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Tuesday, 06 September 2016 14:52

Mad Enchantment: Claude Monet and the Painting of the Water Lilies tells the story of one of the most celebrated and well-known series ever executed by an artist. Claude Monet began painting water lilies in the 1890s. Renowned for their beauty and sense of tranquility, the canvases belie Monet’s frustration and torment during their creation. In addition to the water lily paintings, Mad Enchantment, written by the historian and author Ross King, explores Monet’s late Grande Decoration paintings, which are installed at the Orangerie in the Tuileries Garden in Paris.

Tuesday, 06 September 2016 14:50

The Modernism Museum’s must-see exhibition, Esherick to Nakashima: Part of a True Fine Art and Craft Community, is in its final months. The show, which debuted in October, brings together works by Wharton Esherick and George Nakashima—two of the studio furniture movement’s most important and influential figures. The exhibition also includes select pieces by Wendell Castle, who is part of the second-wave of American studio furniture makers.

Friday, 02 September 2016 12:13

Back in 2014, Dolphin Promotions—the Illinois-based production company behind LA20/21: Los Angeles Modernism Show & Sale and the Palm Springs Modernism Show & Sale—acquired the venerable Houston Antique Dealers Association (HADA) Antiques Show and rebranded it as the Houston Antiques + Art + Design Show. The event, which builds on the HADA Antique Show’s fifty-year legacy, presents a sweeping selection of treasures from the past five centuries.

Friday, 02 September 2016 12:12

The American Pop artist Ed Ruscha has donated thirty works from his personal collection to the Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art at the University of Oklahoma. The bequest is currently on view in the institution’s Sandy Bell Gallery. Ruscha, who spent about fifteen years in Oklahoma City before moving to Los Angeles, donated an additional thirteen works to the museum last year. The institution’s impressive modern and contemporary art collection includes works by Alexander Calder, Fernando Botero, Sam Francis, Grace Hartigan, and Jasper Johns. 

Friday, 02 September 2016 12:11

Thought the Metropolitan Museum of Art has yet to confirm, rumors have been swirling that Rei Kawakubo will be the subject of the Costume Institute’s spring exhibition. If there is truth to the gossip, Kawakubo will be the second living designer to be honored with a show at the venerable institution. The last was Yves Saint Laurent, who was the subject of a 1983 show organized by Diana Vreeland. Kawakubo founded Comme des Garçons in 1973 and is celebrated for her austere, cerebral designs.

Friday, 02 September 2016 12:09

London’s National Gallery is hoping to acquire a sixteenth century portrait by the Italian Mannerist painter, Pontormo. The work’s current owner sold the piece to an overseas buyer last year for nearly $40 million. The museum faces a unique challenge as the owner paid inheritance tax on the painting before the buyer applied for an export license. The Gallery is hoping that the UK’s Treasury will refund the payment. Otherwise, it could be difficult for the institution to raise the funds needed to keep the work in the country.

Friday, 02 September 2016 12:07

American Gothic—the iconic painting by the influential Regionalist artist Grant Wood—will go on view at the Royal Academy of Arts in London next February. The work will be part of an exhibition spotlighting American painting in the 1930s. The exhibition will bring together forty-five works by such luminaries as Georgia O’Keeffe, Jackson Pollock, and Thomas Hart Benton. The canvas, which belongs to the Art Institute of Chicago, has only left the United States once before—in 1949 for a show in Montreal.

Thursday, 01 September 2016 14:45

MAISON&OBJET, Paris Nord Villepinte, Paris, September 2-6, 2016

Paris’ esteemed MAISON&OBJET fair is a design-centered tradeshow that features concepts and solutions for a range of projects, including hospitality, retails stores, and restaurants. The show, which attracts around 70,000 visitors each year, features a range of high-end products, including home decor, home design, furniture, accessories, textiles, tableware, and much more.

Thursday, 01 September 2016 14:44

Construction delays have forced the Bass Museum (formerly the Bass Museum of Art) in Miami to push back its opening date to spring 2017. The institution was original supposed to reopen on December 1, following a $12 million renovation project that will create four new galleries in the museum’s 1930s building. The New York-based architect David Gauld and Japan’s Arata Isozaki collaborated on the project. The museum will reopen with solo exhibitions spotlighting Ugo Rondinone, Mika Rottenberg, and Pascale Marthine-Tayou.

Thursday, 01 September 2016 14:43

The Seattle Asian Art Museum has released details of its forthcoming expansion and has asked the public for input. The institution, which has scheduled community outreach meetings in September and October, plans to close in the spring of 2017 and will remain shuttered until the project is completed approximately eighteen months later. The endeavor will involve adding 7,500-square-feet of new gallery and event space, an education studio, and storage space. This will be the first major upgrade in the museum’s eighty-three-year history.

