| The First Art Newspaper on the Net |   | Established in 1996 | Wednesday, December 6, 2017 |
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| | Lubaina Himid becomes oldest winner of United Kingdom's Turner Prize | |
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The winning artist said she felt "like I won it for a lot of people, so that's why it means a lot.
LONDON (AFP).- Lubaina Himid, 63, on Tuesday became the oldest winner of the Turner Prize, Britain's most prestigious yet controversial visual art award, for her works celebrating black creativity. Judges praised the Zanzibar-born artist for the "seriousness of themes she addressed", paying tribute to the "current vitality of Lubaina's work as well as the current relevance" of it in three decades past. The winning artist said she felt "like I won it for a lot of people, so that's why it means a lot. "For all the black women who never did win it even though they've been shortlisted. It feels good for that reason." Musician Goldie presented the £25,000 ($32,000, 30,000 euros) award at the ceremony in Hull, northern England, to mark its year as UK City of Culture. The jury made its decision on the back of Himid's trio of exhibitions in Oxford, Bristol and Nottingham, which showcased her paintings, prints and installations. ... More |
| A petition decries 'suggestive' painting at New York's Met | | Thornton Triceratops gets new identity | | Murillo masterpiece returns to the Walker Art Gallery following revealing conservation work | 
The museum does not intend to remove the painting or modify the placard hanging next to it, a source close to the Met told AFP.
NEW YORK, NY (AFP).- More than 9,000 people as of Tuesday have signed a petition demanding New York's Met museum remove or contextualize a Balthus painting depicting a young girl in a "suggestive" pose. Critics of the work by the French-Polish artist known as Balthus, born Balthasar Klossowski de Rola, say it is inappropriate considering the aftermath of the Harvey Weinstein scandal, which triggered a national conversation about sexual misconduct and a barrage of accusations against prominent personalities. The 1938 painting entitled "Therese Dreaming" shows a girl sitting with her leg up on a chair, causing her skirt to slide above her thighs, revealing her underwear. Mia Merrill, who authored the petition, called it "disturbing" that the Metropolitan Museum of Art -- one of the world's top fine art institutions -- would ... More | | 
Torosaurus latus. Image: Sergey Krasovskiy.
DENVER, CO.- After a month of careful cleaning and examination by volunteers and staff at the Denver Museum of Nature & Science, a nearly complete dinosaur skull and partial skeleton discovered in Thornton, Colo., and originally determined to be a Triceratops has been reidentified. The frill, or the shield of bone projecting backward from the head, shows that the specimen is instead a rare Torosaurus, a close cousin of Triceratops. The two animals are nearly indistinguishable because both had a large horn over each eye and a smaller nose horn. During excavation, it was assumed the fossils belonged to the more common Triceratops. However, unlike Triceratops, Torosaurus had a longer, thinner, and more delicate frill, with two very large holes. These frill features were revealed as the skull was cleaned and compared to Triceratops specimens already in the Museum collections. Not only is the fossil more complete ... More | | 
Murillo's altarpiece is installed at the Walker following major conservation work. Photo: Gareth Jones.
LIVERPOOL.- The Walker Art Gallery has welcomed back Virgin and Child in Glory (1673), an altarpiece by Bartolomé Esteban Murillo (1617-1682), following a major conservation project. The project has revealed more about the dramatic history of the painting, and about the skills and techniques employed by the renowned Spanish artist. The altarpiece was originally commissioned by the Archbishop of Seville (1670-1684) Ambrosio Ignacio SpÃnola y Guzmán, to form the centrepiece of a private chapel in his palace. However, in the late 18th century its central section was cut out and a copy was inserted. In 1862, the original pieces were reunited, before it was acquired by the Walker in 1953. For the first time, the copy is displayed next to the original altarpiece, along with a modello (preparatory study) which would likely have been produced by the artist to show to his patron before ... More |
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| Sotheby's New York to offer the earliest known illuminated Hebrew Bible from Spain | | Save Venice Inc. restores Titian's Madonna di Ca' Pesaro | | Harvard Art Museums acquire Kara Walker drawing | 
This Bible leads Sotheby's annual Sale of Important Judaica and is estimated to sell for $3.5/5 Million. Courtesy Sothebys.
