Bank of America Merrill Lynch art conservation project helps restore 20 works of art across globe

LONDON.- At an event at London’s Courtauld Gallery last night (31 January), Bank of America Merrill Lynch announced this year’s conservation funding recipients through its unique Art Conservation Project. This year, participating institutions span the globe from Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA), to Asia, Australia, Latin America and the United States. The Art Conservation Project will see the restoration of 20 art works and artifacts with important cultural and historical value from 19 countries. The 2012 award selections for EMEA include [...]

Christie’s 2011 sales total US$5.7 billion; significant increase in private sales and via online

LONDON.- Christie’s announces 2011 sales of £3.6 billion / US$5.7 billion, up 9% by £ (14% by US$) compared with 2010 (figures include buyer’s premium). This includes private sales of £502 million / US$808.6 million, an increase of 44% by £ (50% by US$) on 2010. “Christie’s ability to curate and offer sales of art to a growing audience has led to continued demand across geographies, collecting categories and at all levels. This is a very encouraging set of results”, said Steven [...]

Restored Rubens masterpiece goes back on public view at The Courtauld Gallery

LONDON.- The newly-conserved masterpiece Cain Slaying Abel by Sir Peter Paul Rubens went back on public display at The Courtauld Gallery, today. The magnificent painting, widely considered to be one of the most important in the Gallery’s world-class collection of works by Rubens, has been restored as part of the Bank of America Art Conservation Project which was launched in 2010. The Flemish master Rubens (1577-1640) was one of the most exciting and explosive artistic talents of early modern Europe . His [...]

Cy Twombly: Photographs 1951-2010 opens at the Centre for Fine Arts in Brussels

BRUSSELS.- As a tribute to the recently deceased artist, the Centre for Fine Arts is turning the spotlight on a less familiar aspect of his oeuvre. The exhibition includes more than 100 dryprint Polaroid photographs (selected by Twombly himself), along with a selection of other works by Twombly and a film portrait by Tacita Dean. Cy Twombly (who was born in Lexington in 1928 and died in Rome in 2011) was one of the most important US artists of his generation. He made [...]

Earliest known copy of Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa found at Spain’s Prado Museum

MADRID (AP).- A “Mona Lisa” copy owned by Spain’s Prado Museum was almost certainly painted by one of Leonardo da Vinci’s apprentices alongside the master himself as he did the original, museum officials said Wednesday. The stunning find of what the Prado now says is probably the earliest known copy of La Gioconda will give art lovers and experts an idea of what the Mona Lisa looked like back in the 16th century, said Gabriele Finaldi, the museum’s deputy director collections. [...]

Sweden’s Nationalmuseum acquires Tradgardsinterior by artist Johan Krouthén

STOCKHOLM.- Nationalmuseum has acquired the painting Trädgårdsinteriör från Linköping by Swedish artist Johan Krouthén. The detailed painting depicts army surgeon Ernst Boman and his family and is dated 1887-1888. Nationalmuseum previously only owned one painting by Krouthén, and is thus pleased to be able to add this work from the artist’s best period. Johan Krouthén (1858-1932) was part of the generation of artists that broke through during the 1880s, when a French-oriented realism dominated Swedish painting. However, in contrast to many of [...]

Hayward Gallery presents first major United Kingdom survey of works by David Shrigley

LONDON.- This Hayward Gallery exhibition is the first major survey in the UK of works by David Shrigley. Spanning the upper galleries, David Shrigley: Brain Activity, covers the full range of Shrigley’s diverse practice from the past two decades of the artist’s career, including drawing, animation, painting, photography, taxidermy and sculpture. The exhibition features some 240 works, the majority of which are new or never before shown in the UK. David Shrigley is best known for his pared down drawings and animations that [...]

The Valencian Institute for Modern Art opens exhibition: Contemporary Indigenous Art in Australia

VALENCIA.- The director of the IVAM, Consuelo Císcar, the curators of the exhibition Ian McLean and Erica Izett and artists Judy Watson and Christian Thompson presented the exhibition “Contemporary Indian Art Australia. Missana-Sordello Collection, which will run until April 16 . The exhibition draws primarily from the private collection of Marc Sordello & Francis Missana and brings together 71 works from 58 artists that are part of Western Desert, a movement that brings together indigenous artists from the communities of the almost [...]

