mogul Xavier Niel of Iliad, Drahi is not an instantly recognisable figure in France. In a 2017 profile, French news magazine Obs cited him as lauding the virtues of discretion. "If you want to be successful, work hard, have fun and above all, listen and do not talk too much," he was quoted as saying. Drahi, 55, was born into a Jewish family living in the Moroccan city of Casablanca on August 20, 1963, ... More |
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| | | Louvre opens bookings for blockbuster Leonardo show in October | | Sotheby's, grand old lady of auction houses, eclipsed by Christie's | | The Musée du Louvre partners with HTC VIVE Arts for first virtual reality experience | 
Tourists take a selfie on May 10, 2019 outside the Louvre museum in Paris. Lionel BONAVENTURE / AFP.
PARIS (AFP).- The Louvre museum in Paris will on Tuesday open bookings for a blockbuster exhibition in October of most of Leonardo da Vinci's paintings to mark the quincentennial of the Renaissance master's death. Tickets to the show opening on October 24 will not be available at the box office, but only on the website www.ticketlouvre.fr and in major stores. "Because of the expected crowds, the exhibition will be accessible only by time slot as a way of ensuring the most comfortable visit," the museum said in a statement on Monday. "This applies to all visitors, including those with free access to the museum," it said. The Louvre possesses Leonardo's most famous painting, the Mona Lisa, along with four others, as well as 22 drawings. The Mona Lisa was among three of Leonardo's favourite paintings, the others being the Virgin and Child with Saint Anne, and Saint John the Baptist, which he brought with him to France where he died 500 years ago on May 2. The show will include nearly 120 more works -- ... More | | 
The Sotheby's headquarters stands on the Upper East Side in Manhattan, June 17, 2019 in New York City. Drew Angerer/Getty Images/AFP.
NEW YORK (AFP).- Long a giant in the competitive world of auction houses, Sotheby's once led the glamorous field of fine arts sales, but in recent years has seen rival Christie's steal its thunder. Snapped up by French business magnate Patrick Drahi in a $3.7 billion deal announced Monday, Sotheby's was founded in 1744 by British entrepreneur Samuel Baker and focused exclusively on book sales before expanding into other fields at the end of the 19th century. That diversification was dramatically accelerated in 1917, when it moved from its base in London's publishing hub on the Strand to set up shop in Mayfair, the British capital's center of the arts. Sotheby's expanded even further afield and opened its New York branch in 1955, three years before Peter Wilson began a 22-year tenure leading the auction house. As the auction world's dominant player, it bought up the leading US fine art auctioneer Parke-Bernet in 1964, which gave it an entry into New York high ... More | | 
Leonardo da Vinci, Portrait of Lisa Gherardini, spouse of Francesco del Giocondo, La Joconde or Mona Lisa, Paris, Musée du Louvre, courtesy RMN-Grand Palais (Musée du Louvre) / Michel Urtado.
PARIS.- To commemorate the 500th anniversary of the death of Leonardo da Vinci in France, the Louvre is preparing a seminal retrospective of da Vincis artistic career, opening to the public on 24 October 2019. As part of this landmark exhibition, the Louvre will present the museums first virtual reality (VR) experience, in partnership with HTC VIVE Arts, which will bring to life the story of the Mona Lisa, da Vincis most famous masterpiece, on an HTC VIVE headset. The VR experience, Mona Lisa: Beyond the Glass, will provide an opportunity for visitors to interact with the painting in virtual space. Viewers will have the rare chance to be immersed into the worlds most iconic painting, stepping behind the glass to access the intriguing portrait up close in an entirely new, transformative way. Produced in close collaboration with the Louvres own curatorial team for this unprecedented retrospective of the artist, ... More |
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| | | School of Visual Arts donates nearly 100 iconic Subway Series works to newly opened Poster House Museum | | Outstanding set of pier tables and glasses (mirrors) by Thomas Chippendale acquired for the nation | | Heiress and legendary socialite, Gloria Vanderbilt dies at 95 | 
Gail Anderson and Terry Allen, In Reaffirming the Greatness of of Our Nation, We.