NEW YORK, NY.- Sothebys New York sale of Important Judaica on 20 December will offer one of the finest decorated Hebrew Bibles from Spain to ever come to auction. Produced in Castile during the first half of the 14th century, this distinguished illuminated manuscript is a remarkable testament to the cross-cultural influences in the Golden Age of medieval Spain. Hailing from the renowned collection of J.E. Safra, the Bible will be offered this December with a pre-sale estimate of $3.5/5 million. As the earliest-known complete illuminated Hebrew Bible from Spain to ever appear at auction, the Bible is superlative in a number of ways. It is one of only six complete, decorated Hebrew Bibles in private hands. Of those examples, only three have come to auction in the past century. This distinguished illuminated Hebrew Bible is an exceptionally important exemplar of medieval book arts and literary culture. The tradition of Hebrew Bible production w ... More | | 
Titian, Madonna di Ca Pesaro After Restoration, 15191526. Church of Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari, Venice. Photo by Matteo de Fina.
VENICE.- Titians famed Madonna di Ca' Pesaro can once again be admired by visitors to the church of Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari in Venice following a painstaking four-year conservation treatment funded by the American nonprofit organization Save Venice Inc. with major support from The Thompson Family Foundation, Inc. and The Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust. The restoration campaign for the monumental altarpiece successfully addressed the grave instability of the painted surface layer, which in many areas had cracked, bubbled, and even completely flaked away. This condition had plagued Titian's masterpiece for at least the last two centuries and threatened the permanent loss of the artist's exquisite figures, details, and colors. The success of the restoration is owed to a team of conservators led by Giulio Bono and Italy's top restoration chemists, expert photographers and imaging technicians, specialized art han ... More | | 
Harvard Art Museums curators Mary Schneider Enriquez and Edouard Kopp viewing Kara Walkers U.S.A. Idioms at the museums Somerville Research Center. Photo: Tara Metal; © President and Fellows of Harvard College.
CAMBRIDGE, MASS.- The Harvard Art Museums have acquired U.S.A. Idioms (2017), a monumental drawing created by artist Kara Walker in the summer of 2017 amid heightened political turmoil and racial violence across the country. This unrest culminated most visibly in the white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, in August that left one dead and more than twenty injured. The large-scale worknearly 12 by 15 feetwas included in Walkers highly regarded Fall 2017 exhibition, Sikkema Jenkins and Co. is Compelled to Present the Most Astounding and Important Painting show of the fall Art Show viewing season!, presented at the New York gallery. In her artists statement for the exhibition, written and delivered after the Charlottesville rally, Walker wrote: I am tired, tired of standing up, being counted, tired of having a voice, or worse, being a role model. Tired, true, of being a feat ... More |
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| Jean d'Ormesson, France's 'prince of letters', dies aged 92 | | Sierra Leone's huge 'peace diamond' fetches $6.5 mn | | Trio to replace disgraced Levine at Met for much-awaited 'Tosca' | 
This file photo taken on February 22, 2006 shows French writer Jean d'Ormesson posing at his home in Paris. Writer Jean d'Ormesson died in the night at the age of 92, his daughter said on December 5, 2017. Olivier Laban-Mattei / AFP.
PARIS (AFP).- Jean d'Ormesson, an aristocrat and prolific author who was among France's most popular intellectuals, died early Tuesday, his daughter told AFP. He was 92. Hailed by President Emmanuel Macron as the "prince of letters", d'Ormesson became the youngest member of the Academie Francaise, France's elite literary body, in 1973. The count -- whose full name was Jean Bruno Wladimir Francois-de-Paule Le Fevre d'Ormesson but went by the nickname Jean d'O -- wrote around 40 largely autobiographical novels. He made his cinema debut aged 87 in 2012 playing former Socialist president Francois Mitterrand in a comedy, "Haute Cuisine", based on the true story of the leader's chef.
