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Wednesday, February 22, 2012 |
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On view for the first time since restoration, 'Mona Lisa' copy draws crowds at the Prado
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A copy of the "Mona Lisa" is seen on display in Spain's Prado Museum in Madrid Tuesday Feb. 21, 2012. The "Mona Lisa" copy which went on display Tuesday was painted by one of Leonardo da Vinci's apprentices alongside the master himself as he did the original, museum officials said. AP Photo/Paul White.
MADRID.- Crowds are gathering at Madrid's Prado Museum to view a copy of the "Mona Lisa" for the first time since a restoration revealed it was almost certainly painted by one of Leonardo da Vinci's apprentices as he worked on the original. The painting was put on display at the museum on Tuesday, where it will stay until it moves to Paris' Louvre museum next month to hang alongside the original as part of an exhibition on da Vinci's work. Although the precise author of the copy has not been determined, both the Prado and Louvre believe it is probably the earliest known copy of "La Gioconda." The copy has been part of Spain's art collection for hundreds of years. It had previously been on display in the Prado ... More |
| Fundacion Mapfre presents exhibitions of the work of Odilon Redon and Lewis Hine |
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Edvard Munch's 'The Scream' to sell at Sotheby's in New York; may fetch $80 million |
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Discovering painter Agnes Martin's artistic roots at the Harwood Museum of Art |
Odilon Redon, Araña sonriente, 1881. Musée d'Orsay, depósito Museo del Louvre© RMN / Jean-Gilles Berizzi.
MADRID.- Fundacion Mapfre has opened the Odilon Redon and Lewis Hine exhibitions, which can be visited at the Recoletos Rooms (Paseo de Recoletos 23, Madrid) until 29 April. The Odilon Redon (Bordeaux, 1840 - Paris, 1916) exhibition, produced in collaboration with the Musée D’Orsay in Paris, is the first major retrospective of this French artist’s oeuvre in Spain. The exhibition’s chronological trajectory begins with his early years as a lithographer under the guidance of Rodolphe Bresdin, and reaches the period of colour and his grand pieces, from what he called his noirs —in the atmosphere of the symbolists— to his mythological scenes and The Chariot of Apollo, an ode to light. This path of shade and light followed by the artist has no comparison in the history of art and is presented in this exhibition through a selection of 170 masterpieces from various institutions, which include oils, drawings, e ... More |
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"The Scream" by Norwegian painter Edvard Munch. AP Photo/Sotheby's.
By: Karen Matthews, Associated Press
NEW YORK (AP).- One of four versions of Edvard Munch's masterpiece "The Scream" will be sold this spring in New York, Sotheby's auction house announced Tuesday. Sotheby's estimates that the work, which has become a modern icon of human anxiety, will sell for $80 million or more. The 1895 drawing of a man holding his head and screaming under a streaked, blood-red sky is being sold by Norwegian businessman Petter Olsen, whose father was a friend and patron of Munch's. It is the only version of "The Scream" still in private hands. "I have lived with this work all my life, and its power and energy have only increased with time," Olsen said. "Now, however, I feel the moment has come to offer the rest of the world a chance to own and appreciate this remarkable work, which is the only version of 'The Scream' not in the collection ... More |
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American abstract painter Agnes Martin in her studio. AP Photo/Courtesy of the Harwood Museum of Art, Mildred Tolbert Archives.
By: Susan Montoya Bryan, Associated Press
TAOS (AP).- A Taos museum is about to open an exhibit by an abstract painter who was a quiet fixture of the local community but who was well-known in the art world for her seemingly simple and muted grid paintings. "Agnes Martin: Before the Grid" opens Feb. 25 at the Harwood Museum of Art in Taos. Martin, who died in 2004 at age 92, would have celebrated her 100th birthday in March. Each of her paintings is a unique exercise in perfect scale and proportion. The show at the Harwood is the first large posthumous exhibit of her work and the only one to highlight such an extensive collection of paintings and drawings that predate the grids that made her famous. It took a small team of curators about two years to unravel the mystery of her artistic beginnings. Playing detective, ... More |
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| Comprehensive retrospective of American artist George Condo's work opens at Schirn Kunsthalle |
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Exhibition of Robert Rauschenberg's "boundary-busting art" on view at Grand Rapids Art Museum |
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President Barack Obama to deliver remarks at Smithsonian groundbreaking on live webcast |
George Condo, Memories of Picasso, 1989. Oil on canvas, 195 x 160. Frac Île-de-France Collection © George Condo.
