Italian Scientists Believe Leonardo da Vinci Painted Himself as “Mona Lisa”

ROME.- The legend of Leonardo da Vinci is shrouded in mystery: How did he die? Are the remains buried in a French chateau really those of the Renaissance master? Was the “Mona Lisa” a self-portrait in disguise? A group of Italian scientists believes the key to solving those puzzles lies with the remains — and they say they are seeking permission from French authorities to dig up the body to conduct carbon and DNA testing. This combination of images shows [...]

American International Fine Art Fair Features Rare Treasures

PALM BEACH, FL.- Rare finds abound at The American International Fine Art Fair (AIFAF), slated for February 3-8, 2010 at the Palm Beach County Convention Center. The only American international art and antiques fair rated 5-stars by The Art Newspaper, AIFAF has established itself as a premier destination for sophisticated dealers and collectors. The fair has emerged as the most prestigious art and antique show in the United States and has been recognized as the “crown jewel” of American art [...]

Kunsthalle Tübingen Opens Largest Retrospective on Mel Ramos

TUBINGEN.- The Kunsthalle Tübingen presents the largest Ramos exhibition in Germany and even Europe with 89 works on art on loan from around the world. This is the most comprehensive retrospective worldwide ever dedicated to the important American painter, Mel Ramos. Two anniversaries mark this occasion, namely, the 75th birthday of the artist and the over 50 year existence of the Pop Art movement of which Mel Ramos is a main representative. This comprehensive sweep of his life´s work, which [...]

Leading Contemporary Australian Artist Commissioned to Paint for FIFA World Cup 2010

ADELAIDE HILLS.- Leading contemporary Australian artist Chris Wake has been commissioned to do a painting for the 2010 International Fine Art Project to celebrate the FIFA World Cup 2010 South Africa. It is one of the largest and most ambitious art collaborations in history. In a few months South Africa will host the FIFA world cup South Africa – the biggest and most-watched sporting event in the world. In the eighty years of the FIFA World Cup fine art has [...]

Sculptural Neon Works by Keith Sonnier at Mary Boone Gallery

NEW YORK, NY.- Mary Boone Gallery is showing at its Fifth Avenue location an exhibition of sculptural neon works by Keith Sonnier. Referencing Sonnier’s investigations at the beginning of his career(the late 1960s) where he employed cloth, neon light, screening, and visible electrical circuitry, the “Oldowan Series” is a group of wall works that combine sexually charged and psychologically loaded fabrics like gauze and satin with steel armatures. Enduring natural materials such as wood and stone play off of the [...]

A Painting by Karel Appel has Been Donated to the Van Abbemuseum in Eindhoven

EINDHOVEN.- A portrait painted by Karel Appel of the former museum director Rudi Fuchs joins the collection of the Van Abbemuseum. Karel Appel (1921-2006) painted the Portrait of Rudi Fuchs in 2005, towards the end of his life, a period in which he experimented with the use of neon tubes. It was Karel Appel’s last wish that the painting would, in consultation with Rudi Fuchs, go to an appropriate museum. It was decided that this would be the Van Abbemuseum, [...]

Tel Aviv Museum of Art Currently Showing Italian Paintings from Its Collection

TEL AVIV.- The Tel Aviv Museum of Art holds numerous works by important Italian artists―several of which are presently on show. Gino Severini is represented by one of his famous Futurist paintings from c. 1915, the portrait of Mrs. Meyer-See, a socialite and the wife of a well-known London art dealer, as well as by Dancers at Monico’s (c. 1910), reflecting the influence of Neo-Impressionism, and Still Life with Mandolin (1918), a characteristic example of his variant of Cubism. Gino Severini, Dancers [...]

Sargent Portrait of Falmouth Artist Gathers Charity Support

LONDON.- Falmouth Art Gallery is now even closer to achieving its ambitious aim of bringing home an internationally significant masterpiece by John Singer Sargent. The gallery has been awarded a grant of £62,000 from The Art Fund, the UK’s leading independent art charity, towards the purchase of Portrait of Charles Napier Hemy, 1905 by celebrated American painter John Singer Sargent (1856-1925). The portrait depicts the Falmouth-born artist Charles Napier Hemy (1841–1917), who was a friend of the celebrated painter Sargent. [...]

