ARTFIXdaily News Feed - Breaking News from the Art World

Is Another 'New' Rembrandt About to be Revealed?

Dutch News / August 28th, 2018

In November, an exhibition of early works by Dutch master Rembrandt van Rijn is scheduled to go on view in the artist's hometown of Leiden. A previously unknown work by Rembrandt will debut in the exhibition, says a Dutch curator. Christiaan Vogelaar, curator of old master paintings at the ...

Scholar Claims Leonardo's $450 Million Painting Was Largely Done by Another Artist

CNN / August 8th, 2018

In a newly revised book titled "Leonardo da Vinci," due out next month, a scholar makes his case for the world's most expensive painting to be not solely created by the master himself, but by another hand. From CNN: Leonardo da Vinci's "Salvator Mundi," the world's most expensive painting, ...

Italy Reopens Investigation Into Missing Caravaggio Masterpiece

Telegraph / June 20th, 2018

Nearly 50 years have passed since a Caravaggio masterpiece was stolen, in a case considered by the FBI as in the top 10 art crimes worldwide. Investigators in Italy are now reopening the case of Caravaggio's missing Nativity with San Lorenzo and San Francesco, which was cut from its ...

20 Pieces for Chippendale’s Tercentenary Plus New Work by Marina Abramović Among Highlights of Masterpiece London 2018

ArtfixDaily / June 6th, 2018

The Masterpiece London 2018 edition, which runs from June 28 - July 4 at the Royal Hospital Chelsea, will present an array of art from the 18th-century carved creations of Thomas Chippendale to the debut of new forms of work by famed performance artist Marina Abramović. With Thomas ...

U.S. Investigation into Art Dealer Fizzles After $450 Million Da Vinci Sale

Bloomberg / May 29th, 2018

When Leonardo da Vinci's ethereal "Salvator Mundi" sold for a record-smashing $450 million last fall, a year-long federal investigation into a Swiss art dealer's mark-ups of artworks sold to a Russian billionaire seems to have evaporated. A longstanding dispute between fertilizer magnate ...

Man Busted in Fraud Scam After Offering Gardner Museum's Missing Masterpieces on Craigslist

Boston Herald / May 16th, 2018

A West Virginia man has pleaded guilty to wire fraud for offering online two stolen artworks from the Gardner Museum in Boston. Todd Andrew Desper was sentenced by a U.S. District Court judge to time served and three years of supervised release, three months of which will be spent in home ...

Dutch Art Dealer Rediscovers a Rembrandt

Reuters / May 16th, 2018

Dutch art dealer Jan Six says he knew right away that a painting catalogued as by an unknown artist, in the circle of Rembrandt van Rijn, was the work of the master himself. “I saw so many details pointing in Rembrandt’s direction, that I was totally convinced,” he said about ...

Iowa Museum Finds 16th Century Painting Worth Millions in Closet

wsls / April 4th, 2018

In February 2016, a museum director in Iowa was looking for some Civil War flags when a staff member mentioned there was an array of collection items in a little-used storeroom. Robert Warren, director of Hoyt Sherman Place, a Des Moines museum and theater, then noticed a painting wedged ...

The Louvre Displays Nazi-Looted Art in Restitution Effort

CNN / January 31st, 2018

The Louvre Museum has opened an exhibit of artworks that were once seized by the Nazis during their occupation of France. Some 31 French-owned paintings are shown in an effort to reconnect the works of art with the heirs of their rightful owners. Each artwork is documented in ...

Titian Painting from the Collection of Charles I's Plumber at Auction

CNN / January 22nd, 2018

A Titian painting once owned by King Charles I of England and given to his plumber is set to hit the auction block in New York. Reports CNN: The six-and-a-half foot painting "Saint Margaret" was originally given to royal plumber John Embry following Charles I's execution in 1649 as part of a ...

$450.3 Million Leonardo Da Vinci Painting Shatters Auction Records

ArtfixDaily / November 15th, 2017

The $100 million estimate was apparently pretty conservative. Leonardo da Vinci's painting 'Salvator Mundi' or ‘Savior of the World’ broke all records for art at auction when it soared to $450.3 million (with fees) at Christie's on Wednesday night in New York. The mind-blowing ...

$1.6 Billion Auction Week Underway with a Leading Leonardo

New York Times / November 14th, 2017

New York's auction gigaweek has begun with several marquee lots in this anticipated annual series. Much talked about so far have been the auctions lots that were not offered, and the superstar---a Jesus Christ painting by Leonardo da Vinci---in the Wednesday evening sale at Christie's. ...

Lord Mayor of London Returns Nazi Looted Old Master Painting

The Art Newspaper / November 7th, 2017

A Dutch Old Master painting that was looted from the Netherlands during World War II was returned by the Lord Mayor of London to an heir of the owner on Monday. "The Oyster Meal" by Jacob Ochtervelt (around 1664-65) hung at Mansion House, the official residence of the Lord Mayor, for 30 years. ...

Missing Rubens Portrait Discovered in Glasgow

Guardian / September 24th, 2017

A painting by Flemish artist Peter Paul Rubens has been found in Glasgow after it was thought to have been lost for 400 years. The portrait was considered a copy of an original depicting George Villiers, the first Duke of Buckingham, who was believed to have been James VI and I’s lover. It ...

New York Man Believes He Owns a Missing Michelangelo

AP / July 20th, 2017

A man in New York state thinks he has a painting by Michelangelo that hung for years in his living room. Martin Kober has moved the painting to secure storage while he works on getting the 9-by-25-inch (48-by-64-centimeter) painting of Jesus with the Virgin Mary authenticated.  ...

$600 Million Historical Art Collection Heads to a Contemporary Art Museum

New York Times / July 17th, 2017

Near Turin, Italy, a private art collection with notable works spanning the 13th-to-20th centuries, and valued at $600 million, will radically transform a contemporary art museum, reports the New York Times. In a statement, the Fondazione Francesco Federico Cerruti per l’Arte, Castello di ...

Sotheby's Sues Dealer Mark Weiss Over Alleged Fake Old Master Painting

Financial Times / February 7th, 2017

Sotheby's will head to court in London with dealer Mark Weiss and Mark Weiss Ltd. over an alleged fake Old Master painting that was sold in a private sale. Sotheby's later reimbursed the American buyer for the picture and is demanding that Weiss, who supplied the work to Sotheby's client, repay ...

From Trump Plates to Chippendale Chairs, A Range of Works in Antiques Week 2017

Antiques and the Arts Weekly / January 18th, 2017

Americana collectors and "best of the best" object seekers will head to events during Antiques Week 2017 underway now in New York City. Antiques and the Arts Weekly (aka "The Bee") has published this guide to the week's events, exhibitions, shows, lectures, auctions and more. (The action ...

Legal Fray Continues Over Disputed Resale of $127.5 Million Leonardo

Bloomberg / November 29th, 2016

Sotheby's has asked a federal judge to clear it of any wrongdoing in a long-fought case over the private sale of Leonardo da Vinci's “Christ as Salvator Mundi” to embattled "freeport king" Yves Bouvier. Bouvier later sold the work to Russian billionaire Dmitry Rybolovlev who is engaged in ...

Trove of Old Master Paintings May Be Fakes in 'Biggest Art Scandal in a Century'

Daily Mail / October 4th, 2016

A list of some 25 allegedly fake Old Master paintings worth around £200 million ($255 million) could soon be released after a judge ordered an investigation in the UK, reports the Daily Mail. Among the works caught up in the controversy is an £8.4 million ‘Frans Hals’ that Sotheby's ...