| | The First Art Newspaper on the Net |   | Established in 1996 | Tuesday, November 17, 2020 |
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| | Rehs Contemporary opens an exhibition of small works, perfect for decking the halls | |
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Lucia Heffernan, Distance Learning. Oil on panel, 14 x 11 inches.
NEW YORK, NY.- This holiday season, New York based gallery Rehs Contemporary is presenting a selection of small works as part of their exhibition, Not A Creature Was Stirring. On view online now, with more than 50 works on display, there are plenty of furry friends and critters to stuff your stockings! The five participating artists include the prolific Stuart Dunkel, Tony South, Beth Sistrunk, Lucia Heffernan and Kelly Houghton; while each artist has their own unique flair, all of these whimsical works are sure to brighten your day and bring some joy to your holiday celebration. Stuart Dunkel, who is said to have completed more than 3,000 paintings in his career, has a fresh set of works featuring his well-known muse, Chuckie the mouse. Among the bunch are some of the classic subjects, like Big Reach where Chuckie is stealing Oreos
or Cupcake Caper which is rath ... More |
The Best Photos of the Day Robert Rauschenberg's 'Rebus' is on display during a press preview of MoMAÂs first ever Fall Reveal at the Museum of Modern Art on November 13, 2020 in New York City. Cindy Ord/Getty Images/AFP
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| A Chagall curtain needs a new home with a tall ceiling | | Piano Nobile opens an exhibition devoted to Ben Nicholson's reliefs and drawings dating from 1955-1979 | | Ancient statue of Hermes dug up in Athens | 
Marc Chagall (1887-1985) Stage curtain for Mozart's 'The Magic Flute' (Finale). Created with the collaboration of Volodia Odinokov. Casein, aniline and gold-leaf on linen, 258 x 816 in (655.3 x 2072 cm). Designed, created and painted by Marc Chagall in 1966-67; Executed and painted by Volodia Odinokov in 1967. Estimate: $250,000-450,000. © 2020 Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York.
NEW YORK (NYT NEWS SERVICE).- Wanted: art lover with deep pockets and a high ceiling a very high ceiling. A 65-foot-high ceiling, 20 feet taller than the Hollywood sign, 25 feet taller than a telephone pole and 46 feet taller than a full-grown giraffe. The object in question is a stage curtain a riot of figures on a fiery red background not quite 44 feet wide that Marc Chagall created for a Metropolitan Opera production of Mozarts Die Zauberflöte (The Magic Flute) in the 1960s, at about the same time he designed the famous murals that flank the Mets lobby at Lincoln Center. The curtain is to be auctioned Tuesday in New York by Bonhams, which estimates that it will sell for $250,000 ... More | | 
Ben Nicholson, 1966 (greystone). Image courtesy Southampton City Art Gallery.
LONDON.- Piano Nobile is holding an exhibition devoted to Ben Nicholsons reliefs and drawings dating from 1955-1979 with loans from the British Council, Pallant House and Southampton City Art Gallery, including Greystone, 1966. The exhibition is being co-curated with Dr Lee Beard, Director of the Ben Nicholson Catalogue Raisonné project. Mid-20th century British artists who had genuinely international reputations can probably be counted on the fingers of one hand. One of them was Ben Nicholson who, in 1958, having just represented Britain at the Venice Biennale, left England to work in Switzerland, where he exhibited with the internationally recognised Beyeler Gallery in Basel and at the Kunsthalle in Bern, which staged a retrospective for him. Shortly after that he was also taken up by the American contemporary art gallery owned by André Emmerich, that boasted representation of some of the leading American Abstract ... More | | 
The marble head depicts the god in a mature age and is obviously a part of a herm. © ΥΠΠΟΑ.
ATHENS (AFP).- The head of an ancient statue of the Greek god Hermes has been unearthed during excavations for sewage system improvements in central Athens, the ministry of culture said Sunday. The "original artwork dating late 4th century BC or early 3rd century BC" is in good condition, a statement said. The marble head, found just 1.3 metres (four feet) under the pavement on the busy Aiolou street on Friday, "depicts the god in a mature age and is obviously a part of a herm", the statement added. Herms or Hermas are sculptures, usually of the head of Hermes, and sometimes a torso, which were set on a squared column erected at road crossings as signs. According to Greek mythology, Hermes was the son of Zeus and the messenger of the gods, who also protected travellers and merchants. The ministry gave no estimate of the value of the sculpture but it was immediately transported to a warehouse of the directorate of antiquities. On ... More |
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| Newton's daunting masterpiece had a surprisingly wide audience, historians find | | Marie-Antoinette's silk slipper fetches $50,000 | | Academy Museum gives Debbie Reynolds her due as a costume conservator | 
A copy of Isaac Newtons Philosophiae Naturalis Principia Mathematica,' with his own handwriting in the margins. Babson College/The Huntington Library via The New York Times.
