Sotheby’s Greek Sale to Include Important Examples of Greek Modernism by Masters

LONDON.- Sotheby’s Greek Sale, on Monday, 9 May, 2011, will draw together an exceptional array of Greek art, with important examples of Greek Modernism by eminent 20th-century masters such as Constantinos Parthenis, Yiannis Tsarouchis and Yiannis Moralis. The Resurrection by Constantinos Parthenis, est. £300,000‐500,000 / €345,000‐575,000. Photo: Sotheby’s. The Resurrection by Constantinos Parthenis (1878-1967) forms part of a series of works for Athens City Hall, commissioned by the Metaxas government in 1939. Parthenis executed many preliminary drawings for this decorative [...]

China’s Foreign Ministry Transcript Omits Mentions of Detained Artist Ai Weiwei

BEIJING (AP).- China’s Foreign Ministry removed all references to a detained artist from its official transcript of a news conference given by its spokesman, in an apparent sign it wants to stifle discussion of the case. Ten of the 18 questions asked at the news conference Thursday concerned Ai Weiwei, a prominent artist and activist who was detained Sunday at Beijing’s international airport along with an assistant, Wen Tao. All 10 questions were omitted from the transcript posted Friday on [...]

Twenty Portraits of Helena Rubinstein to Be Offered by Sotheby’s in New York

NEW YORK, N.Y.- In May and October 2011, Sotheby’s will offer 20 portraits of Helena Rubinstein (1870-1965), the legendary businesswoman and style icon whose name remains synonymous with beauty and elegance more than 100 years after the founding of her company, Helena Rubinstein, Incorporated. Rubinstein was a pioneer and an innovator, creator of one of the first worldwide beauty brands and the world’s first female self-made millionaire. She was also a noted collector, filling homes in London, Paris and New York [...]

The Museum for Arts and Crafts in Zurich Presents Henri Cartier-Bresson Retrospective

ZURICH- Henri Cartier-Bresson is one of the most important photographers in history. The Museum für Gestaltung Zürichpays tribute to his achievements in a comprehensive retrospective that is the first of its kind to be seen in Switzerland. The exhibition is on view from April 8 through July 24, 2011. Henri Cartier-Bresson (1908–2004) is among the most influential and most admired photographers. Even his first works from the early 1930s stand out on account of their exceptional qualities in terms of composition, [...]

Exhibition in Barcelona Explores the Realist Movement through Courbet’s Paintings

BARCELONA.- The French Painter Gustave Courbet rocked the art world in the 19th century. Through his brush, reality entered painting: Realism was born. With the aim of tracing his footsteps in this country, the MNAC is exhibiting a selection of his most outstanding works, most of which are being shown in Spain for the first time. The exhibition reveals Courbet’s influence on Catalan painting in the period, most of all through the work of Ramon Martí Alsina, the man responsible for [...]

Christie’s Backs Stubbs to Join Old Masters Elite, Painting Expected to Fetch $33 Million

LONDON (REUTERS).- Christie’s will offer a George Stubbs horse painting for sale in London on July 5 and expects it to make more than 20 million pounds ($33 million), potentially putting it in the Old Masters auction elite. “Gimcrack on Newmarket Heath, with a Trainer, a Stable-Lad, and a Jockey” was painted by Stubbs, renowned for his anatomically precise portrayals of horses, in 1765, and is described by the auctioneer as “a true masterpiece.” It depicts Gimcrack, one of the [...]

Prado Museum Presents an Exhibition of a Previously Unknown Period in Ribera’s Career

MADRID.- The Museo del Prado presents The Young Ribera, a survey of Ribera’s activity during his period in Rome and in the years following his arrival in Naples in 1616. The exhibition runs from April 5 through July 31, 2011. This is a period of Ribera’s career that was almost completely unknown until recently and one that is the subject of an extremely interesting debate among art historians. Featuring more thirty two works, the exhibition allows for comparisons between the most [...]

Musée d’Orsay in Paris Presents Edouard Manet: The Man Who Invented Modernity

PARIS.- Musée d’Orsay presents Manet, the Man who invented Modernity, on view from April 5 through July 3, 2011. There has been no exhibition exclusively devoted to Manet in France since 1983, where Françoise Cachin and Charles S. Moffett produced a memorable retrospective. In the ensuing twenty-five years, however, there has been much valuable research and fruitful reflection. A rejection of formalism and a return to history, personal as well as collective, characterise the best of this work, whether documenting [...]

Dogancay, Ceylan and Orhon Headline Sotheby’s Sale of Contemporary Turkish Art

LONDON.- Sotheby’s London will be staging its annual London Sale of Contemporary Turkish Art on Thursday, April 7th, 2011. The auction will present 102 works by among the leading Modern and Contemporary Turkish artists, including Mubin Orhon, Burhan Dogancay and Taner Ceylan, in addition to artists new to the auction scene, such as Onur Gulfidan, Erdem Ergaz, Yasam Sasmazer and Mehmet Ali Uysal. The auction carries an estimate of £2,087,000-3,000,000. Auction Highlights Include: Whispering Wall II is an exceptionally rare [...]

Newly Renovated National Museum of China Reopens with “The Art of the Enlightenment”

BEIJING.- Liu Yandong, State Councillor of Culture of the People’s Republic of China and Guido Westerwelle, Foreign Minister of the Federal Republic of Germany, opened ‘The Art of the Enlightenment’ exhibition at the National Museum of China. The exhibition, jointly organized by Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, the Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden and the Bayerische Staatsgemäldesammlungen Munich, together with the National Museum of China, is the first international exhibition to be hosted at the venue after its refurbishment and spectacular expansion. Falling [...]

Nelson-Atkins Reunites Impressionist Master Claude Monet’s ‘Water Lilies’ Tryptich

KANSAS CITY, MO (AP).- One of impressionist master Claude Monet’s “Water Lilies” triptychs, separated 50 years ago and sold to three museums, has been reunited in a multifaceted exhibit that highlights not only the three-panel artwork, but the artist too. “I think all of us think of Monet as this father of Impressionism, as this painter who was spontaneous, who painted outdoors in his garden,” said Nicole Myers, associate curator at the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, where “Monet’s Water Lilies” opens [...]