The MFA Houston Announces Landmark Acquisition of a Dozen Works by James Turrell

HOUSTON, TX.- The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston (MFAH), builds on its longstanding commitment to the work of James Turrell with the recent acquisition of a dozen light-based works by the renowned American artist. Turrell titled the grouping Vertical Vintage; the retrospective selection reflects the full arc of Turrell’s engagement with artificial light, ranging from his first mid-1960s projections to his most recent Tall Glass series. “Vertical Vintage is part of an on-going partnership established by the MFAH and James [...]

Walker Art Center Acquires Merce Cunningham Dance Company Collection

MINNEAPOLIS, MN.- The Walker Art Center and Cunningham Dance Foundation (CDF) announce the Walker’s acquisition of a comprehensive collection of artist-made set pieces, costumes, painted drops, and props, created for the internationally renowned Merce Cunningham Dance Company (MCDC). Over the course of his nearly 70-year career, Merce Cunningham (1919-2009) redefined the visual and performing arts through pioneering collaborations with leading artists, designers, and musicians. More than 150 objects created by such artists as Robert Rauschenberg, Jasper Johns, Andy Warhol, John [...]

Saatchi Online Revamped as Social Marketplace for the Discovery and Purchase of Art from Emerging Artists

LOS ANGELES, Ca.- Saatchi Online, which re-launched in beta five months ago, now begins connecting its 100,000+ artists with potential buyers who have been visiting the site in growing numbers since October 2010. On March 16, 2011, Saatchi Online started selling pieces of artwork from emerging artists. Saatchi Online offers the highest earnings in the industry, giving 70 percent to the artist. Charles Saatchi, who originally conceived of the site, remains a major shareholder along with Balderton Capital Saatchi Online [...]

Keith Haring’s 10-Piece Apocalypse Series Donated to Gay & Lesbian Center

LOS ANGELES, CA.- A complete series of 10 silkscreens by iconic gay artist Keith Haring has been donated to the Center by Tyler Cassity, a co-owner of the Hollywood Forever Cemetery. The Apocalypse series is on exhibit in the Advocate & Gochis Galleries until March 30. “Haring’s work is so iconic; we’re honored to receive and exhibit this series,” says Jon Imparato, Director of the Center’s Cultural Arts program. “It’s rare to have a complete Haring series together like this; [...]

National Museum Wales Purchases Painting by Howard Hodgkin for the Nation

WALES.- Amgueddfa Cymru – National Museum Wales has acquired one of Howard Hodgkin’s most spectacular original prints, entitled Venice, Evening, 1995 thanks to funding grants from the Nerys Johnson Contemporary Art Fund and the Derek Williams Trust. Thanks to the generous support of the Nerys Johnson Contemporary Art Fund and the Derek Williams Trust, who each awarded a grant of £9,000, the 16 part hand painted etching and aquatint will beautifully complement and enhance other Venetian works by artists in [...]

Recent Acquisitions to Cleveland Museum of Art’s Collection Announced

CLEVELAND, OH.- A singular Jacobean miniature, a Thomas Hope settee, a large and pristine British watercolor, and a sculpture by acclaimed contemporary Polish artist Monika Sosnowska are among the latest works approved by the Collections Committee of the Cleveland Museum of Art’s Board of Trustees. The museum is continuing to collect across all departments as it moves toward the completion of its transformational building expansion and collection reinstallation in 2013, adding works that strengthen its historic commitment to quality and [...]

MoMA Acquires Important Group of Paintings and Sculptures by Cy Twombly

NEW YORK, N.Y.- The Museum of Modern Art will acquire two landmark paintings from the 1950s and a group of seven sculptures ranging in date from 1954 to 2005 by Cy Twombly, widely regarded as one of today’s most important living artists, announces MoMA Director Glenn D. Lowry. All of the works are from the artist’s personal collection, and the sculptures will be the first by Twombly to enter MoMA’s collection. With these additions to the eight paintings and numerous [...]