by William J. Broad
NEW YORK (NYT NEWS SERVICE).- It had a reputation for unreadability. As its author walked by, a student at the University of Cambridge in England was said to have remarked: There goes the man that writt a book that neither he nor anybody else understands. Its hundreds of equations, diagrams and obscure references didnt help, nor that it was written in Latin, the scholarly language of the day. Isaac Newtons Philosophiae Naturalis Principia Mathematica, or Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy, published in London in 1687, nonetheless went on to become a scientific colossus. It unlocked the universe with its discovery of gravity and laws of planetary motion, and laid out a method of inquiry that became the gold standard. It was known as simply the Principia, the Principles. Now, historians have discovered that the first, limited edition of the seemingly ... More | | 
The 22.5 centimetre-long (8.8-inch), heeled shoe, roughly equivalent to a European size 36, is adorned with four ribbons and in good condition, apart from slight wearing of the silk, the Osenat auction house said.
PARIS (AFP).- A white shoe made of silk and goat leather that belonged to Marie-Antoinette, France's last queen before the 1789 revolution, sold for 43,750 euros ($51,780) on Sunday, the auctioneers said. The 22.5 centimetre-long (8.8-inch), heeled shoe, roughly equivalent to a European size 36, is adorned with four ribbons and in good condition, apart from slight wearing of the silk, the Osenat auction house said. With international collectors showing strong interest, Osenat said the price quickly rose from the reserve of 8,000 to 10,000 euros ($9,450 to $11,800) and was snapped up by an unidentified buyer. The sale took place in Versailles, the town west of Paris that was once home to France's royal court and where from her arrival at the age of 15 Marie-Antoinette enjoyed a lavish lifestyle. In the turmoil of the French Revolution the shoe ended up in the hands of Marie-Emilie Leschevin, a close friend of the queen's head chambermaid. Her family held on to it for generations ... More | | 
Todd Fisher, Debbie Reynolds son, surrounded by costumes from the late actresss collection, in Las Vegas, Oct. 20, 2020. Roger Kisby/The New York Times.
by Brooks Barnes
LOS ANGELES (NYT NEWS SERVICE).- For decades, Debbie Reynolds begged Hollywood to help her preserve and exhibit her vast collection of golden age costumes. These pieces are cultural touchstones that still carry the energy of the stars who performed in them, she once said, referring to legends like Elizabeth Taylor and Judy Garland. There is magic in every thread, button and bow. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences turned her down five times. Reynolds quoted an uninterested David Geffen in her 2013 memoir as once saying, Why dont you just sell that stuff? In debt, she finally had no other choice, auctioning Marilyn Monroes ivory-pleated halter dress that blew upward in The Seven Year Itch for $4.6 million and Audrey Hepburns lace Royal Ascot number from My Fair Lady for $3.7 million prices that shocked moviedoms aristocracy and proved Reynolds had been right. Also ... More |
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| Platypuses glow under blacklight. We have no idea why. | | Exhibition features works that encourage this spirit of reflectiveness | | For a leading light of Indian fashion, all that glitters is not gold | 
A squirrel glowing under UV light in the backyard of Jonathan Martin. It turns out all three North American flying squirrel species give off a bubble gum glow under UV light. Jonathan Martin/Northland College via The New York Times.
by Cara Giaimo
NEW YORK (NYT NEWS SERVICE).- When last we checked on the platypus, it was confounding our expectations of mammals with its webbed feet, duck-like bill and laying of eggs. More than that, it was producing venom. Now it turns out that even its drab-seeming coat has been hiding a secret when you turn on the blacklights, it starts to glow. As noted last month in the journal Mammalia, shining an ultraviolet light on a platypus makes the animals fur fluoresce with a greenish-blue tint. Theyre one of the few mammals known to exhibit this trait. And were still in the dark about why they do it if there is a reason at all. For most humans, ultraviolet light exists outside of the visible spectrum. But certain pigments can absorb it, drain off some of ... More | | 
Lucretia Moroni (b. 1960, Milan), In memory of Letizia (oak tree), 2013 (detail). Palladium print on 22-karat gold leaf.
