ARTFIXdaily News Feed - Breaking News from the Art World

UK Museums Gifted Major Collection of Italian Masterpieces

Reuters / February 20th, 2013

A private collection valued at more than 100 million pounds ($154 million) and consisting of 57 Italian Baroque paintings amassed by the late banking heir Denis Mahon has been formally gifted to six museums and galleries in Britain.

Iconic WWII Sculpture Set for Auction in New York

ArtfixDaily / February 19th, 2013

An iconic monument that inspired patiotism during World War II will be offered in Bonhams' upcoming February 22 auction in New York entitled World War II: the Pacific Theater, the inaugural auction to focus entirely on the war's historic events in the Pacific Ocean and western Pacific Rim.

Missing Banksy Mural Turns Up at Miami Auction

NY Daily News / February 18th, 2013

A mural by the elusive street artist known as Banksy disappeared from the exterior of a London store last week and has emerged at a Miami auction.

Tests Show Second Mona Lisa is the "Original," Foundation Claims

RT / February 14th, 2013

A Swiss foundation says that another version of Leonardo da Vinci's masterpiece 'Mona Lisa' has undergone new tests and verified to be an original by the Renaissance painter, not a later copy. The non-profit Mona Lisa Foundation announced Wednesday that...

Cleveland Museum of Art Hires First Provenance Researcher

ArtfixDaily / February 14th, 2013

In the light of increasing scrutiny on artworks with dubious histories as Nazi loot and antiquities illegally lifted from ancient lands, many American museums are looking harder at the provenance of works in their own collections as well as new acquisitions.

$127 Million Christie's Contemporary Art Sale Led by Basquiat; Bacon Tops Sotheby's Auction

ArtfixDaily / February 13th, 2013

Jean-Michel Basquiat’s “Museum Security (Broadway Meltdown)” led Christie's $127 million contemporary art sale in London last night, selling for 9.3 million pounds ($14.5 million). The sale total was the highest ever for...

Jasper Cropsey Painting Banned from UK Export

ArtfixDaily / February 12th, 2013

An 1862 painting of London's Richmond Hill by Hudson River School artist Jasper Francis Cropsey (1823-1900) has had its export license deferred for the second time in 13 years. Microsoft executive Christopher Larson, from Seattle, bought the painting for a record...

Yours Truly: Privately Collected Photographs on View at Carnegie Museum of Art

ArtfixDaily / February 11th, 2013

A timely exhibition for Valentine's Day, Yours Truly: Privately Collected Photographs, on view at Pittsburgh's Carnegie Museum of Art, through March 10, 2013, presents more than 60 sensual, romantic, and love-themed works by some of the most outstanding photographers of the 20th century.

Walters Museum to Present "New Eyes on America: The Genius of Richard Caton Woodville"

ArtfixDaily / February 11th, 2013

Painter of iconic works of American genre, Richard Caton Woodville (1825–55) led a life of paradox. His humorous characterizations of contemporary life, realistic depictions of period interiors and use of narrative detail give viewers access to a fascinating period of American and European history.

Delacroix Masterpiece Defaced at Louvre Satellite Museum

ArtfixDaily / February 10th, 2013

One of French Romantic artist Eugene Delacroix's most famous paintings was vandalized at the Louvre museum offshoot in Lens, France, last week.

Modigliani, Morisot Lead Christie's $213 Million Sale

ArtfixDaily / February 7th, 2013

Magritte, Miro, Morisot, and Modigliani achieved top prices at Christie's Impressionist, Modern and Surrealist Art evening sale in London. Christie’s said that a Berthe Morisot painting achieved the highest price ever for a woman artist at auction.

Lovers of Picasso, Schiele Soar at Sotheby's

ArtfixDaily / February 6th, 2013

A Picasso portrait of his mistress and muse Marie-Therese Walter fetched $45 million on Tuesday at the beginning of the auction series of impressionist, surrealist and modern art in London. Earlier in the evening, Egon Schiele's 1914 "Lovers (Self Portrait With Wally)" brought...

China's Top Auction Houses See Sales Down by Half

The Art Newspaper / February 4th, 2013

China’s two leading auction houses—Poly Auction and China Guardian— experienced sales totals plummet by more than a half during 2012.

Edward Hopper Draws More Crowds than Picasso in Paris

ArtfixDaily / February 4th, 2013

Organizers of a major Edward Hopper retrospective at the Grand Palais in Paris say that the exhibition brought in more visitors than a prime Picasso collection.

Rockefeller's Botticelli in Record-Smashing Auction Series

ArtfixDaily / February 3rd, 2013

Old Master and Renaissance art brought record prices totaling $170 million at Sotheby's and Christie's auctions in New York last week.

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.

Museum Group Tightens Guidelines on Antiquities Acquisitions

LA Times / January 31st, 2013

Five years ago--in response to complaints from Greece, Italy, Egypt and other countries--the Assn. of Art Museum Directors (AAMD) gave its members stricter guidelines for acquiring pieces originating from ancient lands. Now the AAMD...

Married Couple to Lead Bowdoin College Museum of Art

Bowdoin College / January 30th, 2013

Frank H. Goodyear III and Anne Collins Goodyear have been named co-directors of the Bowdoin College Museum of Art, announced Dean for Academic Affairs Cristle Collins Judd on Jan. 30. Frank Goodyear currently serves as curator of photographs at the National Portrait Gallery...

Vermeer Masterpieces on Loan to West Coast Museums

ArtfixDaily / January 29th, 2013

Two California museums will offer visitors a rare view of exquisite masterworks by 17th-century Dutch artist Johannes Vermeer, on loan from Dutch museums, this winter.

Questions Arise About Regulating the Art Market

New York Times / January 28th, 2013

Few outside monitors, third-party guarantees, and "chandelier" bids are just a few of the issues that a lengthy New York Times article brings up about the auction business. Auctioneers counter that such grievances are coming from...