Philadelphia Museum of Art exhibition explores van Gogh’s deep immersion into nature

PHILADELPHIA, PA.- “I…am always obliged to go and gaze at a blade of grass, a pine-tree branch, an ear of wheat, to calm myself,” Vincent van Gogh wrote in a letter to his sister, Wilhemina, in July of 1889. An artist of exceptional intensity, not only in his use of color and exuberant application of paint but also in his personal life, van Gogh was powerfully and passionately drawn to nature. From 1886, when van Gogh left Antwerp for Paris, to [...]

Saffronart breaks new ground in western art with its inaugural auction of Impressionist and Modern art

MUMBAI.- Saffronart, India’s leading auction house announces its entry into Western art with its Inaugural Auction of Impressionist and Modern Art. As part of its long-term commitment to provide art connoisseurs in India and across the globe with access to the finest art works, Saffronart now introduces this landmark auction of Western art, a first for India. The auction offers a unique opportunity for collectors to acquire significant works by the legends of the art world including Van Gogh, Pablo Picasso, [...]

Vincent Van Gogh and Paul Gauguin’s Journey on view at the Palazzo Ducale in Genoa

GENOA.- In April 1897 Paul Gauguin had already been back in Tahiti for two years. His health was poor and he rarely worked outside in the lush natural world or by the ocean. He spent much more time in his studio. That month he received the news from his wife Mette that his daughter Aline, at the age of only twenty, had died in Copenhagen in January from complications due to pneumonia. Gauguin was utterly distraught at this news and in [...]

New Vincent Van Gogh exhibition at Denver Art Museum to trace artist’s evolution

DENVER, CO.- Becoming Van Gogh, an in-depth exploration of Vincent van Gogh’s unconventional path to becoming one of the world’s most recognizable artists, will be presented at the Denver Art Museum (DAM) from October 21, 2012 through January 20, 2013. The exhibition examines critical steps in the largely self-taught artist’s evolution through more than 70 paintings and drawings by Van Gogh, along with works by artists to whom he responded. Organized by the DAM and curated by Timothy J. Standring, Gates Foundation Curator [...]

“The Kiss” by Gustav Klimt Named Most Romantic Oil Painting for Valentine’s Day 2011

WICHITA, KAN.- The popular online art gallery overstockArt.com, published today its official Top 10 list of most romantic oil paintings for Valentine’s Day 2011. Topping the chart is Gustav Klimt’s sensual masterpiece “The Kiss.” Other artists named on the 2011 Valentine’s Day Top 10 Romantic Oil Paintings list include Marc Chagall, Henri Matisse, Pablo Picasso, Pierre-Auguste Renoir and Vincent van Gogh. Dance in the City by” Pierre-Auguste Renoir The oil paintings that made the 2011 Valentine’s Day Top 10 Romantic Oil [...]

Paul Gauguin’s “Nature Morte a ‘L’Esperance,” Fails to Sell at Christie’s Auction in London

LONDON (REUTERS).- A painting by Paul Gauguin, billed as the top lot at Christie’s auction of modern and impressionist works in London, failed to find a buyer on Wednesday. The tribute to the artist’s friend Vincent Van Gogh, in the form of a still life with sunflowers called “Nature morte a ‘L’Esperance,” had been expected to fetch up to 10 million pounds ($16 million). A Christie’s employee poses with Paul Gauguin’s “Nature morte a ‘L’esperence’” at Christie’s auction house in London [...]

Christie’s Offers a Still Life Painting by Paul Gauguin in Big 2011 Opening Sale

LONDON (REUTERS).- Christie’s is offering art worth 74-109 million pounds ($114-168 million) at its first big auction of 2011, including a still life by Paul Gauguin that was a tribute to his friend and fellow pioneer Vincent van Gogh. Art market records tumbled in 2010 despite concerns about the strength of the broader economy, and estimates for the impressionist and modern art evening auction on February 9 are the second highest on record for an equivalent sale at Christie’s in [...]