NEW YORK, NY.- Nailya Alexander Gallery is presenting Festival of Light, a celebration of the holiday season and the coming New Year. As we near the end of 2020 and observe the rituals of Diwali, Thanksgiving, Chanukah, Christmas, and other festivities, we enter a time of both joy and reflection, and a period that is always characterized by an element of magic and the miraculous. These holidays are celebrations of light and of the future, and they help to illuminate the path out of a difficult and painful year toward a new era, a time of harmony and peace. Festival of Light features works that encourage this spirit of reflectiveness by turning our attention toward beauty and connecting us to deeper aspects of being. The photographs in this exhibition include works by Albarrán Cabrera (b. 1969, Spain), Denis Brihat (b. 1928, Paris), Ingar Krauss (b. 1965, East Berlin), Lucretia Moroni (b. 1960, Milan), Ann Rhoney ... More | | 
Fashion designer Manish Arora at his office in Noida, India, Nov. 22, 2008. Adam Ferguson/The New York Times.
by Alden Wicker and Elizabeth Paton
NEW YORK (NYT NEWS SERVICE).- In September, Manish Arora, a fashion designer once described as the John Galliano of India, announced that he was creating a pop-up restaurant in Paris, his adopted hometown, for the Holi festival. An Instagram slideshow, featuring the brightly colored maximalism that is the Indian designers signature, depicted Arora with assorted friends sampling traditional Indian snacks. Days later, he introduced a high-profile fashion collaboration with Amazon India, alongside three more of Indias most celebrated designers: JJ Valaya, Ashish Soni and Suneet Varma. Arora is also currently a member of the advisory council for the International Woolmark Prize, one of the most prestigious fashion awards in the world. At first blush, such ventures would seem like savvy lifestyle brand extensions for Arora, a former ... More |
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| Phillips announces online selling exhibition of works by Dindga McCannon | | Christie's announces Magnificent Jewels, New York | | Exhibition addresses the work of Piet Mondrian in the context of De Stijl | 
Dindga McCannon, Dancers #4. Price: $65,000. Image courtesy of Phillips.
NEW YORK, NY.- Phillips announced an online selling exhibition of works by artist Dindga McCannon. Featuring 11 paintings and mixed-media work, seven of which are new works executed this year, Phillips X Presents: Dindga McCannon has been organized directly with the artist, presenting a remarkable ensemble of works by McCannon that span her career. A founding member of the influential Weusi Artist Collective and Where We At offshoot of Black Women Artists in the 1970s, McCannon is a self-taught mixed media artist who works across print making, painting and textiles. A pioneering feminist and Black Pride artist, for 55 years McCannons work has celebrated Black Women. Phillips X Presents: Dindga McCannon will be on view online exclusively at Phillips.com from 16 November to 16 December 2020. With Where We At, our battle was with the outside ... More | | 
The du Pont Padparadscha sapphire ring weighing 24.58 carats. Estimate: $500,000-700,000. © Christie's Images Ltd 2020.
NEW YORK, NY.- Christies New York announces the December 8 auction of Magnificent Jewels and the preceding Jewels Online auction from November 18 to December 1, which together present over 500 lots. The live Âauction will offer over 380 jewels featuring a notable selection of colored diamonds, colorless diamonds, and gemstones, alongside important signed pieces by Suzanne Belperron, René Boivin, Bulgari, Cartier, David Webb, Harry Winston, JAR, Marina B, Tiffany & Co., Van Cleef & Arpels, and Verdura. Exceptional sapphires highlight the Magnificent Jewels auction, led by an extraordinary Kashmir sapphire and diamond bracelet of 43.10 carats surrounded by 67.90 carats of diamonds ($5,000,000-7,000,000). Other notable sapphires include a cabochon Kashmir sapphire ring of 21.72 carats by ... More | | 
Installation view.