D'Ormesson had been a regular guest at Mitterrand's table. Thin, elegantly turned out with mischievous blue eyes, the bon vivant d'Ormesson was a frequent face on French television. Little known abroad ... More | | 
The Peace Diamond is on display at the Rapaport Group on December 4, 2017 in midtown New York. The government of Sierra Leone has sold a 709 carat rough diamond for $6.5 million. Named the Peace Diamond, $3.8 million of the proceeds will directly benefit 250,000 inhabitants of a region with no school, hospital, clean water, roads or electricity. TIMOTHY A. CLARY / AFP.
NEW YORK (AFP).- A huge so-called "peace diamond" sold by the government of Sierra Leone to discourage crime-tainted "blood diamonds" fetched $6.5 million on Monday. The 709-carat stone, which was unearthed in March, is the largest discovered in Sierra Leone in almost a half-century and is between the 10th and 15th largest ever found worldwide, experts say. Found by a company led by evangelical Pastor Momoh, the diamond was given to the government in the hopes it would handle the sale in a way that leaves more profits and development potential in Sierra Leone. British jewelers Laurence Graff purchased the stone, according to Martin Rapaport, whose group hosted the auction. The government was expecting about $7 million. "Perhaps we're dealing with ... More | | 
New York's Metropolitan Opera stands in Lincoln Center on December 4, 2017 in New York City. Spencer Platt/Getty Images/AFP.
NEW YORK (AFP).- New York's Metropolitan Opera announced Tuesday that a trio of conductors will step in to lead its much-awaited but turbulent "Tosca" production after James Levine was suspended over sexual abuse allegations. The leading US opera house said French conductor Emmanuel Villaume will take the podium for the high-profile New Year's Eve gala premiere of "Tosca" as well as six later performances. English conductor and singer Gareth Morrell will take the baton on January 18 and another French conductor, Bertrand de Billy, will helm performances in April and May. The move comes after Levine, who had become a legend as the Met's music director for 40 years and had retained an honorary position, was removed following abuse allegations by at least four musicians. The Met has hired a former US prosecutor to investigate the allegations against the 74-year-old Levine, who the former students say forced them into sexual acts when they were teenagers. Villaume conducted "Tosca," one ... More |
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| Ferdinand Hodler's "Thunersee" soars to CHF 4.3 million as winter landscapes triumph at Sotheby's Zurich | | Toledo Museum of Art adds three Native American works of art to its collections | | The Redwood Library & Athenaeum opens Paris Salon exhibition | 
Ferdinand Hodler, Thunersee mit Stockhornkette im Winter. Sold for: CHF 4,292,400 / EUR 3,679,200. Courtesy Sothebys.
ZURICH.- This evenings sale of Swiss Art/Swiss Made confirmed Sothebys dominance of the market for the finest and rarest works of art by key Swiss artists. The auction was a celebration of the countrys artistic wealth, as masterpieces by Ferdinand Hodler and Ernst Ludwig Kirchner drove the auction total to a three-year high for this category at Sothebys of CHF 7,938,024 / EUR 6,804,021. This brings Sothebys total sales of Swiss Art in 2017 to CHF 13,111,274 (EUR 11,531,493). Sales of Swiss Art at Sothebys are attracting more and more international collectors, as well as a new wave of participants who have never bid in this category before. In addition to masterworks by Switzerlands most important painters, this evenings auction also success for contemporary artists including Rémy Zaugg, Richard Paul Lohse and Verena Loewensberg. There were also strong prices for works by Christo - a perfect exa ... More | | 
Polychrome Pottery Jar, Santo Domingo Pueblo, 1865-1875, native clay, pigment, 19 Ã 16 in. (48.3 Ã 40.6 cm), Toledo Museum of Art (Toledo, Ohio), Gift of The Georgia Welles Apollo Society, 2017.16.
