Wassily Kandinsky, Murnau - Landschaft mit grunem Haus (Murnau - Landscape with Green House), oil on board, 1909. Sold ffor: £20,971,250 ($26,442,649) (€23,882,019). Courtesy Sotheby’s.
LONDON.-Sotheby’s Evening Sales of Impressionist & Modern Art and Actual Size at Sotheby’s London totalled a combined £148,877,000 / $187,719,009 (est. £129.9-170.5m). The total for the Impressionist & Modern Art Evening Sale represented an increase of 24% over the equivalent auction last year. The auction record for Wassily Kandinsky was broken twice in the space of six lots. First to go under the hammer was Murnau – Landschaft mit grünem Haus from 1909, which sold for £21 million / $26.4 million / €23.9 million. One of the finest early works by Kandinsky left in private hands, this painting made its auction debut having remained in the private collection of the same family since the 1920s. A major Expressionist painting of blazing colour, it captures the moment of transition in the artist’s career when he was on the cusp of moving from figuration to abstraction. That record was broken minutes later by Kandinsky&# ... More
Lucian Freud, Strawberries. Oil on copper, 10.2 by 12cm. Painted circa 1950. Estimate: £550,000-750,000. Courtesy Sotheby’s.
LONDON.- A small group of luscious strawberries, painted by Lucian Freud at the height of his fascination with the still-life paintings of the Old Masters, sold moments ago in Sotheby’s saleroom for £1,208,750, or £120,875 a strawberry. The painting is just the seventh work to fall under the hammer at Sotheby’s so far this evening, with some 50 major works still to be offered, including three works set to fetch over £20 million. Although known first and foremost as a portrait painter, Freud’s rare still-lifes speak most clearly of his passion for Old Masters, for which he was dubbed “the contemporary old master”. Indeed - such was his fascination that he was given 24 hour access to the National Gallery by its director Neil MacGregor, so he could roam the galleries after midnight with his models and friends, or alone with his easel. These actual-size strawberries were painted in 1950 and given as a gift to Ann Rotherm ... More
This file photo taken on June 19, 2017 shows the leaning Al-Hadba minaret as the Iraqi forces advance towards the Old City. MOHAMED EL-SHAHED / AFP.
BAGHDAD(AFP).- Jihadists on Wednesday blew up Mosul's iconic leaning minaret and the adjacent mosque where their leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi in 2014 declared himself "caliph" in his only public appearance, Iraqi officials said. The Islamic State group swiftly issued a statement via its Amaq propaganda agency blaming a US strike, but the US-led coalition condemned the destruction as a crime against "the people of Mosul and all of Iraq". Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi said the destruction of the sites was "an official declaration of defeat" from the jihadists in the eight-month-old battle for Mosul. "Our forces were advancing toward their targets deep in the Old City and when they got to within 50 metres (yards) of the Nuri mosque, Daesh (IS) committed another historical crime by blowing up the Nuri mosque and the Hadba" mosque, Staff Lieutenant General Abdulamir Yarallah, the overall commander of the Mosul offensive, ... More
In this painting, Davringhausen imagines war as an apocalyptic vision of tiny black figures—some apparently armed—engulfed in a collapsing vortex of burning buildings.
CLEVELAND, OH.-The Cleveland Museum of Art recently acquired a painting by Heinrich Maria Davringhausen called Der Krieg (War) from the auction house Ketterer Kunst in Munich, Germany. Painted in 1914, the first year of World War I, the artwork is a historically significant and powerful depiction of conflict, and is a rare surviving work from Davringhausen’s early years as an avant-garde painter (c. 1914–19). In 1920, the artist joined the Neue Sachlichkeit (New Objectivity) movement and developed a more realistic style. Condemned as a “degenerate” by the Nazis, the majority of Davringhausen’s early works were lost or destroyed during World War II. In this painting, Davringhausen imagines war as an apocalyptic vision of tiny black figures—some apparently armed—engulfed in a collapsing vortex of burning buildings. The artist intensified the painting’s impact ... More
ROME.-Gagosian is presenting “Remembered Light: Cy Twombly in Lexington,” an exhibition by photographer Sally Mann. This is her first exhibition in Rome. Mann is known and regarded for her images of intimate and familiar subjects rendered both sublime and disquieting: children, landscape, family, and the nature of mortality. In previous projects, she explored relationships between parent and child, husband and wife, brother and sister, nature and history. In her latest exhibition of color and black-and-white photographs, taken between 1999 and 2012, she records in fleeting impressions the Lexington, Virginia studio of the late Cy Twombly, her close friend and mentor. Following presentations at Gagosian New York and Paris, this exhibition has special resonance in Italy, Twombly's adopted and imaginative home for several decades. Twombly and Mann were ... More
The Wanstead House Shields (Lot 36). A monumental pair of George III silver-gilt sideboard dishes, after a design by Thomas Stothard, Paul Storr of Storr & Co., for Rundell, Bridge and Rundell, London, 1813. Estimate: £500,000 - 700,000. Courtesy Sotheby’s.
