National Galleries of Scotland announces a major new acquisition of painting by J.M.W. Turner

EDINBURGH.- The National Galleries of Scotland announces a major new acquisition, Rome from Monte Mario (1820) by J.M.W. Turner (1775-1851). This stunning watercolour has recently been allocated to the Scottish National Gallery through the Acceptance in Lieu of Tax scheme and will take pride of place in the Gallery’s much-loved Turner in January exhibition. Rome from Monte Mario will strengthen this outstanding, annual display, illustrating an aspect of the artist’s work not previously represented. The show is renowned for providing a thoughtful counterpoint [...]

National Gallery of Art presents installation of three Rothko Seagram murals

WASHINGTON, DC.- The National Gallery of Art presents a special installation of three of Mark Rothko’s paintings made for the so-called Seagram Mural Project, timed to coincide with the presentation of John Logan’s play Red at Arena Stage at the Mead Center for American Theater (January 20 to March 4), which dramatizes Rothko’s struggle with the commission. Mark Rothko: Seagram Murals is on view in the Concourse galleries of the East Building from December 6, 2011, through August 15, 2012. These works [...]

Major retrospective of the work of Eugene Von Guerard opens at the Queensland Art Gallery

SOUTH BRISBANE.- A major retrospective of the work of Eugene von Guérard (1811–1901), one of Australia’s most renowned colonial landscape painters, opened at the Queensland Art Gallery through 4 March 2012. Queensland Art Gallery Director Tony Ellwood said ‘Eugene von Guérard: Nature Revealed’ featured over 65 works from throughout the Austrian-born artist’s 50-year career, including many of his iconic landscapes and several sketches. ‘Eugene von Guérard is arguably Australia’s most important colonial landscape painter. His works are remarkable in their detail and greatly [...]

Francoise Nielly returns to Barcelona to showcase her new collection at Villa del Arte Galleries

BARCELONA.- In the Catalan capital, Villa del Arte Galleries has unveiled the exhibition, Françoise Nielly: Up-close. Following the success of her last sell out show held in Barcelona in December 2010, the artist has retuned to the city to showcase her new collection of paintings and silkscreens. The artist Françoise Nielly has reached the hearts of many with her portraits and expressive paintings of the human body. Nielly’s work, which combines bright, bold colours and brush strokes that could pierce canvas, is establishing [...]

Rijksmuseum exhibits the evolution of the harsh, yet atmospheric 19th-century winters

AMSTERDAM.- From 21 December 2011 to 26 March 2012, the Rijksmuseum will be presenting the Dutch Winters exhibition at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol. The evolution of the 19th-century winter landscape will be displayed by means of eight atmospheric paintings. During the first half of the 19th century, Romanticism painting was at its height. In their winter landscapes, Barend Cornelis Koekkoek and Charles Leickert evoke an idyllic atmosphere and a love of nature. Around 1870, a new phase emerged in which the detailed brush strokes [...]

Three architects selected to receive the 2012 A.I.A Thomas Jefferson Award for public architecture

WASHINGTON, D.C.- The American Institute of Architects has selected, Alexander Cooper, FAIA, Daniel Feil, FAIA, and Robert Peck, Hon. AIA, to receive the 2012 Thomas Jefferson Award for Public Architecture. This year’s award recipients will be honored and receive their awards at the 2012 AIA National Convention and Design Exposition in Washington D.C. The Thomas Jefferson Award recognizes excellence in architectural advocacy and achievement in three categories: Private-sector architects who have established a portfolio of accomplishment in the design of architecturally distinguished public [...]

Host of new art world records established at Bonhams salerooms this year

LONDON.- The past year (2011) saw a series of art world records broken at Bonhams salerooms round the world. These include: Chinese Art Bonhams Hong Kong set a new outright world record for a Chinese snuff bottle on 28 November 2011, at the auction of the celebrated Mary and George Bloch Collection: Part IV at the Island Shangri-La Hotel, Hong Kong. The tiny, yet exquisite, ‘famille-rose’ enamelled glass ‘European-subject’ snuff bottle made in the Imperial Palace workshops in Beijing during the Emperor Qianlong [...]