Amon Carter Museum of American Art Announces New Interpretation Manager

FORT WORTH, TX.- The Amon Carter Museum of American Art announced that Jenna Madison has joined its nationally recognized Education Department in the newly created position of Interpretation Manager. Over the last decade, the Amon Carter has developed programs to make its collection relevant to the museum’s diverse audiences. Interpretive resources such as audio tours and family guides have been widely used by guests of all ages, and Madison will continue to produce innovative methods that enhance how visitors connect with art. [...]

Art detective and leading art dealer Philip Mould is on the hunt for lost treasures

LONDON.- Is there a chance you have an unknown Rembrandt or a forged Leonardo? The race is now on to discover unattributed treasures or counterfeits currently languishing in the dimly lit corridors of Britain. After securing high viewing figures for a programme of fine art in the first series, ‘Fake or Fortune?’ has been re-commissioned by BBC1 to set this crack art sleuthing duo on the trail of material to provide the perfect ‘Whodunnit’ art crime scene for next year. Last [...]

“A Portrait of a Young Lady in Pink” leads January Period Art & Design auction at Bonhams

SAN FRANCISCO, CA.- A selection of paintings paved the way to success at Bonhams Period Art & Design auction, January 29, 2012 in San Francisco, which realized a sales total of $578,981. Leading the auction was A portrait of a young lady in pink, an oil on canvas by Tadé Styka, depicting a brunette woman in a sleeveless, eye-catching, pink gown sitting outside against a grey-blue sky. The piece, signed by Polish-born, portrait painter Styka (1889-1954), more than doubled its pre-sale estimate of [...]

National Gallery of Victoria corrects details of missing Bonington painting investigation

MELBOURNE.- The National Gallery of Victoria outlined details of its investigations into the missing, now reported stolen, Richard Bonington painting Low Tide at Boulogne (1818-28). Media reports erroneously suggested that the NGV has done very little to recover the work during the last decade. Gerard Vaughan, Director NGV said: “All appropriate protocols and processes were followed as the Gallery sought to locate the work, including discussions with the Trustees and Arts Ministry from 2003 with further advice to the Government, police and [...]

Heather Gaudio Fine Art announces exhibition of select works by Robert Kushner & Cornelia Kubler Kavanagh

NEW CANAAN, CT.- Heather Gaudio Fine Art, a contemporary art gallery featuring paintings, sculptures, photography, and works on paper is pleased to present their latest exhibition, Patterns and Forms, at their gallery located at 21 South Avenue in New Canaan, CT. The exhibition will feature a compelling apposition of paintings and sculpture. A series of richly textured and opulent paintings of flowers by Robert Kushner are paired with fluid and inspiring bronze sculptures by Cornelia Kubler Kavanagh. The exhibition will run [...]

Turner watercolour, lost from public view for 100 years, brought home to Brighton

BRIGHTON.- A painting of Brighton by JMW Turner which was lost from public view for 100 years has found a home at the city’s Royal Pavilion thanks to an Art Fund grant. Jenny Lund, Curator of Fine Art at the Royal Pavilion and Museums, said: “The watercolour The Chain Pier at Brighton will be a tremendous asset for the Royal Pavilion and Museums and its fine art collection.” The painting Painted around 1824-5, The Chain Pier at Brighton is the only picture Turner [...]

Bonhams to sell Zulu heritage in London: German art training that gave new insights into Africa

LONDON.- When does a work of art become part of a country’s national heritage? Bonhams next sale of South African Art on 21st March 2012 in New Bond Street, London, may go some way towards answering that question when ‘Zulu Woman’ by Irma Stern goes under the hammer. Painted in 1935 at the height of her creative powers by South Africa’s leading artist, Irma Stern, it is estimated to sell for £400,000 to £600,00. As Irma Stern’s reputation is without equal in the [...]