FRANKFURT.- Ironic, provocative, witty—since his beginnings in New York’s East Village in the early 1980s American artist George Condo has produced a distinctive body of work. His paintings, characterized by mordant humor, surrealist-tinged absurdity, and exuberant pathos, make repeated reference to the traditions of American and European art history of the last 500 years, from Velázquez by way of Picasso to Gorky. In partnership with the Hayward Gallery in London and curated by Hayward Director Ralph Rugoff, the Schirn presents a comprehensive retrospective of Condo’s art. Condo works in a style that can be described as artificial realism, and both his paintings and sculptures display his ongoing examination of human physiognomy and all-too-human mental states. Organized thematically and stylistically in groups, sixty-six important paintings from different creative periods, as well as a selection of roughly ten ... More |
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Robert Rauschenberg, PUBLICON—STATION I, 1978. Edition sculpture constructed of wood coated with nitrocellulose lacquer, collaged silk and cotton fabrics, gold-leafed paddle, and baked epoxy enamel over polished aluminum, with light bulbs and Plexiglas, 149.9 x 76.2 x 30.5 cm. Art © Estate of Robert Rauschenberg and Gemini G.E.L./Licensed by VAGA, New York, NY.
GRAND RAPIDS, MI.- Grand Rapids Art Museum is hosting three distinct exhibitions celebrating the work of American artist Robert Rauschenberg, beginning this February, providing a rich introduction to the defining aspects of Rauschenberg's art. Rauschenberg in Context and Rauschenberg at Gemini are on view February 3 – May 20, 2012. Robert Rauschenberg: Synapsis Shuffle begins March 3, and runs until May 20, 2012. Robert Rauschenberg (1925-2008) was one of the most important American artists of the twentieth century. He worked in a broad range of media as a painter, sculptor, printmaker, draftsman (drawing), photographer, performance artist, choreographer, ... More |
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Harriet Tubman’s Hymn book. Gospel Hymns No. 2, by P. P. Bliss and Ira D. Sankey, c. 1876. Gift of Charles Blockson. Photo: Courtesy of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History & Culture.
By: Brett Zongker, Associated Press
WASHINGTON.- President Barack Obama and former first lady Laura Bush will celebrate the groundbreaking for a new national museum showcasing black life, art and history on the National Mall. The Smithsonian Institution announced that Obama will speak at the Feb. 22 groundbreaking for the National Museum of African American History and Culture. Actress Phylicia Rashad will host the event. The ceremony, featuring remarks by President Barack Obama, will be webcast at http://nmaahc.si.edu/Events/Groundbreaking. The pre-ceremony music will begin at 9:00am ET, and the ceremony will begin at 10:00am ET. Early construction work has already begun at the museum site near the Washington Monument. Officials have ... More |
| Grammy Museum to premier first large-scale exhibition exploring Los Angeles music history |
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The Jewish Museum announces appointment of Ellen Salpeter as Deputy Director for External Affairs |
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America's leading art galleries to exhibit 35 solo-artist booths and 37 thematic installations at The Art Show |
The exhibit features iconic images, a cross-section of ephemera (album art, handbills, concert posters, etc.), music, and filmed interviews with key figures in the scene.
LOS ANGELES, CA.- On Wednesday, February 22, 2012, The Grammy Museum, in conjunction with the Getty initiative Pacific Standard Time: Art in L.A. 1945 – 1980, will unveil its latest special exhibit, Trouble In Paradise: Music and Los Angeles, 1945-1975. Located on the Museum’s fourth floor, the exhibit explores thirty years of the pop music scene of Los Angeles, and its related culture, politics, and popular art. The GRAMMY Museum has partnered with University of Southern California professor Josh Kun, who is serving as co-curator. “This is such a crucial, formative period in the history of music in Los Angeles,” says Kun. “It’s also a period of great social and cultural transformations, from the building of the freeways to multiple civil rights uprisings, and we hope to use this exhibit to highlight music’s role in shaping the city’s post-World War II identity.” The ... More |
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Ms. Salpeter is currently Director of Heart of Brooklyn, a partnership of leading cultural institutions. Photo: Wilhelm Scholz.
NEW YORK, NY.- Claudia Gould, Helen Goldsmith Menschel Director of The Jewish Museum, announced that Ellen Salpeter has been named the institution’s new Deputy Director for External Affairs, overseeing development, special events, and marketing and communications. She will assume this position on March 26, 2012. Ms. Salpeter is currently Director of Heart of Brooklyn, a partnership of leading cultural institutions located near Grand Army Plaza in central Brooklyn, which she helped to found in 2001. Heart of Brooklyn members include Brooklyn Botanic Garden, Brooklyn Children’s Museum, Brooklyn Museum, Brooklyn Public Library, Prospect Park and Prospect Park Zoo. For over a decade, Heart of Brooklyn’s award-winning initiatives have broken new ground for community development and cultural partnerships. “Through her leadership, Ellen Salpeter has helped Heart of Brooklyn grow into a national model of cult ... More |
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Francesca Woodman, Untitled, Italy (I.191), 1977-78. Vintage gelatin silver print, 5 1/4 x 5 in. Courtesy Marian Goodman Gallery.