LONDON.- On 5 July, Sotheby’s will present an extraordinary selection of the finest and most celebrated works of art as part of the annual Treasures sale. London’s pre-eminent decorative arts auction, the sale brings together the very best furniture, silver, vertu, and sculpture, selected for their outstanding quality, rarity, beauty and Royal and aristocratic provenance. Constituting 44 works all at the pinnacle of their categories, the sale is further distinguished by the inclusion of the property of the Prince of Prussia – a particular highlight among an illustrious list of consignors involved in the sale. Discussing the forthcoming sale, Henry House, Head of Sotheby’s Furniture and Decorative Arts Department, said: “The Treasures sale is undoubtedly one of the true highlights of our auction calendar, ... More
Sophia Thoreau was a gifted amateur botanist at a time when the field was dominated by amateurs.
CONCORD, MASS.- A few days ago, the Concord Museum was bequeathed an unknown rare daguerreotype of Sophia Thoreau (1819-1876), the younger sister of Henry David Thoreau. David Wood, Curator of the Concord Museum, explained, “It really is extraordinary that this previously unknown image of Sophia Thoreau should turn-up at just this moment, the Bicentennial of her brother’s birth. It is especially remarkable that her image should come to the Concord Museum, since all the great Thoreau objects in our collection came through her hands. Sophia gave her brother’s desk to Cummings Davis, the founder of the collection that became the Concord Museum. And of course Thoreau’s journal went through Sophia’s hands to H.G.O. Blake, who first edited substantial portions of it for publication.” The Concord Museum’s Henry David Thoreau Collection, numbering 250 artifacts, is the largest collection of objects ... More
Eric Laforgue. Pyongyang Subway, North Korea, 2014.
MOSCOW.- The best contemporary photographers from around the world present their works at The Lumiere Brothers Center for Photography's exhibition (Im)possible to see: North Korea. More than 70 photos selected specifically for exhibition in Russia are united by one main idea — to show the possibilities of photography in the study of the image of one of the most secretive states. The exhibition has been complemented with chronicle photos taken by Soviet photographers in the middle — second half of the XX century, giving the opportunity to show the range of the DPRK perception in different cultural and temporal contexts. "Photography is a way to explore the world, including its inaccessible parts. It has always performed this function and even today, in spite of the ability to quickly cover distances, we learn a lot of things only through the images and accompanying texts. This is especially true for closed states access to which is r ... More
A Signed Cartier, Tank Model, Manufactured in 1962 belonging to Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis dubbed the "The Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis Cartier Tank" is display at Christie's in New York. TIMOTHY A. CLARY / AFP.
NEW YORK(AFP).- An engraved gold Cartier watch given to Jacqueline Kennedy and a reciprocal thank-you painting from the former first lady sold for $379,500 at auction in New York on Wednesday, Christie's said. The Tank watch was given to Kennedy by her brother-in-law, Prince Stanislaw "Stas" Radziwill, in February 1963 to commemorate a 50-mile hike in Palm Beach championed by former president John F. Kennedy in a drive to make Americans fitter. The back of the timepiece is engraved: "Stas to Jackie, 23 Feb. 1963. 2.05am to 9.35pm" -- the start and finish of what turned into a 19-hour, 30-minute hike. In exchange the first lady gave Radziwill a painting she made of him and Chuck Spalding, a close friend of the president's, with the dedication: ... More
NEW YORK, NY.-Galerie Lelong is pleased to present Grupo Frente, the first in-depth U.S. exhibition of the historic Rio de Janeiro-based artist group. The exhibition includes works by Lygia Clark, Hélio Oiticica, Abraham Palatnik, Lygia Pape, and Ivan Serpa, and will shed light on lesser known members such as Aluísio Carvão, João José Costa, Rubem Ludolf, César Oiticica, and Décio Vieira. Grupo Frente was at the forefront of artist collectives in the region from 1954-56, approaching art through a rigorous commitment to experimentation and social mission. Grupo Frente’s founder, Ivan Serpa, was an emerging abstract painter and art educator at the Museu de Arte Moderna do Rio de Janeiro when he formed the group in 1954. The collective’s core mission was a strict dedication to experimentation with ... More
Nathan Green, SSS Tube (Aerial Perspective), 2017. Acrylic and paper pulp on canvas, 57 h x 46 w in., 144.78h x 116.84w cm. Courtesy the artist and Morgan Lehman Gallery.
