ARTFIXdaily News Feed - Breaking News from the Art World

From Turmoil to Triumph, Baroque Artist Artemisia Gentileschi's Life Story Inspires TV Series

ArtfixDaily / November 1st, 2020

On the heels of a major monographic exhibition exploring the work of Artemisia Gentileschi (1593–1654) will be a new television series from ViacomCBS studios. The series will begin filming next year following the popular exhibition on the Baroque artist at London's National Gallery (on view ...

Seriously Upbeat Artworks Are Standouts in the New TEFAF Online

ArtfixDaily / November 1st, 2020

The European Fine Art Foundation (TEFAF) has launched TEFAF Online, running November 1-4, 2020, in a fresh format. This is TEFAF’s first virtual fair, which provides attendees with direct, live access to world-renowned dealers and their selection of vetted artworks. Reducing virtual fair fatigue, ...

Dutch Museum Reports Frans Has Painting 'Two Laughing Boys' Stolen For a Third Time

Reuters / New York Times / August 27th, 2020

A work by Dutch Golden-Age master Frans Hals was stolen in the pre-dawn hours from a small museum in the Netherlands on Thursday, police said, according to reports. Dating from 1626, Hals' "Two Laughing Boys With a Mug of Beer" is now missing from the Hofje van Aerden Museum, located near ...

Art Dealer Gifts 16th-Century Painting to Rijksmuseum in Honor of COVID-19 Victims

AP / June 4th, 2020

Amsterdam’s Rijksmuseum reopened Monday after its coronavirus closure to include a new work in its vast collections. The piece is a Dutch 16th-century painting by Bartholomeus Spranger titled “Body of Christ Supported by Angels.” The dramatic image of Christ lifted from his tomb by three ...

The Getty Challenges People to Recreate Masterpieces With Their Stuff at Home

ArtfixDaily / March 31st, 2020

Last week, the J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles tweeted to the masses, "We challenge you to recreate a work of art with objects (and people) in your home." For people worldwide who are sheltering in place due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Getty's request suggested that they choose a favorite ...

From Artemisia Gentileschi to Andy Warhol, A New 'Lives of the Artists' Series Debuts March 31

ArtfixDaily / March 12th, 2020

ANDY WARHOL by Robert Shore and ARTEMISIA GENTILESCHI by Jonathan Jones will debut as the first titles in a collectible set of art books. Inspired by Giorgio Vasari’s Lives of the Artists, this new series of highly readable brief biographies will be available on March 31. ...

After Strong Initial Sales, TEFAF Maastricht Closes Early Due to Coronavirus

ArtfixDaily / March 10th, 2020

UPDATE 3/11/2020: TEFAF has closed four days early after an exhibitor from Italy, who had already returned home on Monday, March 8, tested positive for COVID-19, reported the Art Newspaper. The 33rd edition of TEFAF Maastricht drew 10,000 international visitors over Early Access Day (March 5) ...

Spectacular Discoveries Abound at TEFAF Maastricht 2020

ArtfixDaily / March 5th, 2020

TEFAF Maastricht has launched its largest and most international edition to date, less just 3 exhibitors due to coronavirus concerns, with a Preview on Friday and continuing March 7 to 15 at the MECC, Maastricht. The fair provides collectors with the opportunity to acquire some of the ...

Welsh Museum's Botticelli 'Copy' Is Authentic, Experts Say

Guardian / November 14th, 2019

What was thought to be a later copy of Botticelli's work is actually genuine, say a team of experts. A new episode of BBC Four series Britain’s Lost Masterpieces will detail the findings of art historian Dr. Bendor Grosvenor and other art detectives who solved this Botticelli mystery. ...

'Lost' Caravaggio Valued at $170M Sells Prior to Auction

Los Angeles Times / June 26th, 2019

A recently attributed Caravaggio painting of Judith decapitating Assyrian general Holofernes sold privately earlier this week before a scheduled auction on Thursday. "Judith and Holofernes" depicts the dramatic Bible story of a Jewish heroine's efforts to save her people from the invading ...