NEW YORK, NY.- The 24th edition of The Art Show, the nation's foremost and longest running fine art fair will present museum-quality exhibitions of solo artist and group installations. Organized by the Art Dealers Association of America (ADAA) to benefit Henry Street Settlement, The Art Show takes place March 7 through March 11, 2012 in New York City. The fair presents the nation’s leading art dealers and galleries showcasing a range of artwork from cutting-edge, 21st century works, to masterpieces from the 19th and 20th centuries. The Art Show strikes a dynamic balance among its exhibitors from all over the country to present works by historic, modern, and contemporary artists. As in recent years, the 2012 Art Show will include a number of stand out solo and two person exhibitions, such as: • Cindy Sherman’s “Murder Mystery” collage series from 1976 at Metro Pictures • A selection of dr ... More |
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| Inaugural Palm Springs Fine Art Fair exceeds first-year expectations with 9,500 visitors |
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Exhibition of new wall sculptures and drawings by Norman Mooney on view at Waterhouse & Dodd Contemporary |
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Heritage Auctions' inaugural California art auction features brightest stars of the Golden State |
Reaction to the first-year event was understandably positive, with attendees and participants already anticipating an even more spectacular future.
PALM SPRINGS, CA.- The inaugural Palm Springs Fine Art Fair exceeded all first-year expectations, with a total Presidents Day Weekend attendance of 9,500 visitors and sales reaching into the millions of dollars during the February 16-19 event at the Palm Springs Convention Center. Beginning with an opening night gala that drew in art collectors and connoisseurs from across the United States-bolstered by a massive presence from the Los Angeles, Orange County and San Diego art scenes, and the generous support and unprecedented turnout from the local art community-to benefit the Palm Springs Art Museum, more than 1,500 attendees toasted the more than 2,000 significant works of post-war and contemporary art on exhibit and sale at the fair. Attendance was steady throughout the three day event-which was founded by the Hamptons Expo Group (owners of the noted and successful Houston Fine Art, SF Fine Art Fair, ArtAspen ... More |
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Norman Mooney, Golden Sun No. 2. Photo: Courtesy Waterhouse & Dodd Contemporary.
By: Corban Walker
NEW YORK, NY.- Waterhouse & Dodd Contemporary, New York announced ‘Norman Mooney: New Works’ an exhibition of new wall sculptures and drawings which explore the natural world through a physical indulgence in the process of making. It is Mooney’s first solo show with the gallery. Norman Mooney’s sculptures and drawings explore the natural world through a physical indulgence into the process of making. He fabricates giant “flowers”, precarious “seeds” and colorful “stars” from cast aluminum and glass. He draws with a flame torch and the results are at once meditative yet ephemeral, his sculptures fierce yet tangible. These contradicting parallels are the essence of how Norman addresses what lies between the physical and the metaphysical. The sculptures search for the inertial frame of reference that examines the fundamental nature of all reality, including the relationshi ... More |
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Alson Skinner Clark, Shore by the Saint Lawrence (October Bouquet), 1916 (detail). Oil on board, 34 x 45 inches.