OverstockArt.com Reveals its Annual Top 10 Oil Paintings Rankings for 2010, van Gogh Continues Reign

WICHITA, KANSAS.- The popular online art gallery, overstockArt.com, revealed its annual Top 10 Oil Paintings rankings for 2010. Topping the list is Vincent van Gogh’s masterpiece, “Branches of an Almond Tree in Blossom.” Other artists named on the 2010 list include Gustav Klimt, Claude Monet, Pablo Picasso and Mark Rothko. Van Gogh continues his reign as the best-selling artist this year. According to overstockArt.com statistics, van Gogh’s magnum opus “Starry Night” was the world’s most popular oil painting in 2009 and [...]

Lawsuit: Cezanne at New York City’s Metropolitan Wrongly Acquired

NEW YORK (AP).- A man claims a Paul Cezanne painting at New York City’s Metropolitan Museum was stolen from his great-grandfather during the Russian Revolution. The Wall Street Journal reports that Pierre Konowaloff sued the museum Wednesday in Manhattan federal court. The work is called “Madame Cezanne in the Conservatory.” A collector bequeathed the work to the Met in 1960. The museum said in a statement that it believes it has good title to the painting and will fight the [...]

Six-Month Restoration Ends of Vincent Van Gogh’s “Bedroom”

AMSTERDAM (AP).- Vincent van Gogh must have been horrified when he returned from the hospital to his studio in Arles early in 1889 to find one of his favorite paintings damaged by moisture. He pressed newspaper to the canvas to protect it from further deterioration, and later rolled it up and sent it to his brother Theo in Paris. Ella Hendriks could still see traces of newsprint when she looked at “The Bedroom” under a microscope, as she picked and [...]

Egyptian Minister, Farouk Hosni, Questioned in Van Gogh Theft

CAIRO (AP).-Egyptian prosecutors questioned the culture minister for three hours over the theft of a Vincent van Gogh painting that has put him on the defensive over the state of museum security around the country. Farouk Hosni said he sought in Sunday night’s session to dispel accusations he failed to respond adequately to calls for increased security at Egyptian museums, including the one from where the van Gogh was stolen. No alarms and only seven of 43 security cameras were [...]

Resounding Success at this Year’s Art Nocturne Knocke

KNOKKE-HEIST.- This year’s 35th edition of the prestigious art and antiques fair Art Nocturne Knocke was a resounding success. No fewer than 11,950 art and antiques lovers flocked to the fair at the Belgian coastal resort of Knokke last week. Antiques dealers and most art galleries did good business and the public were exceedingly enthusiastic about the offered art works and their presentation. The fair included the beautiful ‘La Chaumière Sous Les Arbres’ (‘The cottage under the trees’) by Van [...]

Minister Farouk Hosni Says Search Still On for Van Gogh Stolen from Cairo Museum

CAIRO (AP).- Egypt’s culture minister on Saturday retracted his claim that police had recovered a van Gogh painting stolen from a Cairo museum, saying it was based on inaccurate information and that the search for the canvas continues. The minister, Farouk Hosni, said earlier Saturday that police had confiscated the painting from an Italian couple at Cairo airport hours after it was lifted from the Mahmoud Khalil Museum in the Egyptian capital. But Hosni later backtracked, telling a national television [...]

Van Gogh Museum Announces Naturalism in Art with the Exhibition Illusions of Reality

AMSTERDAM.- From 8 October 2010 to 16 January 2011, the Van Gogh Museum will be presenting Illusions of reality: Naturalist painting, photography and cinema, 1875-1918. The exhibition, curated by guest curator Gabriel P. Weisberg, Professor of Art History at the University of Minnesota, gives an overview of Naturalist painting in relation to photography and film, with work by artists including Léon Lhermitte and Jules Bastien-Lepage (France), Albert Edelfelt (Finland), Károly Ferenczy (Hungary), Anders Zorn (Sweden), and Thomas Anschutz (United States). [...]

Germany’s Ruhr Region Turns from Coal to European Capital of Culture

ESSEN (AP).- The Emscher river in western Germany’s The Ruhr region was one of the country’s most polluted for decades, so bad that parents spooked children with warnings they could die if they fell into the poisonous stew of sewage and chemical waste. Today, a much-cleaner Emscher is the backdrop to more than 20 new art installations — the latest European effort to transform blighted industrial areas into cultural destinations for tourists and to breathe new life into the region. [...]

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