Seattle Art Museum announces two new and important 17th-Century European acquisitions

SEATTLE, WA.- The Seattle Art Museum announced today that it has acquired two new important paintings for the European collection. Both of these works of art are fractional gifts to the museum from local collector and SAM Trustee Barney A. Ebsworth. Francisco Zurbarán’s (Spanish, 1598-1664) The Flight into Egypt (late 1630’s) addresses events following the birth of Jesus. Philippe de Champaigne’s (French, 1602-74) The Visitation (1643) is one of four paintings devoted to the Virgin Mary that were created for the family [...]

Masterpieces of Renaissance portraiture on view in new exhibition opening at Met Museum

NEW YORK, N.Y.- The first great age of portraiture in Europe, both north and south of the Alps, took place in the 15th century. For the first time since antiquity, portraits were used to record the features of a family member for future generations, celebrate a prince or warrior, extol the beauty of a woman, or make possible the exchange of a likeness among friends. The Renaissance Portrait from Donatello to Bellini, on view at The Metropolitan Museum of Art from December 21, [...]

Richard Hamilton: Portrait of the Artist at the National Portrait Gallery in London

LONDON.- A new display at the National Portrait Gallery plays tribute to the life and career of artist Richard Hamilton, who died earlier this year. Ten portraits of Hamilton, one of the founders of Pop Art in Britain, will form the display which was originally intended to mark the artist’s approaching 90th birthday. Richard Hamilton: Portraits of the Artist will run from 19 December 2011 to 14 May 2012 in Room 32 of the Gallery. Hamilton was a member of the Independent Group [...]

Walters Art Museum announces 260 Russian enamels bequeathed, finest pieces from U.S. private collection

BALTIMORE, MD.- The Walters Art Museum announces the gift of enameled Russian silver bequeathed by Jean Montgomery Riddell. This collection is comprised of more than 260 objects from the 17th through early 20th centuries. Riddell, who passed away in 2010 at the age of 100, was a Washington, D.C. patron of the arts. Her collection was internationally recognized and ranked as the finest of its kind in the United States. Although she was particularly interested in Moscow enamels of the late 19th [...]

Barbara Hepworth sculpture bought for Aberdeen Art Gallery and Museums

MELKSHAM.- The Art Fund has helped Aberdeen Art Gallery and Museums buy Meditation, a 1972 sculpture by Dame Barbara Hepworth. The sculpture originally belonged to Sir Norman Reid, an artist and former Director of the Tate, who was given the piece by Hepworth shortly before her death in 1975. One of Barbara Hepworth’s late works, Meditation shows the artist at her most abstract The piece One of Barbara Hepworth’s late works, Meditation shows the artist at her most abstract. It consists of a [...]

Asian Art sale at Sotheby’s Paris totals €12.45 million against an overall pre-sale estimate of €6.5-9m

PARIS.- Sotheby’s final sale of 2011 in Paris, devoted to Asian Art, totalled €12.45 million against an overall pre-sale estimate of €6.5-9m. The highest price rewarded an 18th century cabinet formed by four carved zitan panels of dragons, from the reign of Emperor Qianlong. This remarkable item of furniture, of exceptional size, has exquisite carving in a wood reserved exclusively for imperial use. The cabinet was discovered and identified in a French private collection; its price of €2,528,750 reflects the importance bidders [...]

Announcing the VIP Art Fair 2012 with over 2,000 artists from 115 carefully selected galleries

NEW YORK, N.Y.- The unique cultural destination on the web, the VIP Art Fair, provides unrivaled access to key works from leading artists to a truly global audience. From 3-8th February, work from over 2,000 artists will be on view through presentations by 115 carefully selected galleries invited to participate. VIP connects all audiences in real time to experience the art works and share what they’ve seen. Scale has no bounds in the VIP Art Fair as galleries can present intimate drawings [...]

Guggenheim launches museum exhibition catalogue in digital format and expands online publications

NEW YORK, N.Y.- The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum has expanded its digital publications resources, offering greater access to a range of content from Guggenheim publications, including the first exhibition catalogue to be published by a museum in an e-book format. A newly digitized selection of essays and historical materials dating back to the 1937 founding of the museum are also now available at guggenheim.org/publications. Museum publications currently offered for purchase as e-books include the catalogue for the current exhibition Maurizio Cattelan: All and [...]