BEVERLY HILLS, CA.- A spectacular early 20th Century landscape by Alson Skinner Clark (1876-1949), Shore by the Saint Lawrence (October Bouquet), 1916, is expected to bring $ 175,000+ when it crosses the block as a principal highlight of Heritage Auctions’ inaugural California Art Signature® Auction, March 20, in the company’s Beverly Hills salesroom. “This work is one of the major artistic achievements of Clark’s career,” said Deborah Solon, West Coast Director of American Art at Heritage, “and it’s a good one indeed to anchor our first auction of early California art. Shore by the Saint Lawrence, painted upon his return to America after being forced from France at the beginning of World War I, literally explodes in a riot of color, divided brushwork and wonderful lighting effect.” Raised in Chicago, Clark took evening classes at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and went on to stu ... More |
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 New works on paper and installations composed of stained glass by Ben Durham opens at Country Club
CHICAGO, IL.- Country Club presents the second exhibit for its Chicago program with Found Graffiti, featuring new works on paper and installations composed of stained glass by Ben Durham. Found Graffiti is presented in collaboration with Andrew Rafacz Gallery. In these two recent bodies of work, graffiti functions as an unofficial language that speaks directly of the people and the places where it was sprayed, scratched, or marked. It is a signature, an identity rendered as logo, and a dispossessed claim, not just of self, but of territory. It is a kind of real-time mapmaking akin to psychogeography in its frustrated attempt to achieve personal, spatial, and cultural orientation. In the Graffiti Map body of work, Durham has collected found graffiti imagery and transcribed them with graphite and ink onto the handmade paper surface. Layered to the point of nearly complete visual ... More Exhibition spotlights a unique development in native American art history with works from three collections
STANFORD, CA.- A new movement of Native American painting emerged in the Pueblo communities of the southwestern United States in the early 20th century. Encouraged by anthropologists and teachers to record past and current scenes of their daily life on paper, the artists found inspiration in the centuries-old tradition of Pueblo painting seen in pottery, murals and archaeological remains. The earliest Pueblo artists were self-taught, and they struggled for recognition from the local and national art market. In the 1930s, the formation of the Studio at the Santa Fe Indian School formalized the training of generations of Native painters and secured the continuance and expansion of this new tradition of Native American easel painting. The resulting works were dynamic, colorful and decidedly modern. “Memory and Markets: Pueblo Painting in the Early 20th Century,” at ... More Rare Lawrence of Arabia first editions for sale at Bonhams
LONDON.- A valuable collection of books by T. E Lawrence, including a rare first edition of his controversial work, The Mint, goes under the hammer at Bonhams Fine Books, Maps and Manuscripts sale in London on 27 March. In total, the collection could make over £55,000. Each volume is being sold separately. The Mint is Lawrence’s account of life in the RAF during the early 1920s. He began taking notes for the project soon after enlisting in August 1922 under the assumed name of John Hume Ross. His subterfuge was discovered and he was dismissed the following year although he was permitted to rejoin, in his own name, in 1925. He worked up his initial notes into a draft book which he sent to the literary editor Edward Garnett who showed it to Air Marshall Trenchard, often known as the ‘Father of the RAF’. At Trenchard’s request, Lawrence promised not to publish the book ... More Bonhams to sell secretaire assembled from a cabinet reputedly supplied to King Carlos IV
LONDON.- A satinwood, mahogany, sycamore and marquetry and parcel gilt secretaire cabinet, which was reconstructed from an important cabinet attributed to Seddon, Son and Shackleton reputedly for King Charles IV of Spain in 1793, is to be sold at Bonhams, New Bond Street as part of its Fine English Furniture and Works of Art sale on 7 March 2012. It has attracted a pre-sale estimate of £20,000 – 30,000. A remarkable survival, this cabinet is not only assembled from what was once described as one of the most spectacular late eighteenth century English cabinets ever produced (exhibited at the Franco British Exhibition in London, 1908 and the Plaza Hotel in New York, 1910), it was later acquired by MGM Studios in Hollywood for use on film sets. At some point in the twentieth century, the original `King Carlos IV’ cabinet was broken up and transformed into separate ... More Three videos by Ernie Gehr on view at the Carpenter Center focus on verticality and urban sightseeing
CAMBRIDGE, MA.- The Carpenter Center for the Visual Arts at Harvard University presents Ernie Gehr: Picture Taking on view in the Sert Gallery from February 14 through April 1, 2012. This is the second exhibition in a newly created space for viewing moving image works located on the third floor of the Carpenter Center. Programming will run on three monitors mounted on the exterior wall of the Sert Gallery. "PICTURE TAKING is part of an ongoing cycle of new works on New York City that began with SURVEILLANCE, a 4-channel installation exhibited in Madison Square Park in 2010, opening in late March at the Smithsonian Museum of American Art in Washington DC, as part of their permanent collection (Watch This! New Directions in the Art of the Moving Image). PICTURE TAKING is focused on "verticality" and urban sightseeing as well as on some of the pictorial ... More Multi-media artist Jessica Stockholder commissioned for major downtown Chicago art installation
CHICAGO, IL.- Chicago-based, internationally-renowned multi-media artist Jessica Stockholder has been commissioned by the Chicago Loop Alliance (CLA) business organization to create a dramatic, three-dimensional public art installation this summer in the heart of the downtown “Loop.” Stockholder, who is a pioneer of multimedia installations that incorporate the architecture in which they have been conceived, will create “Color Jam,” a three-dimensional work of art containing flashes of color and geometric shapes that spill from building facades onto the sidewalk and streets of a prominent State Street intersection. (The exact location is to be announced at a later date.) “Color Jam” is the third installment in CLA’s annual Art Loop public art initiative. Stockholder, formerly of Yale University, is currently a Professor in Visual Arts and chair of the Department of Visual Arts at the ... More |
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