Phyllis Kao, an auctioneer and vice president of client strategy for Sotheby’s, on Wednesday. Courtesy Sotheby's.
NEW YORK, NY.- The $44.6 million stegosaurus, the most valuable fossil ever sold at auction, wasn’t the only thing that caught the attention of viewers mesmerized by a 15-minute bidding war at Sotheby’s on Wednesday. At the helm of the gripping sales battle was Phyllis Kao, a spirited auctioneer who appeared to delight in the volley, helping to ... More
Pietro Lorenzetti, The Crucifixion, 1340s. Tempera and gold leaf on wood. Painted surface 14 1/8 x 10 1/8 in. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Purchase, Lila Acheson Wallace Gift and Gwynne Andrews Fund, 2002 (2002.436)
NEW YORK, NY.- This fall, The Metropolitan Museum of Art will open the first major exhibition in the United States focusing on early Sienese painting. Siena: The Rise of Painting, 1300–1350 will examine an exceptional moment at the dawn of the Italian Renaissance and the pivotal role of Sienese artists—including Duccio, Pietro and Ambrogio Lorenzetti, and Simone Martini ... More
Sir John Lavery, Windy Day, 1907-08, oil on canvas, private collection. Photograph courtesy of the Richard Green Gallery, London.
EDINBURGH.- Indulge your wanderlust with An Irish Impressionist: Lavery on Location, at the National Galleries of Scotland’s summer exhibition at the Royal Scottish Academy in Edinburgh, running from 20 July 2024 to 27 October 2024. Dip your toes in the sun, sea and society of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, viewed through the works of renowned Glasgow Boy, Sir John Lavery. Take a trip through the extraordinary life of the Belfast-born artist, from Scotland ... More
The artist Judy Chicago in her gallery and studio in Belen, N.M., Sept. 13, 2023. (Gabriela Campos/The New York Times)
NEW YORK, NY.- Judy Chicago explains, in her own words, what continues to motivate her. This interview has been condensed and edited for clarity. My father — he was a labor organizer — taught me that the purpose of life was to make a contribution to a better world. I wanted to fulfill my father’s mandate. And I wanted to become a part of art history. From the time I was a little girl, my goals were very clear. I started to draw before I started to talk. When I was 4 years old, my nursery schoolteacher told my mother that I was talented. So my mother borrowed a friend’s membership to the Art Institute in Chicago, where I grew up. By the time I was 5, I was crossing the street from our house to get on the 53 bus to the Art Institute. I would do that every Saturday until I was 15. ... More
The identical twins Otávio and Gustavo Pandolfo, known as Osgemeos, draw sketches in the office of their studio in Săo Paulo, March 25, 2024. (Gabriela Portilho/The New York Times)
NEW YORK, NY.- Street art is in a funny place. More than 50 years since its invention as the urgent, unruly markings of kids scrawling their names on walls and the flanks of subway cars, it has evolved into a worldwide language and commercial behemoth — from a position outside the mainstream to one in its center. Its progenitors, having reached ... More
Nobel Prize gold "Harald zur Hausen - HPV & Cancer Link Discovery" Award Medal in Physiology/Medicine 2008 MS67 NGC, By Erik Lindberg. 66mm.
DALLAS, TX.- A 2008 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, which was awarded in 2008 to virologist Harald zur Hausen, will be among the top attractions in Heritage’s ANA World & Ancient Coins Platinum Session and Signature® Auction August 15-17. zur Hausen received the award for his research that led to the isolation of human papillomavirus (HPV) DNA from cervical cancer cells. ... More
New role to build on the museum’s fifteen-year program legacy. Photo: Parker Deen.
SEATTLE, WA.- The Frye Art Museum announced that Lea Lovelace has been appointed Associate Director of Creative Aging Programs following a national search to fill the position. Joining the museum’s Learning & Engagement team, she begins her role on August 27, 2024. Lovelace brings over two decades of work experience in museums, project management, community engagement, teaching, and program ... More
Installation view of Contemporary Collection Galleries (2024) at the Norton Museum of Art, West Palm Beach, Florida. Courtesy of the Norton Museum of Art. Photo: Ashley Kerr.
WEST PALM BEACH, FLA.- The Norton Museum of Art is busy this summer showcasing six works by French sculptor Auguste Rodin and 10 works by such stars of Pop Art as Andy Warhol, Roy Lichtenstein, Robert Indiana, and Frank Stella. The five small-scale bronze sculptures by Rodin (1840 - 1917), along with the monumental Cybelle, in ... More
Image of risoprint „Aural Flesh“ by Banu Çiçek Tülü.
BREMEN.- Banu Çiçek Tülü uses sound as both a medium and a method to make things perceptible that often elude our ears, or for which hearing and listening are not are not always considered as reliable sources. As an artist and electronic music producer, Tülü concerns herself with the relationship between sounds and memories, in addition to the significance of sounds in the city, and in relation to our orientation. What environments would emerge if we started ... More
Sam Butcher (American, 1939-2024), Love One Another, 1977. Watercolor and pencil on paper, 6 x 4 in.