NEW YORK, NY.- School of Visual Arts is pleased to present the newly opened Poster House Museum with a significant donation of posters from its iconic Subway Series. As part of the ongoing donation, which initially includes nearly 100 select works from the past three decades, each newly created poster will subsequently join the Museums permanent archival collection. Poster House officially opens to the public this Thursday, June 20. Since its inception in the early days of SVA, the Subway Series has historically given prominent designers and artists amongst its faculty the chance to showcase their talents, reach new audiences and promote SVA with a series of posters designed specifically for the city's subway system. As part of the Subway Series, nearly 200 posters have been created by artists such as Ivan Chermayeff, Milton Glaser, Yuko Shimizu, Paul Davis and Nathan Fox. In what is currently New Yorks longest running ad campaign, each pos ... More | | 
Thomas Chippendale (171879), A set of pier tables and glasses, c. 1771. Courtesy of the Victoria and Albert Museum, London.
LONDON.- A highly important set of pier tables and glasses (mirrors) by Thomas Chippendale, often described as the Shakespeare of English furniture-making, has been accepted in lieu of inheritance tax for the nation and allocated to the V&A. Through the Acceptance in Lieu in situ loan agreement with Harewood House Trust, the pair will remain on public display in the Music Room, the most complete Robert Adam-designed room at Harewood House in West Yorkshire, and the room for which they were specifically designed. Thomas Chippendale (171879) is the most famous name in 18th century English furniture. His neo-classical and rococo furniture is some of the most acclaimed and sought-after ever produced. Dating from c.1771, these tables and glasses are among the most distinguished items from his important and most valuable commission for Edwin Lascelles, 1st Baron Harewood, at Harewood House ... More | | 
In this file photo taken on April 07, 2009 socialite and artist Gloria Vanderbilt attends the The National Arts Club's Literary Committee Honoring Joyce Carol Oates held at The National Arts Club in New York City. Gloria Vanderbilt has died at age 95, reported by CNN on June 17, 2019. Her son is CNN anchor Anderson Cooper. Astrid Stawiarz / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / AFP.
NEW YORK (AFP).- American heiress Gloria Vanderbilt, a designer and artist who became one of the most chronicled socialites of her era, died Monday after a battle with stomach cancer, her son announced. She was 95 years old. The great-great granddaughter of railroad tycoon Cornelius Vanderbilt was thrust into the spotlight as the "poor little rich girl" at the center of a sensational custody battle in the 1930s, before finding fame in her own right for her line of designer blue jeans and it-girl fashion. "Gloria Vanderbilt was an extraordinary woman, who loved life, and lived it on her own terms," her son, the CNN anchor Anderson Cooper, said in a tribute read on air. "She was a painter, a writer, and designer but also a remarkable mother, wife, and friend. ... More |
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| | | Burt Reynolds' last custom owned 1979 Pontiac Trans Am sold for $317,500 | | Jung Ho Lee's first solo exhibit opens in New York | | The 2019 edition of Art Basel attracted a truly global audience, catalyzing excellent sales at all levels | 
The top moment of the auction was the sale of the 1979 Pontiac Firebird Trans Am custom built by Bandit Movie Cars for Burt Reynolds and his business partner Gene Kennedy.
LOS ANGELES, CA.- Juliens Auctions, held its two-day celebration Property from the Estate of Burt Reynolds June 15-16, 2019 at The Standard Oil in Beverly Hills in front of an excited crowd of memorabilia collectors and fans of the Hollywood legend bidding live on the floor, online and on the phone across the globe. The top moment of the auction was the sale of the 1979 Pontiac Firebird Trans Am custom built by Bandit Movie Cars for Burt Reynolds and his business partner Gene Kennedy. The iconic movie vehicle, synonymous with Reynolds iconic character Bandit from one of the top box office road movie franchises of all time, Smokey and the Bandit, sold for $317,500. Reynolds used this car on the 2017 Bandit Run as well as on several cross-country rallies that ... More | | 
Jung Ho Lee, Untitled.