NEW YORK, NY.- Brushless is a summer group exhibition that explores the margins of painterly process. It features artists who choose to apply paint using non-brush tools and techniques with idiosyncratic and often surprising results. Though each artist’s ends remain unique, paint’s fickle and fertile materiality is at play throughout. Nathan Randall Green’s site-specific paintings are created by rolling latex paint directly onto the wall, mixing hues wet-into-wet and sometimes masking off certain areas to achieve tighter boundaries and contrast. These wall-based works are comically jazzy riffs on geometric abstraction that activate interior space through bold color and formal directionality. Using a homemade atomizer, Halsey Hathaway deploys his own breath to propel colored inks onto masked, cut, and collaged paper surfaces. These quasi-pointillist paintings gain their power from subtle chromatic shifts ... More
Wendell Castle [American, b. 1932], Dante's Heaven, 2015. Bronze, 2 parts: 89 x 75.5 x 52.75 inches, 226 x 192 x 134 cm. 87.75 x 58.25 x 41.75 inches, 223 x 148 x 106 cm. Edition of 8, AP 1/4.
NEW YORK, NY.-Friedman Benda presents Wendell Castle, America’s most influential and iconic living designer, in his 5th solo exhibition at the gallery, opening June 22nd, 2017. Embracing Upheaval is a fearless exploration, encompassing two groups: Block and Freeform. Each can be seen alone or as elements of a larger story, both familiar and a departure. Lyrical and unexpected, the new series continue Castle’s life-long interest in pushing the boundaries of furniture making, and represent Castle’s latest formal exploration into the convergence of sculpture and design. Free Form series, inspired and informed by the music that has accompanied Wendell throughout his career, recall an abstract line drawn in space. The connection is evident in titles referencing cities known for music, including, Big Easy, Motown and Gotham. With the Block series, chairs and tables emanate from solid slab-like constructions ... More
Manufacture de Monsieur le duc d'Angoulême, France (Paris), 1781-1793. Vases, c. 17855. Porcelain with enamel and gilded decoration. 9 x 5.5 x 5.25 in. each. The Frick Pittsburgh Collection.
PITTSBURGH, PA.- The Board of Trustees of The Frick Pittsburgh announces the adoption of a new five-year strategic plan, 2017-22 and Beyond, and the activation of a new acquisition program, resulting in the recent acquisition of new collection objects. On Tuesday, June 20, Frick Board of Trustees Chair Charles R. ("Chip") Burke, Jr. and Executive Director Robin Nicholson presented the museum's recently adopted strategic plan to more than 20 representatives from regional foundations assembled at The Duquesne Club in Downtown Pittsburgh. 2017-22 and Beyond is the result of a two-year planning process which began shortly after the late 2014 appointment of Mr. Nicholson as the institution's third executive director. The process was led by the Board's Strategic Planning Task Force, under the leadership of Chair, Trustee Louis L. Testoni. The new strategic plan features a revised ideology for the organization, ... More
Quote America is a pioneer in throw away art. Brian O'Doherty when referring to Pop Art
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Scrolls by Zhang Daqian shatter estimates selling for $3 million at Clars on June 18th OAKLAND, CA.- On June 18, 2017, Clars Auction Gallery hosted an important Asian art and antiques as part of their June 17th and 18th Fine Art, Decorative Art, Furniture, Jewelry/Timepieces and Asian Art Auction. This sale was expected to draw strong national and international bidding on the exceptional single works and collections that were offered but in the end, this sale exceeded all predictions realizing over $5 million and shattering presale estimates not only in the Asian offerings but across the board in all categories. After the sale, Redge Martin, President of Clars commented, “I had called this a Hot June Auction. And it turned out to be very hot – hot sales, hot temperature.” The star of this special sale was a group of eight scrolls by Chinese artist Zhang Daqian (Chang Dai-chien, 1899-1983). This collection of eight scrolls included landscape paintings, ... More
Motown legend's bass sets world record in $1.2 million Entertainment & Music Event at Heritage Auctions DALLAS, TX.- A bass owned and played by James Jamerson, the 2000 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee who Base Player magazine named the "Greatest Bass Player" of all time, set a world record for the most valuable bass ever offered at auction in Heritage Auctions' June 17-18 Entertainment & Music Memorabilia Event in Beverly Hills. The Jamerson-Owned and -Played 1961 Fender Precision Bass, Serial Number 60228, with Strap, Case and Photo Archive emerged as a real sleeper prize in the auction, more than tripling its pre-auction estimate when it sold for $68,750. "James Jamerson was a very important and influential artist who played a vital role on many of Motown's biggest hits of the 1960s and early 1970s," Heritage Auctions Entertainment and Music Director Garry Shrum said. "He played on 30 Billboard No. 1 hits and more than 70 No. 1 R&B hits, so ... More