If Only 'Salvator Mundi' Was By Banksy...

Kenny Schachter / June 11th, 2019

This seems safe for a $450 million painting... Art critic Kenny Schachter teased on Instagram last week and then broke the news on Monday that the world's most expensive artwork, the "missing" Leonardo da Vinci portrait of Christ titled 'Salvator Mundi,' is likely cruising on the superyacht of ...

A Painted-Over Cupid Will Reappear in a Beloved Vermeer Work

The Times / May 8th, 2019

One of Johannes Vermeer’s most famous paintings had a whimsical element long-ago painted over, and not by the Dutch master himself. Girl Reading a Letter at an Open Window originally included a naked cupid hovering above the female subject. Detected by X-ray four decades ago, the cupid ...

Art Detective Pushes the IRA Theory in Gardner Art Heist

Boston Herald / April 22nd, 2019

Dutch art detective Arthur Brand told the Boston Herald that he's been in touch with the IRA, following up on one theory that 13 priceless paintings stolen in the world's biggest art heist have been hidden in Ireland for 3 decades.  The March 1990 crime left the world without the ...

Where In the World Is 'Salvator Mundi'?

New York Times / March 31st, 2019

Leonardo da Vinci's portrait of Christ painted as 'Savior of the World,' was called a rediscovered masterpiece...and now its location is unknown. This artwork's bizarre saga involves an image of Jesus getting a near-half-billion dollar world record auction price from a Saudi bidder at ...

This Week: A Stolen-Found De Kooning Resurfaces, and Police Fool Thieves With Fake Brueghel

ArtfixDaily / March 14th, 2019

Willem de Kooning's 'Woman-Ochre,' recently rediscovered in an estate sale after being stolen from a museum in 1985, will finally see the light of day. Said to be worth $100 million, the painting was found for sale by a New Mexico antiques dealer in 2017. It had been cut from its frame and ...

Museum Readies to Display Newly Restored Multi-million Dollar Painting Found in Closet

Des Moines Register / January 23rd, 2019

In 2016, an Iowa museum director was looking in a closet for a Civil War-era flag when he found a long-lost painting worth millions. Now with a full restoration completed and a security system in place, "Apollo and Venus," the rediscovered ca. 1600 work by renowned Dutch artist Otto van Veen, ...

Art Expert Says Cat Destroyed His Rare 17th-Century Painting

Telegraph / January 10th, 2019

A cat wrecked a rare 17th-century portrait painting, according to the pet's owner, UK-based art historian and writer Dr. Bendor Grosvenor. Grosvenor says the £5,000 ($6,371) artwork by Scottish artist John Michael Wright was scratched up by his cat, named Padme, after he had applied a warm ...

Jerry Saltz Has A Brutal Theory On Why the World's Most Expensive Painting Is "Missing"

Vice / December 7th, 2018

Critic Jerry Saltz explains "Why the World's Most Expensive Painting Has Gone Missing" in a Vice video here.  While we're assuming "missing" equates to "out of public view," Saltz claims the reason is that the $450 million Leonardo da Vinci titled "Salvator Mundi" is a "made up piece of ...

Russian Art Collector Dmitry Rybolovlev Detained in Monaco

Le Monde / November 8th, 2018

Update 11/9/18: Unspecified charges have been filed, via Bloomberg. Dmitry Rybolovlev, the Russian billionaire art collector who sold Leonardo da Vinci’s Salvator Mundi for a record-setting price, and recently sued Sotheby's for $380 million, was detained and then released by ...

Louvre Abu Dhabi Delays Display of Da Vinci's Salvator Mundi

BBC / September 4th, 2018

In a surprise announcement, Abu Dhabi's Department of Culture and Tourism says the unveiling of Leonardo da Vinci's "Salvator Mundi"---the world's most expensive painting---will be indefinitely delayed at the Louvre Abu Dhabi. The painting was sold for a record $450.3 million at a ...