TOLEDO, OH.- Earlier this year the Toledo Museum of Art acquired three significant Native American works of art for its growing collection of Indigenous Art from around the world. The objects are on display together in an installation titled Collecting Now: Recent Acquisitions in the Museums Canaday Gallery through Dec. 31, 2017. TMA purchased the objects from three separate galleries in Santa Fe and New York with funds from the Museums Georgia Welles Apollo Society. These stunning objects truly exemplify the collective spirit of the Apollo Society and the Museums collections policy to acquire works of the highest quality in a variety of media, said TMA Director Brian Kennedy. They also represent our goal to broaden our collecting practices to include more Indigenous works of art, historical to contemporary, from around the world. The objects include a womans manta ... More | | 
Honore Daumier, Traditional Art Lovers More and More Convinced that French Art is Doomed, Lithograph (1852).
NEWPORT, RI.- The Redwood Library & Athenaeum launched its latest exhibition, Modernity vs. Tradition: Art at the Parisian Salon 1750-1900 on Friday, December 1st. The show traces the 200-year history of the Salon through a rich gathering of prints, pamphlets, press images and published criticism. The signal aesthetic space of modern spectacle culture, the Parisian Salon remains the indispensable precursory context that gave rise to virtually everything defining todays art world: from superstar artists and the art market to museum exhibitions and biennales; from consumer culture to institutionalized art history. We havent traditionally apprehended the Salonthe principal expression of the Parisian high art scenefrom this sort of bottom-up perspective. Yet its evolution into a popular cultural phenomenon comparable to the Super Bowl gives us a view onto a time when art had mass appeal, said Redwood Executiv ... More |
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ArtdailyVideos Open House (Episode 5) | AT THE MUSEUM
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 Christiane Paul named Director + Chief Curator of Galleries at Parsons School of DesignNEW YORK, NY.- Christiane Paul, professor in the School of Media Studies at The New School and adjunct curator of digital art at the Whitney Museum of American Art, has been named director and chief curator at Sheila C. Johnson Design Center (SJDC) at Parsons School of Design. She succeeds Radhika Subramaniam, who led the SJDC as its first director/chief curator from 2009 to 2017 and who will return to her faculty position at Parsons. In her new role, Paul will be responsible for creating a diverse and socially relevant schedule of exhibitions and public programs that provoke intellectual and creative engagement with The New School and New York City communities. In addition to overseeing a high quality curatorial program, her role entails the development of partnerships with museums, galleries, and nonprofit cultural and educational organizations. ... More Site-specific sculpture unveiled in Sydney CBD's Wynyard Station suspended above a bank of escalatorsSYDNEY.- Australian contemporary artist and sculptor Chris Fox has unveiled a major site specific installation suspended from the ceiling above a bank of escalators inside Wynyard Station in Sydneys CBD. The work, titled Interloop, is a hovering sculpture that loops together two pairs of reconfigured heritage escalators measuring more than 50 metres in length and incorporating 244 wooden escalator treads and 4 escalator combs from the historic Wynyard escalators. Artist Chris Fox commented: Connecting yesterday and tomorrow, Interloop interrogates the conceptual and material boundaries between art and architecture. It is a physical re-interpretation of the historic wooden-stepped Wynyard escalators initially built in 1931, that re-purposes the hardwood from the heritage treads of now retired escalators, into a sculpture weighing over five tonnes. Taking ... More Turner Auctions + Appraisals to offer the Anita Hellman Collection of Costume & Fine JewelrySAN FRANCISCO, CA.