ARTFIXdaily News Feed - Breaking News from the Art World

Botched Church Art Restoration Raises $72,500 for Charity

Daily News / August 19th, 2013

Dubbed the "Monkey Jesus" painting, a botched restoration of a church fresco in Spain brought $72,500 from 70,000 visitors to raise funds for charity.

John Cleese Sells More Art in Wake of Divorce

Daily Mail / August 19th, 2013

Actor and comedian John Cleese will be selling another 100 paintings along with movie memorabilia from his collections exactly four years after his costly divorce from wife number three. A California court ordered Cleese to...

"Renaissance to Goya: Prints and Drawings from Spain" to Open in One US Venue

ArtfixDaily / August 15th, 2013

The New Mexico Museum of Art is the only American venue for the exhibition Renaissance to Goya: Prints and Drawings from Spain that is literally rewriting the book on Spanish art. After the British Museum in London, the Prado in Madrid and the Art Gallery of New South Wales in Sydney, Australia ...

Romanian Defendants Claim Stolen Masterpieces Still Exist

New York Times / August 13th, 2013

In Romania on Tuesday, defendants on trial for the theft of paintings worth tens of millions of dollars that were taken from the Kunsthal museum in the Netherlands last October say the artwork was not burned.

George Clooney Directs Film on World War II Art Plunder

LA Times / August 8th, 2013

"The Monuments Men," a new movie directed by and starring George Clooney, reveals a complex drama surrounding Europe's cultural treasures during World War II. Based on the historical fiction...

Vermeer Documentary Acquired by Sony Pictures Classics

ArtfixDaily / August 4th, 2013

In an unlikely pairing, Dutch master Vermeer is the subject of a new documentary directed by Teller, the shorter half of the magic duo Penn & Teller. Teller tells a tale of a Texas inventor named...

U.S. Could Pursue Art Collection of SAC Founder

Bloomberg / July 28th, 2013

One of the world's biggest art collectors, SAC founder Steven A. Cohen may lose some of his prized possessions now that the government has charged his $14 billion hedge fund with insider trading.

Suspect's Mother Retracts Statement on Burning Paintings

ArtfixDaily / July 22nd, 2013

A Romanian woman who is the mother of a suspect connected to the major art heist at Rotterdam's Kunsthal museum last fall has refuted her previous claim that she burned the paintings. On Monday, Olga Dogaru denied...

Relatives say Huguette Clark Unwell When Signing Second Will

ArtfixDaily / July 16th, 2013

New court filings say that copper mining heiress Huguette Clark was frail and unwell when she signed a second will that gives her $300 million fortune to her lawyer, accountant, and employees.

Stolen Kunsthal Artworks Possibly Burned by Suspect's Mother

ArtfixDaily / July 17th, 2013

Romanian investigators say that seven paintings stolen from Rotterdam’s Kunsthal museum last year may have been burned by a suspect's mother. The $130 million haul of artwork has been...

Over 400 of Picasso's Artworks Stolen, Claims Artist's Step-Daughter

ArtfixDaily / July 15th, 2013

About 407 works of art by Pablo Picasso are missing, says the artist's step-daughter Catherine Hutin-Blay. She suspects a former handyman stole the artworks from her home...

Rijksmuseum Scores Early Landscape of America; $9.5 Million Antique Chest Once Used as TV Stand

ArtfixDaily / July 14th, 2013

The Rijksmuseum has made two major recent acquisitions: one of the earliest known landscapes of America and an important 1640s lacquered chest that had recently been used as a TV stand. The Dutch museum paid $9.5 million, the second highest price ever for...

Burne-Jones' 'Love Among Ruins' Rises to $22 Million in Record-Setting London Sales

ArtfixDaily / July 11th, 2013

Rediscovered Victorian paintings and ethereal moonlit scenes proved popular with bidders at London auctions this week. A watercolor by Edward Burne-Jones sold at Christie's on Thursday for 14.8 million pounds ($22.3 million), a record-setting price at auction for a Pre-Raphaelite artwork.

Bernie Madoff Art Collection Goes Under Gavel

art / July 10th, 2013

Artwork from accused Ponzi-schemer Bernie Madoff's former offices in New York will head to auction later this year. While the collection does not rank...

Hirshhorn Museum Board Chair Resigns in Wake of Director's Exodus

Washington Post / July 10th, 2013

Constance Caplan, chair of the Hirshhorn Museum board of trustees, announced her resignation on Monday following an exodus that has included the museum's director and other board members. Former director Richard Koshalek's proposed $12.5 million...

Judge Rules for Hedge Fund to Take $33 Million in Art from Swindler

ArtfixDaily / July 9th, 2013

On July 2, Federal Judge Jed Rakoff upheld a decision to allow a hedge fund to take possession of 15 artworks from accused swindler Marc Dreier. A Harvard and Yale-educated lawyer (now disbarred), Dreier is...

Cleveland Museum of Art Wins Rare Titian Copy at Auction

http://www.cleveland.com/arts/index.ssf/2013/07/the_cleveland_museum_of_art_pa.html / July 8th, 2013

On July 4, Cleveland Museum of Art curator Jon Seydl celebrated his winning bid for an Englishman's copy of Titian’s famous 16th-century masterpiece, “Bacchus and Ariadne.” Beyond a masterful copy, the work was...

U.S. Authorities Seize $11.5 Million Picasso Painting

ArtfixDaily / June 25th, 2013

A U.S. district judge decided on Monday that a 1909 Pablo Picasso painting titled "Compotier et tasse," or "Fruit bowl and cup," will remain with U.S. authorities while criminal proceedings are underway against the painting's owner...

Portrait Returned to Family After Missing Since WWII

Bloomberg / June 24th, 2013

An oil portrait of Duchess Anna Amalia of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach painted by Angelika Kauffmann in her Rome studio in 1789 has been reunited with its rightful heir 70 years since...

Egon Schiele Artwork Becomes Most Expensive Online-Only Auction Sale

Forbes / June 24th, 2013

A 1916 watercolor by Egon Schiele brought the top price yet for an artwork offered in an online-only auction on Friday, according to German start-up Auctionata. Schiele's “Reclining Woman” sold for...