National Galleries of Scotland to Celebrate the Work of William McTaggart

EDINBURGH.- This year marks the centenary of the death of William McTaggart, one of Scotland’s best-loved artists. The National Gallery of Scotland will celebrate his life and work with a small exhibition featuring over 25 stunning watercolours, small oil paintings and compositional studies as well as a selection of rarely seen personal memorabilia. William McTaggart has long been regarded as one of the most outstanding and innovative Scottish artists. He was the son of a crofter, born near Aros in [...]

National Portrait Gallery Presents The John Partridge Sketchbook, 1823-27

LONDON.- Drawings from a sketchbook belonging to the portrait painter John Partridge (1789-1872) will be shown for the first time at the National Portrait Gallery starting today. The sketchbook, from Partridge’s tour of Italy, will form part of a new display highlighting a dynamic group of British artists and sculptors who lived and worked in Rome during the 1820s. John Partridge lived in Italy between 1823 and 1827 to advance his training and reputation by prolonged study of Old Master [...]

Minister Farouk Hosni Says Search Still On for Van Gogh Stolen from Cairo Museum

CAIRO (AP).- Egypt’s culture minister on Saturday retracted his claim that police had recovered a van Gogh painting stolen from a Cairo museum, saying it was based on inaccurate information and that the search for the canvas continues. The minister, Farouk Hosni, said earlier Saturday that police had confiscated the painting from an Italian couple at Cairo airport hours after it was lifted from the Mahmoud Khalil Museum in the Egyptian capital. But Hosni later backtracked, telling a national television [...]

Keith Haring and Andy Warhol to Star in American Pop Art Show

LONDON.- Olyvia Fine Art will present ‘Sold Out: American Pop Art from the 1970s to the 1980s,’ an exhibition of works by Andy Warhol, Robert Rauschenberg, Tom Wesselmann, Keith Haring, Robert Longo and Frank Stella, which illustrates the evolution of Pop Art and the diversity of styles and techniques developed by its leading contributors. This comprehensive and original collection of paintings, silk-screens and wall sculptures aims to highlight key notions of Pop art using existing imagery from mass culture, the [...]

Photographer and Associated Press Drop Claims Against Each Other

NEW YORK (AP).- A photographer who took a picture that the Barack Obama “HOPE” image was based on dropped his claim Friday that he owns the copyright to the photograph, instead of The Associated Press. The AP also dropped its claim against him. The stipulation between the AP, photographer Mannie Garcia, and artist Shepard Fairey and his related companies was filed in U.S. District Court in Manhattan, where a judge is presiding over a legal fight to decide whether Fairey [...]

30 years of Development of Chinese Contemporary Art Since the Reform in New Exhibition

BEIJING.- 30 years of development since the reform and opening-up has made China’s contemporary art grown from the embryonic stage to maturity, and become an important part of Chinese contemporary culture. In the age of globalization, the Chinese contemporary art has set foot on the abroad and won the attention of international art field. The existence of Chinese contemporary art also fully embodies the inclusiveness and openness of contemporary Chinese culture, as well as irreplaceable spiritual values contained. The exhibition [...]

Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery Presents “Americans Now”

WASHINGTON, DC.- “Americans Now,”drawn from the National Portrait Gallery’s collection, features portraits of outstanding individuals in the realms of science, business, government and the arts. The exhibition opens Aug. 20 and will be on view through July 10, 2011. The show includes such familiar names as Erykah Badu, Christo and Jeanne-Claude, Tom Hanks, Tony Hawk, Jay-Z, LL Cool J, Willie Nelson, Cormac McCarthy, Toni Morrison and Martha Stewart. It also features those who are less widely known but are leaders [...]