- Turner Auctions + Appraisals will feature the Anita Hellman Collection of Costume and Fine Jewelry, just in time for holiday gift-giving. Offering over 95 lots amassed over 50 years, the collection includes necklaces, bracelets, rings, pendants, brooches and pins, charms and several watches. Many of the pieces feature cultured pearls or precious or semi-precious stones and materials, including gold, platinum, diamonds, emeralds, rubies, sapphire, peridot, jade, aquamarine, garnet, citrine, tigers eye and turquoise. The sale also includes watches by Patek Philippe and Bucherer; and hardstone, shell and lava cameos. Among the diverse costume jewelry makers are Kenneth Jay Lane, William De Lillo, Bauer, Joseff of Hollywood, Hattie Carnegie, Eisenberg, Ciner, Trifari, Francisco Rebaje, Cini, Weiss, Coro, and Boucher, Matisse and Renoir. ... More Jonathan Wong appointed to head Sotheby's S/2 Gallery in Hong KongHONG KONG.- Sothebys announced the appointment of Jonathan Wong as Gallery Director, responsible for originating and presenting selling exhibitions for Sothebys S|2 Gallery in Hong Kong. In addition, he will continue to support Sothebys auctions of Contemporary Art in Asia. Kevin Ching, CEO of Sothebys Asia, comments: In his ten years with Sothebys, Jonathan has made considerable contributions to the success of our contemporary art auctions. We are delighted that he has taken on the position of Gallery Director where his expert knowledge will bring added strength to our selling exhibitions. With Jonathans extensive market insight, curatorial expertise and excellent client relationships, I am confident that Sothebys S|2 Gallery will continue to create new opportunities and exciting experiences for our buyers, sellers and the public alike through our robust ... More The couture fashion jewellery of Shaun Leane achieves $2.6 million at Sotheby'sNEW YORK, NY.- Yesterday in New York, Sothebys auction of Couture Fashion Jewellery: The Personal Archive of Shaun Leane totaled $2.6 million, outshining the sales high estimate of $2 million. The dedicated auction of over 40 works created by British jewellery designer Shaun Leane offered collectors and enthusiasts a unique opportunity to acquire pieces of fashion history many of which debuted in Alexander McQueens runway collections from 1996 through 2008, and appeared in The Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Victoria & Albert Museums blockbuster retrospective of his work in 2011 and 2015, respectively. The auction was led by the remarkable Coiled Corset, which more than doubled its high estimate when it sold for $807,000 after a bidding battle lasting more than five minutes. The Corset, created for McQueens Autumn/Winter 1999-2000 The Overlook ... More Ansel Adams Museum set to highlight photographs auction at DoyleNEW YORK, NY.- An Ansel Adams Complete Museum Set will be auctioned during Doyles sale of Photographs on Thursday, December 14 in New York. Spanning Adams entire career, the Set of seventy-five images includes all of the artists best-known work. The exquisite prints are of scrupulous quality, prepared under Adams direct supervision, and all are signed by the legendary photographer. Acquired by a private collector from Adams in 1981, the Set was donated to The College of New Rochelle in 2012 and is being auctioned on their behalf. This is among the most comprehensive Museum Sets known to exist, as such Sets more typically consist of between twenty-five and fifty images. It will be offered as a series of seventy individual lots with estimates ranging from $3,000-5,000 to $30,000-$50,000. The majestic five image Surf Sequence will be offered as a ... More The Warhol appoints Clark Crowley-Bunyard Advancement DirectorPITTSBURGH, PA.- The Andy Warhol Museum has appointed Clark Crowley-Bunyard as its new advancement director. Crowley-Bunyard was previously senior development director at buildOn in Boston, Massachusetts. He assumed his role at The Warhol on November 27, 2017. At buildOn, Crowley-Bunyard was the sole development professional supporting fundraising activities in Greater Boston. His responsibilities included fundraising, and successfully planning and securing donations in support of their annual fundraising dinner. Crowley-Bunyard also presented fundraising best practice trainings to members of the national development staff. Prior to working for buildOn, Crowley-Bunyard worked for the YMCA of Greater Boston as their regional development director and at the Boston Center for Adult Education as the education program manager ... More Galerie Max Hetzler opens exhibition of recent works by Toby ZieglerPARIS.