NEW YORK, NY.- curcioprojects is presenting Jung Ho Lees first solo exhibit Abstracting Decay since graduating from the Pratt Institutes MFA program in 2016. Lees paintings are dynamic interventions referencing various styles past and present Art Informel, Abstract Expressionism, Gutai and graffiti. The underlining theme of this series of paintings is Entropy a law of nature in which all natural things must constantly move towards decline and disorder; a sense of decay. Lees apparently passive mashup of process and styles along with a sense of fluctuating time, carry an equal measure of decay and encapsulated chaos across the canvas approach somewhere between painting and organic matter. Lee constructs his paintings through a process of multiple layering, first wetting the surface with mineral spirits and then painting with a water-based medium. Due to the spirits, the paint never fully covers ... More | | 
Daniel Marzona, Vajiko Chachkhiani © Art Basel.
BASEL.- Art Basel brought together 290 premier galleries, presenting works ranging from early 20th century Modern art to the most contemporary pieces. While galleries from Europe continued to be strongly represented, the show featured returning and new exhibitors from across the globe, including Asia, Europe, North and South America, the Middle East, and Africa. 19 galleries participated for the first time, including: Barro Arte Contemporáneo from Argentina; Galeria Jaqueline Martins from Brazil; Temnikova & Kasela from Estonia; Galerie Crèvecoeur and Galerie Christophe Gaillard from France; SpazioA from Italy; Vadehra Art Gallery from India; Marfa' from Lebanon; Galerie Knoell from Switzerland; and Commonwealth and Council, Durham Press, and David Lewis from the United States, among others. Among the fair's most talked-about highlights was Aggregate (2017-2019) by Romanian artist Alexandra Pirici. ... More |
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Louise Bourgeois & Pablo Picasso: Anatomies of Desire
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 The Michener Art Museum appoints Laura Turner Igoe as Curator of American ArtDOYLESTOWN, PA.- The Michener Art Museum announced that Laura Turner Igoe has accepted the position of Curator of American Art starting early July 2019. Dr. Igoe joins the Museum with broad curatorial experience from such noted institutions as the Harvard Art Museums, Philadelphia Museum of Art, Princeton University Art Museum and The Barnes Foundation. She brings with her a strong foundation in American art with a focus on the Philadelphia region. Exhibition projects she has contributed to include Natures Nation: American Art and Environment, The Philosophy Chamber: Art and Science in Harvards Teaching Cabinet, 1766-1820 and Audubon to Warhol: The Art of American Still Life. Dr. Igoes interests and background closely mirror the Micheners mission to promote the Pennsylvania landscape, and specifically the Bucks County region, ... More A reinterpretation of Hokusai and Dürer in new work based on Old Masters LONDON.- Lyndsey Ingram present their first exhibition of the British artist Ann-Marie James (b. 1981) in collaboration with Karsten Schubert. In this show, as well as in a forthcoming project at Kettles Yard and several solo shows in museums across the UK, James reimagines and reinterprets historical images, creating vibrant and innovative work. At Lyndsey Ingram, James will present new work referencing two master printmakers, Kanagawa Hokusai (1760 1849) and Albrecht Dürer (1471 1528). A series of nine vivid, abstract paintings on aluminium panel respond to Hokusais The Great Wave (c.1829). These will be shown alongside intricate, monochrome drawings inspired by Dürers clouds in Madonna with a Monkey (1498) and The Sea Monster (1498 1501). A fully-illustrated catalogue accompanies the exhibition, with an original essay by art historian ... More Doyle to auction the Estate of Oleg Cassini on June 27NEW YORK, NY.