Works by Artist Joan Miró to Be Displayed at the Metropolitan Museum

NEW YORK, NY.- During a trip to the Netherlands in spring 1928, the Catalan painter Joan Miró (1893–1983) purchased postcards from the museums he visited. Two 17th-century Dutch genre scenes particularly caught his attention and served as the inspiration for a series of paintings he created that summer. The traveling exhibition Miró: The Dutch Interiors, which opens at the Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, and will be on view at The Metropolitan Museum of Art beginning October 5, features Miró’s three “Dutch Interiors” [...]

Printmaking through the Ages at Christie’s this September

LONDON.- Christie’s announced the September auction of Old Master, Modern and Contemporary Prints, which will showcase five centuries of printmaking and a remarkable selection of famous names from all periods. Alongside iconic prints by Andy Warhol, Roy Lichtenstein, Pablo Picasso and Joan Miro, the sale will also feature more unusual works by Richard Hamilton, Anish Kapoor, William Kentridge and Sigmar Polke. With estimates ranging from £2,000 up to £300,000 the sale offers something for a wide range of tastes and [...]

Gold Bullion Stolen from Florida’s Mel Fisher Maritime Museum

MIAMI (REUTERS).- Thieves stole a $550,000 gold bar from a treasure museum where it went on display after a Florida salvager recovered it from the wreck of a Spanish galleon that lay on the ocean floor for centuries, the museum’s executive director said. The 74.85-ounce gold bar was stolen on Wednesday from the Mel Fisher Maritime Museum in Key West, Florida, in what executive director Melissa Kendrick called “a very quiet smash and grab.” The 11-inch (28-centimeter) gold bar was [...]

Judge Rejects Fisk Deal to Sell Georgia O’Keeffe Share

NASHVILLE (AP).- A Nashville judge has rejected Fisk University’s proposal to sell a joint share in a 101-piece collection donated by late artist Georgia O’Keeffe to an Arkansas museum. Fisk argued that its precarious financial state prevents the historically black university from maintaining and displaying the collection. Judge Ellen Hobbs Lyle agreed Friday that the cash-strapped school is unable to exhibit the collection. But Lyle said the Fisk proposal to sell a 50 percent stake in the collection to the [...]

Salvador Dalí Sculpture Stolen from Belfortmuseum in Belgium

Brussels – A sculpture by Spanish artist Salvator Dali was stolen in broad daylight from an exhibition in the Belgian city of Bruges, local media said Friday, quoting police sources. The bronze artefact, known as “La Femme aux tiroirs” (Lady with drawers), was snatched shortly after noon local time on Wednesday, the Belga news agency reported.The figurine, which measures around 50 centimetres in height and 30 centimetres in width and weighs around 10 kilograms, was hidden in a bag before [...]

Cloisters, and the Met.

Written for me by Phil Moncuse, a friend, and fellow artist With the first heat wave of the summer fast approaching, my brother Pete proclaimed that we should go to New York City to visit the Cloisters and the Metropolitan Museum of Art. My daughter Kate wasted no time in acceptance of the idea and told me that I was not going to miss this trip. We arrived in Grand Central Station to behold a sunny Saturday morning. Then, as [...]

Museum Pasifika, Bali Indonesia

BALI. Possesing nearly half of the worlds population, the Asia Pacific region is incredibly diverse. Hundreds of ethnic groups and language have created a kaleidoscope of art forms that remains unparalleled to this day. Additionally, over the past several hundreds years, Asia Pacific has been a destination for artists from all other continents and these artists, combined with immense local creativity and inspiration, have created a harmony of styles and forms that must seen to be believed. Museum Pasifika, located [...]

Brooklyn Museum Announces Major Change in Hours Starting in October

BROOKLYN, NY.- Beginning Wednesday, October 6, the Brooklyn Museum will open to the public eight additional hours a week, including remaining open until 10 p.m. every Thursday and Friday. When the new schedule goes into effect, the Brooklyn Museum will have a greater number of evening hours than almost any other New York City museum. Despite the challenging economic climate, the enhanced public hours will be implemented following an exhaustive year-long analysis of how the Museum’s public hours might be [...]