- Galerie Max Hetzler Paris is presenting an exhibition of recent works by Toby Ziegler. This is his second solo show at the Paris gallery. Toby Ziegler investigates digital forms of images and ways of producing shapes. He is especially interested in the approximation that results from reproduction and decontextualisation of forms or pictorial spaces and has always taken interest in the slippage from the digital into the physical. The works exhibited refer to Henri Matisses oeuvre which had a strong influence on Toby Ziegler ever since his childhood, starting from Large Reclining Nude (1935) that blurred the lines between figuration and abstraction. The full-size figure in contrapposto cast in aluminium entitled Slave, ... More Sotheby's Department of Scientific Research celebrates first anniversaryNEW YORK, NY.- One year ago today, Sothebys announced the acquisition of Orion Analytical, the leading materials analysis and consulting firm in the art world, and hired its founder, Jamie Martin, to establish a Department of Scientific Research. It was the first and still only department of its kind in the auction world. In just one year, dramatic progress has been made in the integration of science and technology with the world-class expertise and provenance research behind the works of art, objects and wine offered by Sothebys. Jamie Martin, Director of Sothebys groundbreaking Department of Scientific Research, commented: Its been an incredibly energizing year for me at Sothebys. Im particularly inspired by my work with specialists worldwide it is the combination of their art historical knowledge with our laboratories analysis that has led to our most impactful determination ... More Carnegie International commits to fair artist payPITTSBURGH, PA.- Carnegie Museum of Art announced that the Carnegie Intl, 57th ed.,2018, has been certified by W.A.G.E. (Working Artists and the Greater Economy) as meeting its standards for paying artist fees. The International is the first biennial-style exhibition to become W.A.G.E. Certified. Accordingly, every participating artist or collective will be paid a standard minimum fee, set by W.A.G.E., for providing content to the exhibition. As curator Ingrid Schaffner says, Perhaps the most entrenched barrier to greater equity is the idea that art is a privilege. W.A.G.E.s activism brings recognition to the work artists doon top of actually making art!when they provide content for museums and exhibitions. W.A.G.E. is a New York-based activist organization which works to draw attention to economic inequalities that exist in the arts, and to resolve them. ... More Supercars and timeless classics triumph at multi-million pound Bond Street saleLONDON.- Bonhams Bond Street Sale took place in London on Saturday 2 December, and saw an impressive £8,605,940 realised from the 30 motor car entry. The top lot of the day was the 80s icon, the 1985 Ferrari 288 GTO Coupé, which achieved £1,883,333. Taking the second spot was the 1964 Aston Martin DB5 4.2-Litre Sports Saloon, originally owned by music legend Sir Paul McCartney. It achieved an incredible £1,345,500, demonstrating the power of provenance, and sold to a telephone bidder. A second Aston Martin DB5, this time a left-hand drive 1965 Vantage Saloon, was the second most valuable lot of the day, exceeding its pre-sale estimate of £600,000-800,000 when it realised £830,300. The English marque was popular throughout the sale, with the 1962 Aston Martin DB4 Series V Vantage Sports Saloon selling for £516,700, the 2004 Aston Martin ... More |
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Flashback On a day like today, photojournalist Alfred Eisenstaedt was born December 6, 1898. Alfred Eisenstaedt (December 6, 1898 - August 24, 1995) was a German-American photographer and photojournalist. He is renowned for his candid photographs, frequently made using various models of a 35mm Leica rangefinder camera. He is best known for his photograph capturing the celebration of V-J Day. In this image: 86 year-old Edith Shain and 78 year-0ld Carl Muscarello recreate the Famous 'Kiss Picture', Sunday 14 August 2005. The original couple in the iconic image, Edith Shain the nurse and Carl Muscarello the sailor was taken by Alfred Eisenstaedt 60 years ago do the day in Times Square on Victory Japan Day in 1945 to signify the end of World War Two. The Artist Seward Johnson created a life-sized sculpture of the kiss Unconditional Surrender for the event.
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