Thursday, 01 September 2016 14:42

On Sunday, August 28, four thieves made off with nearly $2.6 million worth of materials from Anselm Kiefer’s studio and warehouse, located about thirty minutes from Paris. In addition to twelve tons of raw marble, the suspects stole a lead sculpture from the German artist’s workspace. Two of the individuals were taken into custody later that day and appeared before the Meaux criminal court on Tuesday, August 30. Materials were also stolen from a different studio owned by Kiefer back in 2008. That time, the thieves stole 7.5 tons of lead, which was later recovered.

Thursday, 01 September 2016 14:40

Scientists at the University of Antwerp in Belgium have determined the cause of a mysterious white smudge on the surface of Edvard Munch’s The Scream. Using a Macro-X-ray fluorescence scanner, the researchers were able to see that the mark was caused by candlewax, not bird droppings as previously believed. The canvas, which belongs to the Norwegian National Museum, is the earliest version of Munch’s iconic painting. He created four iterations of the work between 1893 and 1910.

Wednesday, 31 August 2016 11:59

There is an art to incorporating mid-century furniture into today’s interiors. Whether you are working a handful of vintage objects into a contemporary space, or meticulously assembling a time capsule within an interior, the goal is to have each piece stand out—highlighting its unique place in design history. In his new book, Living Retro, Andrew Weaving—owner of the online gallery Centuryd.com, which specializes in mid-century design—shows how some of the world’s savviest modern design lovers live with their favorite pieces. Weaving divides these enthusiasts into three camps.

Wednesday, 31 August 2016 11:58

Located just outside of Washington, D.C. in Potomac, Maryland, the Glenstone Museum boasts an impressive collection of post-war and contemporary art. Founded in 2006 by the businessman and collector Mitchell Rales and his art historian/curator wife, Emily, the Glenstone is set on 200 acres. The institution’s stunning campus, which includes a main building designed by Gwathmey Siegel & Associates Architects, is dotted with monumental outdoor sculptures and installations. Among the highlights are works by Richard Serra, Jeff Koons, and Andy Goldsworthy.

Wednesday, 31 August 2016 11:57

The Pritzker Prize-winning architect Renzo Piano will spearhead Italy’s reconstruction efforts following an earthquake that devastated several central towns and claimed the lives of at least 290 people. Piano has met with Italy’s Prime Minister Matteo Renzi and on Monday, August 29, a national action plan for recovery and risk prevention was announced. In the late 1970s, Piano worked with UNESCO on a project dedicated to disaster recovery and prevention in historic town centers.

Wednesday, 31 August 2016 11:56

Mega-dealer Larry Gagosian will host a fundraising auction for Hillary Clinton on September 12 in his New York City gallery. According to Artnews, the private event will include works by Jeff Koons, Sarah Sze, Chuck Close, and Barbara Kruger. This will be the first fundraising event that Gagosian has organized for a presidential candidate, though he has made donations to a number of political campaigns, including those of Chris Christie, John Kerry, and Mitt Romney.

Wednesday, 31 August 2016 11:56

The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art in Kansas City is taking the first step in what it hopes to be a major expansion project. The institution, which currently exhibits about six-percent of its permanent collection, is working to convince donors, members, and the public, that the creation of a larger facility is imperative to the Nelson-Atkins’ ongoing success. The museum, which is home to works by Willem de Kooning, John Singer Sargent, and Thomas Cole, is also lacking in office and storage space.

Tuesday, 30 August 2016 14:12

Back in February, news broke that the venerable European Fine Art Fair (TEFAF) would launch two editions stateside—one in the fall of 2016 and the other in the spring of 2017—sending shockwaves through the industry. Both fairs, which will be held annually, will take place at the historic Park Avenue Armory, with the first focusing on art from antiquity to the twentieth century, and the latter presenting modern and contemporary art and design.

Tuesday, 30 August 2016 14:10

London’s National Portrait Gallery announced plans to clean its “Chandos” portrait of William Shakespeare. The seventeenth century canvas, which is attributed to the English artist and friend of Shakespeare, John Taylor, is one of the museum’s most famous works. Named after the Duke of Chandos, who once owned the portrait, the work was the first painting donated to the National Portrait Gallery and has not been conserved since it entered the institution’s collection in 1856.

Tuesday, 30 August 2016 14:09

Rembrandt’s luminous Abraham Entertaining the Angels will go on view May 30 at the Frick Collection in New York. The privately owned oil painting, which has only been exhibited publicly a handful of times, will anchor the exhibition, Divine Encounter: Rembrandt’s Abraham and the Angels. The show will feature additional works that illustrate Rembrandt’s evolving approach to biblical subject matter, including an etching of the Sacrifice of Isaac and a selection of drawings.

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