Rubens masterpiece “made for market”
The restoration of a painting by Rubens from London’s Courtauld Gallery has revealed that the work was probably not a commission, but created for the speculative market. Cain Slaying Abel, around 1608-09—one of the most significant works by the artist in the Courtauld’s collection—is due to go back on display next month, following an… Continue reading
Guggenheim Abu Dhabi on hold
Emirate cancels construction contracts for Gehry-designed museum
Frank Gehry's designs for the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi
ABU DHABI. Construction of the vast, 24,000 sq. m Guggenheim museum planned for Saadiyat Island in Abu Dhabi has been put on hold after the emirate decided to recall the tender for the concrete works. The museum, designed by the… Continue reading
Carousel of Misbehavior in the Folk Art World
In the seamy underbelly of folk-art collecting, owners over the past century have muddied the attributions of works, brazenly added new flourishes to old woodcarvings, and let bird droppings and paint spatters gather on canvases in storage.
A sculpture from about 1900 of the performer Loïe Fuller is part of a show of Art Nouveau… Continue reading
Mondes inventés, Mondes habités (“Invented Worlds, Inhabited Worlds”)
The MUDAM museum in Luxembourg has recently opened a remarkable exhibition where artists -who double as thinkers, engineers or architects- get to grips with questions of a scientific and metaphysical nature.
Mondes inventés, Mondes habités (“Invented Worlds, Inhabited Worlds”) allows the public to observe from up close their machines, systems and explorations of technology and… Continue reading
Art market analysis: Who benefits from charity auctions?
A common refrain is that there are too many of these events, with too much low-value art.
Sotheby’s 2008 auction for Bono’s Red charity raised $42.6m (the auction house took a 10% commission)
The auction Artists for Haiti, organised by New York’s David Zwirner gallery and Christie’s, takes place on 22 September. It is perhaps… Continue reading
Politicians, minority groups call on Dutch Royal House to ditch allegedly offensive painting
AMSTERDAM — Critics urged the Dutch royal family Friday to get rid of a painting they say is an offensive reminder of wrongs from the Netherlands’ colonial past, but the Royal House defended the 19th-century work as an important part of the country’s history.
“Homage of the Colonies” decorates one side of Queen Beatrix’s iconic… Continue reading
The Art Gallery of Western Australia Shows Princely Treasures From the V&A
Perth, Australia.- The Art Gallery of Western Australia is proud to present “Princely Treasures: European Masterpieces 1600-1800 From the Victoria and Albert Museum”, on view from September 24th through October 27th, coinciding with the Commonwealth Festival in Perth. The Victoria and Albert Museum, London, has one of the greatest collections of European decorative art of… Continue reading
The International Art Fair ~ ART MOSCOW Opens Today
MOSCOW, RUSSIA – From September 21 through 25, the International Art Fair ART MOSCOW which is the principal annual event on the Russian art market focusing on contemporary actual art will be held at the Central House of Artists. ART MOSCOW is renewed annually, not only presenting to the public new works, names and galleries,… Continue reading
The Royal Academy Show Focuses on “Neglected” British Painter Paul Sandby
LONDON (REUTERS).- Art history has been less than kind to Paul Sandby, an 18th century British painter whose name was eclipsed by contemporaries like Thomas Gainsborough and Joshua Reynolds. But a new exhibition of his work at the Royal Academy sets out to remind visitors of Sandby’s importance in promoting the status of the watercolor,… Continue reading
