ARTFIXdaily News Feed - Breaking News from the Art World

Winterthur Museum boasts one of the earliest known American depictions of the Easter Bunny

ArtfixDaily / March 28th, 2013

Two years ago, Delaware's Winterthur Museum acquired one of the earliest known American depictions of the Easter Bunny, from Pook & Pook auction house in Downingtown, Pennsylvania.

A Case for Mixing Folk and Academic Art

New York Times / January 31st, 2013

After several major museums have renovated and expanded their American art galleries, the trend continues to separate folk and outsider art from academic art. Usually, folk art is relegated to a smaller, lesser space than more realistic, academic artworks.

American Folk Art Museum to Return Most of Esmerian Gift

ArtfixDaily / January 2nd, 2013

Last month, a motion was filed in U.S. Bankruptcy Court for New York's American Folk Art Museum to relinquish 210 objects promised by former benefactor Ralph Esmerian.

Wendell D. Garrett, Decorative Arts Specialist, Remembered

Antiques & the Arts Weekly / November 20th, 2012

Wendell D. Garrett, well-known as an American decorative arts expert on the TV series "Antiques Roadshow" and as an editor of The Magazine Antiques, died in Williston, Vermont, on Nov. 14. He was 83.

Saint Louis Art Museum Restores an American Treasure

ArtfixDaily / April 24th, 2012

This summer, the Saint Louis Art Museum unveils "Restoring an American Treasure: The Panorama of the Monumental Grandeur of the Mississippi Valley." The second of a two-part exhibition series, this behind-the-scenes look at conservation of the 348-foot Panorama is a continuation of work begun in ...

Americana Week Tops $47 Million in Auction Sales

Antiques and the Arts / January 26th, 2012

Nearly $47 million was spent on American art and antiques at five auction houses during Americana Week in New York. About 2,000 lots were offered in sales from January 16 to 22 during the focused series of events that includes a host of related antiques fairs, gallery shows, and museum exhibitions. Five highlights from the sales:

American Folk Art Museum Rings in 2012 with New Exhibit, Major Donations

ArtfixDaily / January 20th, 2012

A recent $3.5 million in gifts is allowing the American Folk Art Museum to keep its doors open in Lincoln Square on New York's Upper West Side. Last week, a new exhibit opened, "Jubilation/Rumination, Life: Real and Imagined," in the 5,000 square foot space. The 100-piece exhibit is drawn from ...

$1 Million Dollar Sampler, $3.5 Million Highboy Star at Sotheby's

ArtfixDaily / January 22nd, 2012

A John Townsend high chest, inscribed Newport 1756, had it all: original finish, hardware, and finial; impeccable provenance; and style representing the pinnacle of colonial American craftsmanship. From a $2-3 million presale estimate, the piece soared to $3,554,500 at Sotheby's Important ...

American Folk Art Museum May Exhibit at Seaport Museum

GalleristNY / December 20th, 2011

Two New York museums that have narrowly survived the current economic times will possibly partner together in a series of exhibitions hosted by the Seaport Museum in 2012. Earlier this year, the American Folk Art Museum was forced to...

First Retrospective of Early African American Artist Julien Hudson at Worcester Art Museum

ArtfixDaily / December 13th, 2011

A groundbreaking exhibition opened Dec. 9 at the Worcester Art Museum entitled “In Search of Julien Hudson: Free Artist of Color in Pre-Civil War New Orleans.” Julien Hudson (1811-1844) is the second-earliest documented portrait painter of African descent to work in the United States. ...

New Tuscaloosa Museum of Art to Showcase Important American Art

ArtfixDaily / December 12th, 2011

Last week, the Tuscaloosa Museum of Art opened its doors, finally giving a home to the art collection assembled by Jack Warner. Earlier this year, the Jack Warner Foundation and Westervelt Company separated, leaving the fate undetermined as to where their respective collections would be housed. ...

Auction Records Set for American Folk Art Portraiture, Botero Sculpture, Yellow Diamond

ArtfixDaily / November 16th, 2011

Skinner's sold a rare 18th-century portrait for a record-setting $1,271,000 with commission (est. $150,000-250,000) on Nov. 5 in Boston. The portrait of Abigail Rose of North Branford, Conn., broke the previous record for American folk art portraiture...

Donations Save American Folk Art Museum

New York Times / September 22nd, 2011

The board of New York's American Folk Art Museum agreed on Wednesday evening to keep the institution operating from its current Lincoln Square location following the last-minute help of donations from trustees and the Ford Foundation.

American Folk Art Museum teeters towards dissolution

New York Times / September 19th, 2011

The board of New York's beleaguered American Folk Art Museum are set to vote this week on the future of its holdings of classic American folk art and 20th-century outsider art. Proposals are under consideration from...

An uncertain future for American Folk Art Museum

New York Times / August 25th, 2011

When the American Folk Art Museum sold its flagship building in Midtown Manhattan to the Museum of Modern Art in May that move did not save the cash-strapped institution from its woes. Now there is talk of dissolving...

Guilty plea for defendant in fake folk art case

ArtfixDaily / August 9th, 2011

The U.S. Attorney's office announced that Robert E. Lucky, Jr, 64, of New Orleans, pled guilty on Aug. 8 to mail fraud in connection with selling paintings falsely attributed to celebrated Southern folk artist Clementine Hunter (1886-1988).

Jeweler Ralph Esmerian gets 6-year prison sentence

Courthouse News Service / July 26th, 2011

The former owner of luxury jeweler Fred Leighton who was once a major donor to New York's American Folk Art Museum, Ralph O. Esmerian, was sentenced on July 22 to 6 years in federal prison for...

Copley sets auction records for Crowell decoys, A.L. Ripley painting

ArtfixDaily / July 26th, 2011

Copley Fine Art Auctions' July 21 to 22 sale, featuring over 700 lots of antique decoys, folk art, books, and American art, smashed auction record prices for bird carver A. Elmer Crowell (1862-1952) and sporting artist Aiden Lassell Ripley (1896-1969).

The legacy of folk artist Stephen Huneck

Valley Advocate / July 7th, 2011

His work is described as accesssible and recognizably bright. It is most often a witty rendition of a dog. A former antiques "picker," the late Vermont artist Stephen Huneck (1948-2010) left behind a charming and internationally-popular body of work. When the economic downturn began in 2008, ...

Last chance to visit American Folk Art Museum on West 53rd Street

ArtfixDaily / June 30th, 2011

Independence Day weekenders can soak up Americana, from Colonial portraiture to quilts, in Manhattan for one last stretch at the American Folk Art Museum's 45 West 53rd St. location. The museum will be moving to its home at 2 Lincoln Square on July 9.