National Gallery of Art Acquires Works by Kerry James Marshall, Anne Truitt, and More

WASHINGTON, D.C.- The Collectors Committee of the National Gallery of Art recently made possible the acquisition of Great America (1994) by Kerry James Marshall (b. 1955)―the Gallery’s first painting by the midcareer African American artist―and Knight’s Heritage (1963), a breakthrough sculpture by Anne Truitt (1921–2004). A devoted student of the human figure and the history of art, especially the genres of portraiture and narrative, Marshall draws upon the experience of African Americans like himself to create imposing, contemporary history paintings. In [...]

Austrian Nazi Victim’s Heir to Get Klimt Painting from Salzburg’s Modern Art Museum

VIENNA (AP).- An Austrian museum plans to return a precious Gustav Klimt painting to the heir of its rightful owner after researchers discovered it was confiscated by Nazis during World War II, officials said Thursday. The painting, “Litzlberg am Attersee,” currently owned by Salzburg’s modern art museum, MdM Salzburg, is estimated to be worth as much as euro30 million ($44 million). Research by various experts tasked with tracing the origin of the work showed that the Nazis seized the now [...]

Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History Highlights Civil War Nurses

WASHINGTON, D.C..- In commemoration of the 150th anniversary of the beginning of the Civil War, the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History opened a special display titled “‘So Much Need of Service’—The Diary of a Civil War Nurse,” telling the story of Civil War nurse Amanda Akin. On loan from the National Library of Medicine, the display includes Akin’s personal diary and the published account of her experience as a nurse in the book, The Lady Nurse of Ward E. “So [...]

Andy Warhol’s Last Great Masterpiece to Be Sold at Christie’s New York on May 11

NEW YORK, NY.- Andy Warhol’s last great Self-Portrait, 1986, will headline the Post-War and Contemporary Auction season in New York at Christie’s Post-War and Contemporary Art Evening sale on May 11, 2011. An art-historical landmark, the monumental painting is poignantly underscored with the theme of a fleeting lifetime, and is estimated to realize from $30,000,000 to $40,000,000. The painting is executed in the artist’s signature Pop Red— a color in which he rendered his most famous image of Marilyn Monroe, as [...]

Photographers Tim Hetherington and Chris Hondros Killed While Covering Battles in Libya

NEW YORK, NY (AP).- Tim Hetherington, the daring war photographer and Oscar-nominated co-director of the documentary “Restrepo” about a platoon of U.S. soldiers in Afghanistan, died Wednesday while covering battles between rebels and Libyan government forces. He was 40. Hetherington was killed along with Getty Images photographer Chris Hondros in Misrata, the only rebel-held city in western Libya. Two other photojournalists were wounded in the attack. Misrata has come under weeks of relentless shelling by government troops. Hetherington had tweeted [...]

Comprehensive Exhibition on Pioneer of Modern German Art, Max Liebermann, Opens

BONN.- In cooperation with the Hamburg Kunsthalle, the Art and Exhibition Hall of the Federal Republic of Germany is showing a comprehensive retrospective on Max Liebermann (1847–1935). Max Liebermann plays an outstanding role in the history of art and culture in Germany. Not only his artistic oeuvre but also his cultural and political activities make him one of the leading pioneers of modern German painting. Max Liebermann‟s unique position between the end of 19th century and the beginning of the 20th [...]

A Hulking Sculpture Meant to Promote Turkish-Armenian Reconciliation Faces Demolition

ISTANBUL (AP).- A hulking sculpture meant to promote reconciliation between Turkey and Armenia became an accidental emblem of their historic enmity after workers erected scaffolding towers and began to demolish it this week. Then, the mood soured further: a Turkish artist who championed the monument was stabbed. Bedri Baykam, a prominent critic of Turkey’s government, was hospitalized after the assault Monday, which followed a speech in which he condemned plans to tear down the sculpture near the Armenian border. It [...]