Ford Foundation Gives a Major Contribution of $3 Million to African Art Museum

NEW YORK, N.Y.- Elsie McCabe Thompson, president, the Museum for African Art, announced that the Museum has received a major contribution of $3 million from the Ford Foundation. The grant supports the final stage of construction of the Museum’s new building, which is located on Fifth Avenue at 110th Street and has been designed by the New York City-based Robert A.M. Stern Architects, LLP. In recognition of the Foundation’s generosity, the Museum will name the lobby of the building—which opens in fall [...]

New Hampshire’s Plymouth State University Plans Museum of the White Mountains

PLYMOUTH, NH (AP).- A hydrologist and a historian may seem like odd choices to co-author an art exhibition catalog, but it makes perfect sense at Plymouth State University. Professors Mark Green and Marcia Schmidt Blaine researched and wrote the explanatory text for “As Time Passes Over the Land,” a collection of 29 paintings of New Hampshire’s White Mountains on temporary display at the university’s Karl Drerup Art Gallery. Their collaboration reflects the university’s approach to not just the exhibit but [...]

Brooklyn Museum to Open First Phase of Transformative Renovation of First Floor

BROOKLYN, NY.- The Brooklyn Museum has completed an extensive renovation of its historic Great Hall at the center of its ground floor and has reclaimed additional space for a new gallery. This project, which is the initial phase of a major redesign of the first floor, marks the most transformative change to the floor since that portion of the Museum was constructed in the early twentieth century. The renovated space has been redesigned by the award-winning studio Ennead Architects, formerly [...]

Walker Art Gallery Acquires Important Watercolour: “Goodbye on the Mersey” by James Tissot

LIVERPOOL.- The Walker Art Gallery has acquired a striking watercolour study of 19th century emigration by the French artist, James Tissot with help from the Art Fund, the UK’s national fundraising charity for works of art. Goodbye on the Mersey is a detailed observation of a middle class family saying goodbye to relatives bound for America on an imposing transatlantic liner. It was bought at auction with help from a 100% grant from the Art Fund, totalling at £58,850. James [...]

The Fundació Gala-Salvador Dalí Acquires Etude Pour ‘Le Miel est Plus Douce que la Sang’

FIGUERES.- The Fundació Gala-Salvador Dalí announce that it has acquired the work by Salvador Dalí: Étude pour ‘Le miel est plus douce que la sang’, at the auction which took place at Christie’s London, on February, 9th, 2011 at 10pm, for a final price of £4,073,250. The work, lot 106 of the auction catalogue, an oil on wood from 1926-1927 representing one the first surrealist works of the artist, is a complete study for the painting of 1927 “Honey is [...]

The Perry and Marty Granoff Center for the Creative Arts Opens at Brown University

PROVIDENCE, RI.- Brown University will officially open the Perry and Marty Granoff Center for the Creative Arts Feb. 10, 2011. The interdisciplinary arts center will foster innovation, research, collaboration, creativity, and education among the arts, humanities, and sciences and will be a focal point of the University’s College Hill campus. The 38,815-square-foot, three-story building is designed by the New York-based architecture firm, Diller Scofidio + Renfro. The $40-million Granoff Center is a revolutionary new building dedicated to encouraging faculty and [...]

The Hermitage and the Prado Announce Exchange of Important Selection of Works

MADRID.- The Minister of Culture, Ángeles González Sinde, yesterday presided over the signing of the agreements between the Museo del Prado, the State Hermitage Museum and the State Society for Cultural Action. These agreements pave the way for an unprecedented exchange between the two museums in the form of two major exhibitions that will demonstrate the variety, quality and breadth of the collections of these great institutions. Spanish Culture Minister Angeles Gonzalez-Sinde (L), Prado Museum Royal Patronage president Placido Arango [...]

Toledo Museum of Art Acquires Glass Sculptures by Two Leading Artists for Its Collection

TOLEDO, OH.- The Toledo Museum of Art has added two new glass sculptures to its collection. Pyramid by German artist Josepha Gasch-Muche can be seen in Gallery 1 of the main Museum building. Blizzard Amulet Basket by Canadian artist Laura Donefer has been installed in Gallery 5 of the Glass Pavilion®. “Both of these sculptures are made in a clear or white palette, and both are composite sculptures, assembled of many smaller intricate elements,” said Museum Director Brian Kennedy. “These [...]