Mint Cracker Jack Ty Cobb headlines Heritage Premium Sportscard Auction DALLAS, TX.- Some of the highest graded examples of the most iconic trading cards in sports are capturing collectors' attention and interest in the Heritage Premium Sportscard Auction, which closes June 29. A 1915 Cracker Jack Ty Cobb #30 PSA Mint 9, one of only three Mint 9 in existence – (est. $300,000+) leads an all-star line-up of important cards. Baseball immortals Babe Ruth, Hank Aaron, and Mickey Mantle are represented while modern day trading card giants, Peyton Manning and Michael Jordan, showcase their sought after debut cards. In addition to individual cards, a 1986 Fleer Basketball Wax Box With 36 Unopened Packs, (est. $40,000+) which displays minimal handling is offered. The 36 unopened packs include such esteemed stars and Hall of Famers, many making their rookie debut, as Michael Jordan, Charles Barkley, Clyde Drexler, Joe Dumars, Patrick ... More
Moderna Museet Malmo opens comprehensive exhibition of Ulf Rollof's work MALMO.- Just before the Midsummer holiday Moderna Museet Malmö is opening a comprehensive exhibition in the Turbine Hall of Ulf Rollof’s complex and multifaceted art. Urgent addresses the major issues of our day, and summarizes forty years of Rollof’s artistic career in an existential and physical experience. Since the 1980s, Ulf Rollof (b. 1961) has worked with a multitude of different materials and expressions—sculpture, works on paper, moving images, experimental painting, mechanical installations, and photography. The exhibition Urgent features some twenty works, ranging from his early watercolors to photographs, from large installations to his shooting paintings and the latest large lightbox paintings. Moderna Museet has a comprehensive collection of Rollof’s work, and the exhibition complements these with a number of important pieces on loan from ... More
Pauline Boudry and Renate Lorenz present their first US solo exhibition at PARTICIPANT INC. NEW YORK, NY.- Pauline Boudry / Renate Lorenz present their first US solo exhibition Everybody talks about the weather… We don’t. It includes a major new moving image work — Telepathic Improvisation — and two new sculptures. With reference to current violent social conditions, Telepathic Improvisation explores the ways in which others (including other objects) might become part of our striving for alternative political and sexual imaginations. Humans and non-humans, movements, speeches, gestures, music, light, and smoke interpret composer Pauline Oliveros’ 1974 score of the same title. The audience is invited to communicate telepathically with all of the elements on screen, including performers Marwa Arsanios, Werner Hirsch, MPA, and Ginger Brooks Takahashi. While the action of the film appears abstract, it nonetheless includes references to leftist ... More
Ben Brown Fine Arts opens exhibition of new photographs by Hong Kong-based artist Kitty Chou HONG KONG.-Ben Brown Fine Arts Hong Kong is presenting Kitty Chou: Countervision, an exhibition of new photographs by Hong Kong-based artist Kitty Chou. This is the artist’s third solo exhibition with Ben Brown Fine Arts, and the second solo exhibition at the Hong Kong gallery, following her 2015 exhibition at the London gallery. The exhibition is comprised of two engaging bodies of work: Reflections and Colour & Space. Chou’s abstract compositions are remarkable not only for their ethereal aesthetic quality but also for the way in which they are created. Chou is steadfastly committed to shooting with a simple digital camera and abstains from any cropping, colour enhancing or digital manipulation in her artistic process. In an age when we are accustomed to air-brushed, high resolution, hyperreal colour photographic imagery, it is refreshing and slightly nostalgic to see the ... More
Bloomsbury Auctions to offer caricatures including the collections of John Wardroper and Charles Knevitt LONDON.- Two fascinating collections of caricatures make up Bloomsbury Auctions’ sale on 13th July 2017; one from journalist, writer and caricature historian, John Wardroper, and the other from architectural journalist and campaigner, Charles Knevitt. There will be around 150 lots on offer in the sale, ranging from the early 18th to the early 21st century. William Hogarth (1697-1764), James Gillray (1756-1815), Thomas Rowlandson (1756-1827) and George Cruikshank (1792-1878) are all well represented in the first collection, which focuses largely on the Regency and the Napoleonic era. With the exception of Hogarth this group was active from 1780 to 1830 a period for satirical prints which became known as the ‘golden age’. At this time, prints were mostly produced in London and sold singly by publishers and booksellers. By contrast, from the 1840s prints tended ... More