Major Work by Constantinos Volanakis to Highlight Sotheby’s Greek Sale in May

LONDON.- Sotheby’s Greek Sale, on Monday, 9 May, 2011, will draw together an exceptional array of Greek art, with important examples of 19th and 20th-century masters such as Constantinos Volanakis, Konstantinos Maleas, and Nicos Hadjikiriakos-Ghika. The sale of 132 lots is estimated to fetch in excess of £4 million. Speaking about the sale, Constantine Frangos, Senior Director, Greek and 19th Century European Paintings, Sotheby’s, London, commented, “We are very pleased to be offering once again a selection of high quality [...]

Colombian Master Fernando Botero to Offer Solo Sale at Sotheby’s in New York

NEW YORK, NY.- On 25 May 2011 Sotheby’s will present a remarkable group of works by the Colombian master Fernando Botero in a single-artist evening sale. The auction, entitled Fernando Botero: A Celebration, takes place alongside A Discerning Eye: Latin American Masterpieces from a Private Collection and the various owner Latin American Art evening sale. It is the first single-artist sale held by Sotheby’s Latin American Art department since the auction of Joaquín Torres-Garcia’s works from the estate of Royal S. [...]

Royal Collection Presents Exhibition of 42 Paintings of Dutch 17th-Century Landscapes

LONDON.- This exhibition of 42 paintings draws on the Royal Collection’s rich holdings of Dutch 17th-century landscapes, including works by Jacob van Ruisdael, Aelbert Cuyp, Jan van der Heyden and Meyndert Hobbema. By the 17th century, landscape painting was well established as a distinct art form and one in which Netherlandish artists excelled. The fine detail and meticulous finish of Dutch pictures appealed to British taste, and 34 of the works in the exhibition were acquired by the future George IV [...]

Celia, the Most Beautiful Boy in the World (and Percy) Star in Bonhams Hockney Sale

LONDON.- A rare signed proof copy of David Hockney’s lithograph ‘An Image of Celia’ in the original frame hand painted by the artist is the star item in sale dedicated to Hockney’s work at Bonhams on 20 April. Dating from the mid-1980s, the Picasso-like image of Hockney’s close friend, the textile designer Celia Birtwell, is estimated at between £60,000- 80,000. It leads a sale which covers the whole spectrum of Hockney’s output and techniques from the early ‘Fires of Furious Desire [...]

U.S. Museums Face Financial Woes, Get More Visitors Says American Association of Museums

WASHINGTON (AP).- After the Great Recession swept through, the Delaware Art Museum had laid off half its staff, cut salaries and lost crucial support from corporations. Yet attendance was up last year at the Wilmington museum, reflecting the same trend museums have seen across the country because of declining funding and increased demand from schools and “staycationers.” A report being released Monday by the American Association of Museums shows more than 70 percent of the nation’s museums were under financial [...]

Morgan Fisher’s New Works, Photographs and Works on Paper at Bortolami

NEW YORK, NY.- Bortolami presents an exhibition of Morgan Fisher’s new works, photographs and works on paper. The photographs in the show present boxes of still film from the 1950s. They are doubly obsolete: once for being drastically past expiration, and twice for being a medium that is no longer in popular practice. The ‘50s was the decade when Fisher became aware of photography and started taking photographs. Beyond being obliquely autobiographical, the photographs are acts of remembrance, and as [...]

Parrish Art Museum Presents Major Exhibition of Celebrated Portuguese Artist Julião Sarmento

SOUTHAMPTON, NY.- Julião Sarmento: Artists and Writers/House and Home, an exhibition of more than forty paintings and works on paper by the acclaimed Portuguese artist, are on view at the Parrish Art Museum from April 17 through June 11, 2011. Organized by Parrish Director Terrie Sultan, the exhibition will highlight the artist’s longstanding engagement with the themes of language, writing, and a sense of place. As part of its ongoing commitment to enhance connections among the artistic disciplines, the Parrish Art [...]

Deutsche Guggenheim Presents the “Artist of the Year” 2011 Yto Barrada: Riffs

BERLIN.- Riffs is the first large-scale exhibition in Germany of the work of Yto Barrada, whose photographs, films, publications, installations and sculptures engage with the peculiar situation of her hometown of Tangier, Morocco. With Yto Barrada, Deutsche Bank has elected a woman as “Artist of the Year” 2011 whose work has been closely involved with the political and social realities in North Africa for over a decade. In her first series A Life Full of Holes: The Strait Project, ten [...]