- Doyle Auctioneers & Appraisers has announced the auction of the Estate of Oleg Cassini, the legendary fashion designer best known for creating Jacqueline Kennedys signature style as First Lady. This landmark auction offers fashion memorabilia, clothing and accessories, autograph letters, luxury automobiles, arms and armor, artwork, Continental and English furniture, decorations, silver and more from the elegant Manhattan townhouse on 19th Street and from Moorelands, the lavish residence in Oyster Bay Cove on Long Islands North Shore. The auction will take place on Thursday, June 27 at 10am at Doyle located at 175 East 87th Street in New York. The sale will be preceded by a three-day public exhibition on June 22 through 24 at Moorelands located at 47 Sandy Hill Road in Oyster Bay Cove, where all of the property ... More Shortlist announced for 2019 Film London Jarman AwardLONDON.- The shortlist for this years Film London Jarman Award has been announced. The prestigious £10,000 prize celebrates the pioneering work of the UKs foremost artist filmmakers. The artists selected this year are: Cécile B. Evans Beatrice Gibson Mikhail Karikis Hetain Patel Imran Perretta Rehana Zaman From cutting edge digital animation to analogue 16mm film, the work of the shortlisted artists provides a barometer of the strength and diversity of artists working with moving image today. Flickering montages of news footage, real life action, surreal TV soap operas, intense musical scoring and collaborative work with children demonstrate the spectrum of innovation within the medium. Audiences are drawn into imagined realms and are gripped by compelling narratives, whilst continually being confronted with the urgent political climate ... More Miller & Miller Auctions announces results of sale of art, antiques and clocks held June 8thNEW HAMBURG.- A stunning pair of Handel Birds of Paradise table lamps lit up the room for a combined $20,650, two rare clocks by the Canadian clockmaker Pequegnat together made $12,165, and an oil on canvas forest scene by Canadian artist Homer Watson rose to $8,625 at a sale of art, antiques and clocks held June 8th by Miller & Miller Auctions, Ltd. The auction was held online and in Miller & Millers gallery located at 59 Webster Street in New Hamburg, Ontario. It was actually a two-day, two-session affair, held June 7th-8th, featuring over 700 lots of collector-grade art, clocks, fountain pens, lamps, art glass and objects of historical interest from world-class makers. June 7th was dedicated solely to rare, collectible fountain pens. The Saturday, June 8th session was led by a representative collection of clocks from the Arthur Pequegnat Clock ... More The personal collection of Moe Howard, founding member of The Three Stooges, to be auctionedLOS ANGELES, CA.- Nate D. Sanders Auctions will offer an astonishingly extensive trove of Moe Howards personal memorabilia on June 24-28. The auction features over 1,100 pieces including: a photo of Howard with Three Stooges creator Ted Healy; Howards handwritten draft for the short film Three Little Pigskins; an Uncivil Warriors poster; Howards passport signed Moses Hurovitz; a name-change application; original full-size posters; Three Stooges signed contracts; Howards personal scripts and his original manuscript for his autobiography. Interested bidders may participate in the Moe Howard auction online. Howards handwritten draft for the 1934 short film ''Three Little Pigskins'' was the fourth Three Stooges film released by Columbia Pictures. Howard wrote the two-page draft on two separate sheets of Columbia Pictures Corporation ... More Successful conclusion: paper positions basel 2019BASEL.- Basel once again proved to be an international art hotspot with an high-quality audience. The second edition of paper positions basel ended yesterday with a successful balance: the Berlin art fair format, which focuses on the medium of paper, presented this year 29 international galleries from 9 countries. Visitors were able to discover and rediscover the extraordinary variety of the "works on paper" on two floors of the Ackermannshof. The paper positions once again proved that Basel is ahead of the international competition in contemporary art. Good sales and an interested audience that has benefited from the sophisticated and dense program of the Basel Art Week throughout the city, have led the art fair and gallery owners to draw a positive conclusion. The high level of the exhibitors was rewarded by a well funded audience interested in art. Many ... More Thousands gather to pay homage to Italian director ZeffirelliFLORENCE.