The Empire Strikes Back: Indian Art Today Exhibition Opens at Saatchi Gallery

LONDON.- In October 2008, the Saatchi Gallery re-opened in the 70,000 sq. ft Duke of York’s HQ building on King’s Road in the heart of London. With free admission to all shows, the Saatchi Gallery aims to bring contemporary art to the widest audience possible. Its first three shows, “The Revolution Continues: New Art from China”, “Unveiled: New Art from the Middle East” and “Abstract America: New Painting and Sculpture”, have attracted over one million visitors to date. On 29 [...]

Paintings by Eduardo Stupía on View at Valencian Institute of Modern Art

VALENCIA.- From the strange comic strips he drew at the beginning of the 70′s to the amazing pieces that the IVAM exhibits now, Eduardo Stupía’s works have gone through a series of transformations for more than thirty years. One could say that together they form an ambiguous region which is full of fascination, beauty and unsettlement and where the technique of drawing expanded to the limits of the unknown. The artist has conquered new lands, conceived halfway by the eye [...]

Christie’s Announces 2009 Global Art Sales Total $3.3 Billion

NEW YORK, NY.- Christie’s International, the world’s leading art business, today announced that 2009 sales totaled £2.1 billion/$3.3 billion, a 24% decrease in £ (35% decrease in $) over 2008 sales. Sales totals include private sales of £265.7 million/$417.2 million, a decrease of 1% by £ on 2008 figures, and reflect those brokered by Christie’s as well as sales conducted by Christie’s wholly-owned subsidiary, Haunch of Venison. In 2009, Christie’s achieved 56.4% global auction sales market share against its main [...]

Getty Announces Major Gift of Photographs by Manuel Alvarez Bravo

LOS ANGELES, CA.- The J. Paul Getty Museum announced today a gift of 52 photographs by acclaimed Mexican photographer Manuel Alvarez Bravo (1902–2002) from his compelling work in Mexico from the 1920s to the 1970s. The photographs are a gift from Daniel Greenberg and Susan Steinhauser of Los Angeles, who have continued their tradition of generous giving to the Getty since 2000, bolstering the Museum’s already stellar holdings of photographs by the artist to 247. Over the past ten years, [...]

Noted African-American Art Collector Paul R. Jones Dies in Georgia

ATLANTA, GA.- Paul R. Jones, a collector of African-American art who donated troves of works to universities in Delaware and Alabama, has died. He was 81. Jones died in Atlanta on Tuesday after a brief illness, said University of Alabama spokeswoman Angie Estes. The university established an art collection in Jones’ name after receiving some 1,700 pieces valued at $5 million in 2008. Despite humble beginnings in Alabama and never independently wealthy, Jones began buying pieces in the 1960s after [...]

Tracey Emin, Mat Collishaw and Paula Rego Show Work at Foundling Museum

LONDON.- Mat Collishaw, Tracey Emin and Paula Rego are to show new and related works at the Foundling Museum in London throughout its eighteenth-century interiors as well as outside spaces. All of the works link to the story of the Foundling Hospital, Britain’s first home for abandoned children, and its themes of childhood and separation. The exhibition will include paintings, works on paper, bronzes and installations throughout the Museum as well as external spaces. Curated by Gill Hedley for the [...]

Selection of French Masterpieces from the Pushkin Museum on View in Budapest

BUDAPEST.- In its exhibition the Museum of Fine Arts will display selected masterpieces from the uniquely wealthy collection of the Pushkin Museum in Moscow. The fifty-five works in the exhibition provide an overview of French painting from the middle of the nineteenth century to the beginning of the twentieth. The show runs until the middle of April and will greet visitors with prominent works of Impressionism, Symbolism from the last decade of the nineteenth century, and the first avant-garde movements [...]