ARTFIXdaily News Feed - Breaking News from the Art World

'Margaret Boozer: Dirt Drawings' at the American University Museum

Washington Post / July 23rd, 2009

Artist Margaret Boozer recalls her gut reaction upon seeing the "gorgeous" polished-concrete floors of the American University Museum, where her work is on view in a stunning first-floor installation: "Oh, I need to put some dirt on these floors."

Vital staffers have been leaving LACMA

LA Times Arts / July 23rd, 2009

Already down a Chinese art specialist, five other curators have left or are leaving the museum this year. Amid a financial crunch that has forced painful cutbacks at arts institutions across the country, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art is forging ahead on many ...

LiveAuctioneers launches iPhone app with auction-bidding capability

Auction News Central / July 22nd, 2009

NEW YORK - In a move that is expected to revolutionize the auction-bidding process, Manhattan-based LiveAuctioneers.com announces the debut of its custom-designed, downloadable iPhone application. On July 15 Christie's also divulged news of its own iPhone app.

Christie's to sell Annenberg's 32-carat diamond

Reuters / July 22nd, 2009

NEW YORK (Reuters Life!) - A giant gem will hit the auction block in New York this autumn with the sale of the 32-carat emerald-cut Annenberg diamond, which is expected to fetch as much at $5 million, Christie's said on Wednesday.  

LACMA learns to tweet en Español

LA Times Arts / July 22nd, 2009

Today, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art officially went bilingual on Twitter.  The museum launched a Twitter account, @enLACMA, that will provide Spanish-language tweets to online users. "We were looking for new ways for Spanish speakers to engage in the museum, and this is the next ...

For New Leader of the Arts Endowment, Lessons From a Shaky Past

New York Times Art / July 22nd, 2009

Political goodwill toward the National Endowment for the Arts is on the rise, and many are wondering if Rocco Landesman will be able to lead it, finally, into a new era.

Bankruptcy looms for venerable London antiques dealer

The Times / July 21st, 2009

(LONDON) Partridge Fine Art, the dealership set up in 1902 to buy antiques for Queen Mary, will be run by a bankruptcy specialist as the firm struggles with the global recession. The business, which sells to private clients, designers and institutions such as the Metropolitan Museum of Art, ...

Museums' new mantra: Connect with community

CS Monitor / July 21st, 2009

(LOS ANGELES) Relevance, responsiveness, interactivity is the new road map to success. From San Francisco to Jerusalem, museums are bustling with new construction – and new visions, strategic plans, and ambitious initiatives, not to mention visitors.  

Six Elmer Crowell Decoys Tally $1,817,000 At Copley

Antiques and the Arts / July 21st, 2009

(PLYMOUTH, MASS.) The preening pintail drake and the "snakey-neck" nesting Canada goose, two exceptional decoys carved by Elmer Crowell for one of his most discerning patrons, broke more than a half-million dollars each when auctioned by Copley Fine Art Auctions on Wednesday, July 15.

Surf auction catches bidders' waves

AP / July 21st, 2009

(HONOLULU) A surfboard more than a half-century old has sold for a record $40,000. Overall, the Hawaiian Islands Vintage Surf Auction on Sunday brought in more than $767,000 from 379 bidders from around the world for surfboards and memorabilia. The most expensive item was an 11-foot Bob Simmons ...

The French Resistance: Paris Art Market Defies the World

Luxist / July 20th, 2009

In the first three months of the year, Paris put up better auction results than London or New York, thanks to the Pierre Bergé-Yves Saint-Laurent sale at the Grand Palais back in February. Historically, Paris has lagged these two cities. For the first quarter, art prices in France came down only ...

U.K. Government Funding Cutbacks May Hit Tate, British Museum Projects

Artinfo / July 20th, 2009

The British culture minister says "there are too many schemes bidding for too little money."

White House and Cooper-Hewitt Kick Off Mini-Arts Week

UnBeige Mediabistro / July 20th, 2009

It's that time of year again, for the annual National Design Awards luncheon at the White House, now with an all new First Lady at the helm. With Michelle Obama running this Friday's luncheon...

Fontaine’s Civil War & Militaria Auction to be a Sure Fire Hit with Collectors

WorthPoint / July 20th, 2009

PITTSFIELD, Mass. – More than 500 lots of important Civil War items, rare and vintage firearms and all manner of militaria will cross the block in an auction featuring the lifetime collection of the late George J. Bisacca, whose mainly Civil War collection was housed in the Eastover Resort ...

The Museum of Modern Art: Amsterdam as Hub for Globetrotting Conceptualists

New York Times Art / July 20th, 2009

“In & Out of Amsterdam: Travels in Conceptual Art, 1960-1976” explores the relationship between early Conceptual art and globetrotting, with Amsterdam as a way station.

Art Auction Advances With Christie's iPhone Bidding App

Luxist / July 20th, 2009

The iPhone will stand alongside the gavel, if all goes well, as the implement by which an auction is defined. Christie's hopes that a new bidding application will attract new money bidders to the auction house, ideally to pick up some of the lots that aren't moving and to possibly push prices up ...

Schoolgirl samplers get high marks at auction

Auction Central News / July 19th, 2009

ASHEVILLE, N.C. - In a sale heavy with ornate Oriental carpets and elegant English and Tiffany silver, two humble Southern samplers topped all competitors at Brunk Auctions' sale on July 11.  The textile leader was a 17-line sampler by Buncombe County, N.C., resident Orry A. Alexander. Orry ...

An Offering Fit for the Emperors

New York Times Art / July 19th, 2009

The British Museum has acquired the Percival David collection of Chinese ceramic vessels, one of the most dazzling displays of Chinese porcelain anywhere.

Hundreds Try Out for Art-World Reality Show

New York Times Art / July 19th, 2009

The Bravo network held a casting call in New York City for a show in which 13 artists will compete to win a gallery show and other related prizes. Produced by "Sex and the City" star Sarah Jessica Parker...

Museum loses Meissen collection to recession

Auction Central News / July 17th, 2009

The Museum für Kunst und Gewerbe (MKG), Hamburg, is sad about July 31. That is the day the doors will close for good on the Hoffmeister Collection. The 400 pieces of exquisite Meissen Porcelain, which has been on long-term loan to the museum since 1999, is being repossessed by its owners, Horst ...