DALLAS, TX.- One of the most successful and beloved American artists, Sam Butcher, may not be a household name for some, but his works have outsold those of Norman Rockwell and his indelible creations grace millions of homes across the country and the world. The Precious Moments Collection is his creation, and that certainly is a household name. For decades now, Precious Moments’ dedicated collectors have been deeply ... More
Set during the plague in 14th century Italy, Netflix’s “The Decameron” finds dark humor in a group of nobles and their servants trying to survive.
NEW YORK, NY.- “The Decameron,” a new limited series, opens in Florence, Italy, in 1348. As bells toll peacefully over the rooftops, a raven lands on a window ledge, and peers around inquisitively before being struck by a stone hurled by a young boy as he yells, “Food.” The raven splats to the ground, dead, not far from the body of a shoeless man, also dead. “Mom, I got a chicken,” the boy calls out. Cheery music announces a title card: “The Black Plague.” This darkly funny scene sets the tone for the show, which arrives on Netflix July 25. Loosely based on Giovanni Boccaccio’s 14th-century book of the same name, the show’s eight episodes tell the story of a group of nobles who attempt to escape the plague by taking refuge in a villa, some with their servants. ... More
The hands of the jazz pianist Luther Allison in New York on June 28, 2024. “I Owe It All to You,” Allison’s debut, includes four original compositions. (Amir Hamja/The New York Times)
NEW YORK, NY.- On a beautiful day in Harlem a few months before the release of his debut album, Luther S. Allison stood chatting a few yards away from Duke Ellington’s white baby grand. Allison, a wiry 6 feet, 4 inches tall with huge hands and a contagious enthusiasm, was surrounded by history ... More
Julieta González.
COLUMBUS, OH.- Beginning October 7, 2024, Julieta González (first name pronounced “Hoo-lee-EH-tah”) will be the Head of Exhibitions for the Wexner Center for the Arts, the multidisciplinary contemporary arts center at The Ohio State University. “I am thrilled to join the Wexner Center,” González notes, “because of its extraordinary history supporting emerging and established artists and presenting boundary-defying ... More
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Forum Gallery to open an exhibition about the human desire to escape our busy urban lives NEW YORK, NY.- Beginning July 25, 2024, Forum Gallery presents Out of Town, an exhibition about the human desire to escape our busy urban lives for the reverie of landscape vistas and seasonal adventures. By the hand of a diverse selection of visionary contemporary and twentieth-century artists, the twenty-nine paintings, works on paper, and textiles comprising the exhibition present visual interpretations of landscapes and nature’s seasonal offerings inspired by natural subjects from coast-to-coast and faraway shores, as well as expressions of the artists’ own personal introspection. Out of Town continues through Saturday, September 7, 2024. Coastal gardens, forest woodlands, and waterfalls by Robert Bauer (b. 1942), Bernard Karfiol (1886-1952), and Craig McPherson (b. 1948) are refreshing summertime scenes, while expansive ... More
Why this star of Georgian film isn't showing his new movie in Georgia NEW YORK, NY.- When Levan Akin’s movie “And Then We Danced,” a romance between men in a Georgian folk-dance troupe, premiered at Cannes in 2019, it became a festival hit and later an Oscars submission. But when it screened in Georgia later that year, the movie’s combination of traditional Georgian culture and gay love sparked violent protests from conservative groups. Akin’s latest film, “Crossing,” which opens in U.S. theaters Friday, also deals with LGBTQ themes, though the filmmaker said recently that he had hoped its reception in Georgia would be smoother. Its plot, about a woman who travels from Georgia to Turkey to search for her estranged trans niece, seemed unlikely to be perceived as an attack on Georgian culture in the same way, he said. But this spring, when Georgia’s capital, Tbilisi, erupted in weeks of protests against ... More
Rebuilt monastery, aided by beer sales, gives hope to a quake-struck region NORCIA.- They may have chosen a contemplative life of prayer, detached from world affairs, but last month a small community of Benedictine monks threw a very big bash for the opening of their new monastery on a hill overlooking the central Italian town of Norcia, where St. Benedict was born. After a Mass and a seated dinner for 1,000 — about half of them Norcia residents — the monks officially settled in, eight years after a devastating earthquake upended a sizable part of Norcia and destroyed their previous space. At the festivities, they served “Nursia,” their craft beer whose sales supported the restoration of the 16th-century capuchin monastery that the community had bought after returning to Norcia 25 years ago, following a two-century hiatus. The celebration was also a moment of hope for an area struggling to revive itself after the earthquake compounded years of depopulation. ... More
