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Taste for the Imaginary: Ancient Roman homeowners liked a touch of fantasy in their frescoes
The Associated Press / September 23rd, 2009
ROME — Frescoes that once adorned Roman villas are going on display in a new exhibit that shows the tastes of ancient Rome's wealthy through landscapes and the representation of gods and goddesses. The exhibit "Roman Imperial Painting," which opens today, is at the Scuderie del Quirinale, a ...
D.C.'s Gone Postal: Pimco founder gives $8 million to National Postal Museum
Bloomberg / September 22nd, 2009
Bill Gross, the founder of Pacific Investment Management Co. and an avid stamp collector, has given $8 million to the National Postal Museum in Washington to create a gallery that will exhibit some of his most prized acquisitions. The 12,000-square-foot William H. Gross Stamp Gallery will house ...
Art Moscow Opens: Russian art fair hopes billionaires will be back buying
Bloomberg / September 22nd, 2009
Russia’s biggest contemporary-art fair opens tonight, trying to lure billionaire collectors after a year in which they reduced purchases as their wealth declined. Art Moscow, showing works from 40 Russian and international galleries, was postponed from May by its organizer, Expo Park Exhibition ...
He Helped Focus LA's Modern Image: Julius Shulman memorialized
LA Times Arts / September 21st, 2009
Over the weekend, architects, photographers, curators, historians, family members and a few celebrities paid tribute to the man who helped shape LA's architectural image. Before his death in July, photographer Julius Shulman was the greatest living symbol of the idea that Los Angeles and its ...
Gifts Between Great Artists: Jasper Johns, Robert Rauschenberg at auction
New York Times Art / September 22nd, 2009
On Nov. 10 and 11, Christie’s will auction a painting by Jasper Johns, works by Robert Rauschenberg, and other presents given to Merce Cunningham, the dancer and choreographer who died in July. Property from Cunningham's partner in work and life, the composer John Cage, who died in 1992, are part ...
Old is New Again: Vintage fashion brightens up U.K.'s 'Antiques Roadshow'
Daily Mail / September 21st, 2009
Posing in a brightly-coloured dress, Fiona Bruce could be on any magazine shoot. Except that she is wearing a vintage Pucci dress and claiming that 1970s outfits are now 'antiques'. The Antiques Roadshow presenter has revealed that the BBC show is broadening the idea of antique to include your ...
Penchant for Trucks: Renowned antique toy collection goes to auction
ABC News / September 21st, 2009
Donald Kaufman, whose family founded the chainstore KB Toys, is parting with his 7,000-item antique toy collection in a series of auctions. The first auction of 1,400 toys garnered $4.2 million. The next sale will be held by Bertoia Auctions in Vineland, New Jersey, on Sept. 25 and 26. "To me, ...
Grand Rivals: JMW Turner versus the masters at Tate Britain
Guardian / September 21st, 2009
LONDON - Preview 'Turner and the Masters,' a major new show that places paintings by JMW Turner alongside the masterpieces that inspired them. Turner repeatedly pitted himself directly against both the old masters and his contemporaries, including Titian, Poussin, Rembrandt, Rubens, Watteau and ...
Cashing in on Celebrity: Ebay sellers part with Kennedy's artwork
Cape Cod Times 1 / September 21st, 2009
HYANNIS, MASS. – In the few weeks since his death, paintings and prints by Senator Edward M. Kennedy have increased in value – not quite to the point of, say, an undiscovered Picasso, but enough that a few people put them up for sale on eBay and have gotten from just over $500 to more than ...
Before the Desert: O'Keeffe's 'more interesting' work at the Whitney
New York Times / September 20th, 2009
There are two Georgia O’Keeffes. They’re closely related, but one is far more interesting than the other. Not so interesting, except maybe as a marketing phenomenon, is the post-1930s cow-skull painter and striker of frontier-priestess poses. More interesting, and less familiar, is the artist ...
Travel Posters Take Flight: Collectibles ignite fierce bidding in U.K.
New York Times Art / September 18th, 2009
At the Sept. 9 Christie's sale in London of ordinary 20th-century posters and commonplace furniture, buyers ignored the recession. The finest lot was an Art Deco lithograph, “Nord Express,” designed by Cassandre in 1927 under the twin influence of Cubism and Italian Futurism. That shot up to ...
Polar Medals Have Admirers: Six-figures for Endurance expedition glory
London Times / September 20th, 2009
The medals of one of the world’s greatest polar explorers have been sold by auctioneer Dix Noonan Webb in London for £132,000, more than double what was expected. Frank Wild, CBE, received four Polar Medals from the Royal Geographical Society, the only man to hold so many, and was part of ...
Richly-storied Rembrandt: Old Master headliner with record price estimate
NY Times / September 20th, 2009
Polish-born collector Barbara Piasecka Johnson, widow of the heir to the Johnson & Johnson pharmaceutical fortune, is parting with her monumental Rembrandt. “Portrait of a Man, Half-Length, With His Arms Akimbo,” from 1658, not seen by the public for nearly 40 years, is being sold at ...
Big Names, Small Budget: Funding-strapped Tate annnounces major Gauguin, Picasso shows
Guardian / September 17th, 2009
LONDON - Tate reveals an exciting lineup of blockbuster exhibitions for the coming year although funding is yet to be fully secured for its ambitious redevelopment plans. The schedule includes the first major Gauguin exhibition in London for half a century, assembling over 100 works next ...
'Sargent and the Sea': WaPo critic reviews the 'pioneering' Corcoran show
Washington Post / September 17th, 2009
Washington, D.C. - By the end of 1879, John Singer Sargent, one of the greatest of American painters, was all wet, washed-up. I don't mean his career had tanked. He was only 23 years old, and had just begun to find critical success. Rather, most of Sargent's first pictures were not his famous ...
Book Review: 'I Sold Andy Warhol (Too Soon)'
Wall Street Journal / September 17th, 2009
In "I Sold Andy Warhol (Too Soon)," Richard Polsky weaves his personal story into the story of a business culture that has grown more venal and volatile in recent years. He paints art dealers as an entertainingly infantile, manipulative bunch. "The nature of the art business is that it's filled ...
Currier & Ives for a Cause: Housing Works to host ‘Early American Prints’ charity auction
WorthPoint / September 17th, 2009
NEW YORK – Housing Works Auctions announced today that on Wednesday, Oct. 7, it will host “Early American Prints,” a live charity auction to benefit the AIDS service organization. More than 60 fine prints from 19th-century America, including dozens by legendary engravers Currier & Ives, will ...
Niche Delights: Tait painting, carved decoy, "woolies" lead Northeast sale
Antiques & the Arts / September 16th, 2009
PORTSMOUTH, NH - Northeast Auctions' popular marine, China Trade, and sporting art auction on August 15 to 16 tallied around $3.4 million, including premium, on 1,200 lots, a smaller gross than in past years, when totals have approached $10 million. A graceful preening duck decoy by master carver ...
Rush on Jewelry: Market for high-end, antique bling is buoyant
Financial Times / September 16th, 2009
Although the economic downturn of the past 12 months has seen many auction categories suffer, jewellery has remained a robust performer, notably at the high end despite a significant fall in the market value of diamonds. In May, for example, Sotheby’s Geneva achieved a record price per carat for ...
Astor Trial Update: Closing arguments on the Hassam sale, will amendments
NY Times / September 16th, 2009
The changes that Brooke Astor made to her will giving her son a greater share of her fortune reflected the clearheaded love of a mother, not a failing mental state that allowed her to be easily exploited, a lawyer for her son said in his closing argument on Tuesday. The defense pointed to ...