MADRID.- Mondrian and De Stijl is an exhibition organized by the Museo Reina SofÃa and the Stichting Kunstmuseum den Haag with the collaboration of Comunidad de Madrid, that addresses the work of Piet Mondrian in the context of De Stijl, a Dutch artistic movement that shaped the future of geometrical abstract art and originated a profound change in visual culture after World War I. Mondrians concept of beauty based on the surface, on the structure and composition of color and lines, shaped a novel and innovative style that aimed at breaking down the frontiers between disciplines and surpassing the traditional limits of pictorial space. De Stijl, the magazine of the same name founded by the painter and critic Theo van Doesburg, was the platform for spreading the ideas of this new art and overcoming traditional Dutch provincialism. The first issue appeared in 1917, and the publication continued ... More |
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Ben Nicholson | Distant Planes 1955 - 1979
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 Folk art and historical material lead the way at Jeffrey S. Evans & Associates auctionMT. CRAWFORD, VA.- The Jeffrey S. Evans & Associates November 12th - 14th Premier Americana Auction was a landmark event and produced robust prices along with a few surprises - in multiple categories. The three-day format consisted of 1,908 lots of high-quality material from across the country, much of which was fresh to the market, and, in a number of cases, had descended directly in the families of the original owners. Bidding was intense throughout each day with thousands of registered bidders participating by phone and online in competition with a socially-distanced gallery crowd eager to acquire something rare and desirable. Session I on Thursday featured a wide selection of 18th & 19th century glass and lighting, comprising free-blown, pattern-molded, and pillar-molded wares; bottles and flasks; a fine collection ... More Tributes pour in for India acting legend Soumitra ChatterjeeKOLKATA (AFP).- Legendary actor Soumitra Chatterjee has been hailed as one of Indian cinema's leading lights after his death at the age of 85 from health complications after he contracted the coronavirus. Chatterjee appeared in around 300 films over six decades but was best known internationally for his work with Oscar-winning director Satyajit Ray. He was admitted to a Kolkata hospital after testing positive for Covid-19 last month and was kept there as he suffered further ailments linked to the virus, according to local media. The acting icon's condition deteriorated and he died on Sunday, his daughter Poulami Bose wrote on Facebook. Prime Minister Narendra Modi said Chaterjee's death was "a colossal loss to the world of cinema" and India's cultural life. "International, Indian and Bengali cinema has lost a giant. We will miss him ... More Holy smoke: Waterpipes keep bubbling in Iraqi shrine cityKARBALA (AFP).- Iraq's Karbala is known as a religious pilgrimage site, visited by millions of worshippers, but shisha-smokers revere it for a different reason: its signature wooden waterpipes. About 120 kilometres (75 miles) south of Iraq's capital, within walking distance of Karbala's two Shiite shrines, avid smokers drag puffs of fruit-flavoured tobacco from their tall pipes. The business of strictly gender-separated cafes has carried on, despite the heavy health risks associated with smoking and a full-blown pandemic that has brought an average of 4,000 new coronavirus cases a day to Iraq. Cafe owner Hassan Ali is serving endless streams of sweet tea -- a must in any Iraqi establishment -- to customers sipping on locally-made waterpipes. When they drag on the hand-held hose, the glass base full of water begins to bubble, cooling the smoke ... More Sory Bamba: Malian music's forgotten greatMOPTI (AFP).- Sory Bamba, a Malian music pioneer, spends his days ensconced in the courtyard of his home in the old quarter of Mopti, a town in the centre of the country on the edge of the Sahara. One of the original modernisers of Malian music, the 82-year-old infused traditional sounds with funk and jazz. He was also a dedicated talent scout. But few now remember Sory Bamba in Mali, a conflict-ridden state known to music fans for its strong guitar-playing tradition. Outside of the country, the musician is almost a complete unknown, though connaisseurs insist he belongs among the ranks of Mali's musical icons such as Ali Farka Toure or Salif Keita. "He is one of the greatest Malian musicians," says Cheick Tidiane Seck, a Malian musician himself whose blend of jazz and traditional music won him renown in the 1990s. But Bamba "is not someone who ... More The Armory Show announces curatorial team for the fair's September 2021 edition at the Javits CenterNEW YORK, NY.- For its September 2021 edition, the first to be held at the state-of-the-art Javits Center, The Armory Show continues its commitment to curatorially driven programming. These initiativesthe Focus and Platform sections of the fair, as well as the Curatorial Leadership Summitare an essential part of The Armory Show. Each one offers a unique perspective through which visitors can engage with critical issues and culturally significant themes in the context of modern and contemporary works of art. For the inaugural year at the Javits Center, Focus and Platform will join Galleries and Presents under one roof in a cohesive and integrated floorplan designed to optimize the fair experience for exhibitors and collectors alike. Wassan Al-Khudhairi, Chief Curator, Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis, will curate the Focus section; Claudia ... More How do tourist shops survive with no tourists?NEW YORK (NYT NEWS SERVICE).