Bob Newhart holds up. NEW YORK, NY.- Bob Newhart, who died Thursday at 94, has been such a beloved giant of popular culture for so long that it’s easy to forget how unlikely it was that he became one of the founding fathers of stand-up comedy. Before basically inventing the hit stand-up special, with the 1960 Grammy-winning album “The Button-Down Mind of Bob Newhart” — that doesn’t even count his pay-per-view event broadcast on Canadian television that some cite as the first filmed special — he was a soft-spoken accountant who had never done a set in a nightclub. That he made a classic with so little preparation is one of the great miracles in the history of comedy. Onstage, he didn’t curse, bust taboos or show anger. His style was gentle and wry. As opposed to motormouth contemporaries like Lenny Bruce or Mort Sahl, his defining trait was a cheerful, ... More
Keanu Reeves wrote a book. A really weird one. NEW YORK, NY.- Keanu Reeves doesn’t know exactly where the idea came from, but one day — sometime around the release of “John Wick: Chapter 2,” starring Keanu Reeves, and before he started shooting “The Matrix Resurrections,” also starring Keanu Reeves — he imagined a man who couldn’t die. “It became a series of what ifs,” he said. “What if they were 80,000 years old? Where did this character come from? What if they came from a tribe that was being attacked by other tribes and wanted to ask the gods for a weapon, and what if a god replied, and what if that birthed a half-human, half-god child?” From there, Reeves added, “It went from this simple premise and gained in complexity and continued to grow.” For a while, the character only existed in Reeves’ head. Then he wondered, What if this immortal warrior became ... More
New exhibition explores the legacy and impact of Mary McLeod Bethune WASHINGTON, DC.- The Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC) will open a new illuminating exhibition, “Forces for Change: Mary McLeod Bethune and Black Women’s Activism,” Friday, July 19. The 640-square-foot exhibition explores the legacy of Mary McLeod Bethune and the National Council of Negro Women, as well as the strategies Black women have used to enact change through education, creativity and organizing. The exhibition is a permanent and dynamic space highlighting new stories relating to Black women activists through 35 objects, 75 images and two digital-media pieces. “Against incalculable odds, the women featured in this exhibition built institutions of learning, ignited social and political movements, formed enduring organizations and created beauty in multifarious art ... More
Beaverbrook Art Gallery announces winner of the prestigious Theodore Prize FREDERICTON, NB.- The Beaverbrook Art Gallery announced that the esteemed Theodore Prize has been awarded to Megan Samms, an L’nu and Nlaka’pamux multidisciplinary artist from Newfoundland and Labrador. This prestigious award recognizes exceptional achievement in the visual arts and celebrates artists who have made significant contributions to the Canadian art landscape. Samms, who works in diverse mediums including textile, natural dyes and inks, paint, words, motif and mark making, mapping, photography, and performance, explores themes of generative anticoloniality and multiplicity, contrastingly at fragmentation while carefully weaving together place and meaning. Their work results in layered materials, functional objects from the hand, words from the heart, and personal narrative based on living and responding ... More
National Museum of the American Indian presents the best in Indigenous film in the Native Cinema Showcase in Santa Fe WASHINGTON, DC.- The Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian returns to Santa Fe, New Mexico, Aug. 15–18 for its Native Cinema Showcase. The museum’s 24th annual celebration of the best in Indigenous film includes 38 films this year. The showcase provides an unparalleled forum for engagement with Native filmmakers from Indigenous communities throughout the Western Hemisphere and Arctic. This year’s program begins with a panel discussion featuring Indigenous film luminaries Graham Greene (Oneida), Tantoo Cardinal (Cree/Métis/Nakota), Gary Farmer (Cayuga) and Wes Studi (Cherokee), moderated by Sierra Teller Ornelas (Navajo). All screenings and events will take place at the New ... More
Sotheby's to open two-storey Maison in the heart of Hong Kong's Central district HONG KONG.- Sotheby's will move to its new Maison on 27 July, offering a portal to a world of boundless inspiration and discovery. Showcasing hundreds of objects across art and luxury available for the public to view and purchase seven days a week in its 24,000 square-foot space, Sotheby’s invites newcomers and seasoned connoisseurs at Landmark Chater – in the heart of Hong Kong’s Central district – to a journey through 80 million years of history, across more than 20 categories, spanning all continents and artistic endeavours. Sotheby’s two-storey Maison presents a groundbreaking dual concept: the ground floor houses a dramatic state-of- the-art space designed for immersive experiences and moments of contemplation, where museum-grade exhibitions and performances will be staged, alongside Sotheby’s signature ... More
On a day like today, British painter Lucian Freud died
July 20, 2011. Lucian Michael Freud, OM, CH (8 December 1922 - 20 July 2011) was a German-born British painter. Known chiefly for his thickly impastoed portrait and figure paintings, he was widely considered the pre-eminent British artist of his time. His works are noted for their psychological penetration, and for their often discomforting examination of the relationship between artist and model. In this image: A Sotheby's employee holds British Artist Lucian Freud's 'Self-Portrait with a Black Eye' during a Sotheby's auction preview in London.