Phillips names Yassaman Haj Mohammad Ali as a Client Advisory Manager in London LONDON.-Phillips announced the appointment of Yassaman Haj Mohammad Ali as a Client Advisory Manager in London, part of a significant expansion of the company’s business development efforts around the world. Ms. Ali joins Phillips from Sotheby’s, where she was a Senior Client Liaison in the Private Client Group, working extensively on client participation within the luxury sales categories and increasing client engagement in the Middle East and Europe. At Phillips, she will play an important role in building Phillips’ brand in the Middle East and Europe, working closely with the 20th Century & Contemporary Art Department along with specialists across all departmental categories to support its business development efforts by cultivating networks of collectors, art dealers and enthusiasts. “I am delighted that Yassi is joining our team as we build extraordinary ... More
Stonehenge revellers celebrate summer solstice STONEHENGE(AFP).- Around 13,000 people gathered at Stonehenge on Wednesday to witness the summer solstice sunrise at Britain's most famous prehistoric monument. Druids and midsummer revellers witnessed the sun rise at 4:52am (0352 GMT) on the longest day of the year at the site, whose stones are aligned to the sun's position when it rises on the solstice. The mysterious circle of standing stones, on Salisbury Plain in southwest England, is one of the most famous ancient sites in Europe. Some pagans hugged the carved bluestones while one group of revellers did yoga together and others laid their hands together on the stones and chanted. The summer solstice is the only time in the year when the precious stones can be touched. Some visitors had garlands of flowers in their hair, played guitars or tambourines, while others simply laid down to soak up ... More
Major solo exhibition of London-based artist Will Martyr opens at Unit London LONDON.-Unit London presents the first major solo exhibition of London-based artist, Will Martyr. Opening this summer, Wanderlust presents twenty new large scale paintings from the artist’s most recent body of work. Questioning how today’s mass-consumption of imagery affects our perception of reality and notion of personal experience and memory, Martyr’s paintings transport us into an alienated dreamworld of utopian promise. At once recalling Bauhaus, Surrealism, Futurism, David Hockney, Pop Art and Russian Intourist posters of the 1930s, Martyr’s paintings present hyperreal depictions of infinity pools, postcard-perfect mountains and luxury residences. Seductive yet unsettling, they are reminiscent of the glossy and pristine images of architectural, interior design or holiday magazines. Eerily devoid of human presence, the viewer is free to construct ... More
Freeman's announces results from the European Art & Old Masters and Fine Timepieces Auction PHILADELPHIA, PA.- On Monday June 12 Freeman’s presented the European Art & Old Masters auction as well as the second Fine Timepieces auction. The back-toback sales began to close out the spring sale season on a high note. The first sale of the day, the European Art & Old Masters auction brought to market close to 200 works from the Dutch, Italian, and Continental schools. The highest selling lot belonged to Emil Nolde, one of the most important German Expressionist painters and printmakers of the 20th century. In addition to his powerful and primitive woodcuts, Nolde is arguably best known for his watercolors. Lot 159, “Evening Landscape in North Friesland,” is an exquisite example of the artist’s expressive style. The watercolor was even exhibited at the Philadelphia Museum of Art. It sold for $143,750 against an estimate of $50,000-80,000. Midway ... More
Gauguin: Artist as Alchemist
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Flashback
On a day like today, Eastman Kodak Company discontinued Kodachrome Color Film
June 22, 2009. Kodachrome is the trademarked brand name of a type of color reversal film that was manufactured by Eastman Kodak from 1935 to 2009. Kodachrome was the first successfully mass-marketed color still film using a subtractive method, in contrast to earlier additive "screenplate" methods such as Autochrome and Dufaycolor, and remained the oldest brand of color film. In this image: Kodachrome photo of Shaftesbury Avenue from Piccadilly Circus, in the West End of London, circa 1949. Photo by Chalmers Butterfield.