- Like many souvenir stores in New York City, Memories of New York in Manhattan is packed with shirts. They bear the logos of the New York Yankees and select subway lines, images of the Brooklyn Bridge and, of course, the familiar I (Heart) NY insignia that is a staple of city souvenir shops. The stores owner, Alper Tutus, said shirt sales are vital to his business. But since he reopened in August after closing in March because of the citys coronavirus lockdown, he hasnt sold a single one. Right now, it is absolutely zero sales, nobodys buying, said Tutus, 75, who opened the shop in the Flatiron neighborhood 25 years ago. Surrounded by New York-themed shot glasses, NYPD and FDNY caps, and a sea of mugs, postcards and key chains, Tutus said he recently renewed his lease at $70,000 ... More Catch the vibe: Club culture comes to life at Lincoln CenterNEW YORK (NYT NEWS SERVICE).- Its more than just another dance film born during the pandemic, because it is more than a dance. Its a celebration of a culture: the underground scene of New York City. UnderScored, by Ephrat Asherie, is also a rush, gliding across the screen like a wave of motion. The progression of rhythm, of bodies, of momentum are thrilling. It doesnt matter that the video, shot on the Lincoln Center campus, is short (it flies by at just under three minutes); it has layers of club culture and spirit embedded within it. Asherie has never made something so authentically herself. And its sheer exuberance? Well, that is Asherie. When I think about this little video, it does feel like weve been confined for so long, but here we are, she said in an interview. Heres the potential of growth and movement for us in our community. ... More After a writing break, she returned as a Booker finalistNEW YORK (NYT NEWS SERVICE).- When Tsitsi Dangarembgas debut novel, Nervous Conditions, was published in 1988, it was hailed as one of the 20th centurys most significant works of African literature. It tells the story of Tambudzai, a girl raised in poverty in what was then called Rhodesia, now Zimbabwe, as well as her fight to obtain an education and the challenges of entrenched gender inequality, Africa in the 1960s and 70s, and the postcolonial world. Her publisher soon wanted a sequel. But instead of plunging back in to writing, Dangarembga went to film school. I didnt think about prose for several years, she said in an interview. I had no headspace for writing. It wasn't until 2006 that a sequel, The Book of Not, came out, featuring Tambudzai, or Tambu, attending boarding school but increasingly disillusioned with her life, ... More Collectors seeking rare antique gambling machines hit the jackpot at Morphy's saleDENVER, PA.- Morphys high-stakes Oct. 29-31 auction of antique coin-op machines and early advertising tallied a whopping $5 million, with the only known example of a Caille Triple Centaur Jackpot musical upright slot machine leading the sales three-day results at a heady $240,000. Weeks before the live gallery auction took place, the smart money was already stacked on the table in the form of absentee bids and sign-ups to bid by phone or online through Morphy Live. This auction included outstanding examples of some of the most elusive coin-operated machines known, many of them coming from the Mel Getlan collection, one of the most authoritative collections of its type, said Tom Tolworthy, Morphy Auctions CEO and curator for the auction. Collectors were aware that they might never have another opportunity to bid ... More Holabird Western Americana Collections announces results of the 5-day "Spooktacular Sale"RENO, NEV.- A rare Wells Fargo and Company stock certificate from 1870 sold for $2,875, a 1960s-era 25-cent Jennings slot machine from the famous Nevada Club Casino brought $2,625, and a $1,000 Federal Reserve note from 1934 realized $2,500 at Holabird Western Americana Collections 5-day Spooktacular Sale held Oct. 29-Nov. 2, online and live at the Reno gallery. More than 3,600 lots in a wide array of collecting categories crossed the auction block over the course of the five days. We had a 75 percent sell-through. It would have topped 80 percent had it not been for the art category, said Fred Holabird, president and owner of Holabird Western Americana Collections. The auction attracted a registered bidder audience of more than 5,000 people who placed over 50,000 bids, representing over 750 separate buyers. It was ... More Rare Edwardian artwork by Austin Osman Spare discovered on back of watercolourLONDON.- A rare work by controversial English artist Austin Osman Spare (1886-1956) has been discovered on the back of an unassuming watercolour. The hidden painting, which bears a secret portrait of the artist in the bottom left-hand corner, was found by the current owner, when he decided to reframe a watercolour that had hung on his wall for many years. It will now be offered at auction, in a sale of Antiques & Collectibles at Mellors & Kirk auctioneers on 9th & 10th December, 2020, where it is estimated to fetch £2,000-£3,000. Speaking about the discovery Nigel Kirk, of Mellors & Kirk, said: We are thrilled that a work by Spare has been discovered after all this time. Much of what Spare produced was disturbing, which probably is the reason why this particular work only came to light when the vendor decided to re-frame a watercolour by an ... More |
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Flashback On a day like today, American sculptor Isamu Noguchi was born November 17, 1904. Isamu Noguchi (November 17, 1904 - December 30, 1988) was a prominent Japanese American artist and landscape architect whose artistic career spanned six decades, from the 1920s onward. Known for his sculpture and public works, Noguchi also designed stage sets for various Martha Graham productions, and several mass-produced lamps and furniture pieces, some of which are still manufactured and sold. In this image: Isamu Noguchi working in stone yard at his Mure, Japan studio, 1975. Photographer unknown.
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