- Thousands of people lined up in central Florence Monday to pay their respects to Italian film-maker and opera director Franco Zeffirelli, who died at the weekend. The crowd, many of whom had been queueing since early in the morning, broke into applause as the hearse carrying his coffin arrived at the Palazzo Vecchio, Florence's city hall. They applauded again when four pall-bearers carried it past the replica of Michelangelo's statue of David and inside the building. It will lie in state there for a day. Zeffirelli died on Saturday at the age of 96. His funeral will take place on Tuesday at 11:00 am (0900 GMT) at the city's Santa Maria del Fiore Cathedral. Zeffirelli started out in theatre but made his international reputation adapting classics to the screen, including many of Shakespeare's plays, attracting many major stars. Richard Burton and Elizabeth ... More VOLTA Basel 2019: 15 electrifying yearsBASEL.- Fifteen years is a landmark occasion for a contemporary art fair in this day and age. The art market and yearly calendar is mutable, with a sometimes turbulent ebb and flow of activity, resulting in the moving of dates, locations, and even occurrences. Thus, VOLTAs 15th anniversary and its second edition back at Elsässerstrasse 215, within the neighborhood of its inaugural edition from 2005, is an accomplishment. Further still, its assembly of 78 galleries, and the steady attention and sales they received throughout the week, is further proof of VOLTAs presence as a key platform for new international positions, from all ages and points of view, within Art Basel Week. When we started in 2005, with 23 galleries at the Voltahalle, we never dreamed our little project would last this long. Every year since then, at each edition, we have had both the ... More Italian crime writer Andrea Camilleri, 93, hospitalisedROME (AFP).- Italian crime writer and filmmaker Andrea Camilleri, 93, was admitted to intensive care in a Rome hospital with cardio-respiratory problems on Monday, local media reported, quoting his entourage. Camilleri "is in a critical condition and his prognosis is uncertain," the head of cardiology at the Santo Spirito hospital, Roberto Ricci, told Italian media. "The patient immediately underwent resuscitation (and his) cardio-respiratory functions were re-established," Ricci said, adding that a mechanical ventilator was helping him to breathe. The hospital will issue a new bulletin later in the day, Camilleri's entourage said. Born in Porto Empedocle, Sicily, Camilleri earned worldwide acclaim for his series of around 30 whodunnits starring inspector Salvo Montalbano in the fictitious Sicilian city of Vigata. The works were turned into a TV ... More Exhibition revolves around the complex emotional relationship between humans and technologyFRANKFURT.- The Frankfurter Kunstverein has invited Yves Netzhammer, Theo Jansen, and Takayuki Todo to present a selection of their works in solo shows, under the shared thematic title Empathic Systems. The exhibition revolves around the complex emotional relationship between humans and technology. Communication processes no longer only happen from human to human, but between humans and technology. Digital technologies are also increasingly exchanging data solely between each other. Netzhammer, Jansen und Todo work at the intersection of engineering and computer science with psychology, cognitive science, neuroscience, and ethics. They bring together a variety of technical, artistic, and psychological principles. The works elicit a level of feeling in the human viewer that is not always linguistically graspable, but instead appeals to an ... More |
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Flashback On a day like today, Flemish painter Rogier van der Weyden died June 18, 1464. Rogier van der Weyden (1399 or 1400 - 18 June 1464) was an Early Netherlandish painter whose surviving works consist mainly of religious triptychs, altarpieces and commissioned single and diptych portraits. He was highly successful and internationally famous in his lifetime; his paintings were exported  or taken  to Italy and Spain, and he received commissions from, amongst others, Philip the Good, Netherlandish nobility, and foreign princes. In this image: Rogier van der Weyden, Werkstatt, Kreuzigung Christi (Abegg-Triptychon), um 1445, Eichenholz, Mitteltafel: 103,5 x 72,4 cm, Flügel: je 103,5 x 32,8 cm. Riggisberg bei Bern, Abegg-Stiftung. © Riggisberg, Abegg-Stiftung, Christoph von Virà g, 1999.
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