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Monday, 30 March 2015 11:37

The prizes of a new exhibition at the Georgia O’Keeffe Museum are a pair of photographs of the artist at the easel, an aspect of her life and work that she rarely permitted photographers to capture. “My greatest desire for acquiring the collection and still my favorite photographs are two that show O’Keeffe in the act of painting,” said Carolyn Kastner, curator of "New Photography Acquisitions." “There is one each by Ansel Adams and Alfred Stieglitz, which are the only photographers she allowed to show her at work.” The exhibition, which opened on Friday, March 27, offers a selection from the museum’s collection of more than 2,000 photographs, including the newest acquisitions.

Monday, 30 March 2015 11:29

Sotheby's New York announced it will offer the collection of Chicago philanthropist Jerome H. Stone over a series of auctions this spring. Stone assembled the collection over the course of the 1950s and '60s with the help of his wife Evelyn. It consists of blue chip works by artists such as Fernand Leger, Joan Miró, Alberto Giacometti, Juan Gris, and Marc Chagall, that together are expected to bring in more than $40 million.

Stone, who built his family business, Stone Container Corporation, into a national multi-billion dollar corporation, and later founded the International Alzheimer's Association, often bought from leading dealers including Pierre Matisse and Sidney Janis.

Monday, 30 March 2015 11:16

Romanian anti-corruption prosecutors seized paintings, including some pieces signed by Pablo Picasso and Andy Warhol, from former Finance Minister Darius Valcov as part of a bribery probe.

Prosecutors found 101 paintings allegedly hidden by Valcov in different houses in Bucharest and the southern town of Slatina, which have been submitted for authentication, prosecutors said in a statement on their website. The seized paintings include three Picasso works and others signed by renowned Romanian artists Nicolae Tonitza and Stefan Luchian.

Monday, 30 March 2015 11:10

The great spectrum of some of the Palm Springs Art Museum's most treasured artworks from the 20th century are now on display in the museum's newly named Joseph Clayes III Exhibition Wing.

Works by masters such as Willem de Kooning, Henry Moore, Marc Chagall and others are on display in the museum's Clayes Exhibition Wing, made possible through a $1 million donation from the Joseph Clayes Charitable Trust. This wing, located near the front of the building on the north side, was formerly the McCallum Wing.

Friday, 27 March 2015 17:04

The national garden movement and, in particular, artists’ interest in gardens, has deep roots in Philadelphia, beginning with William Penn’s founding of his green and pleasant town in the seventeenth century and John Bartram’s establishing his botanical garden in 1728. In the early nineteenth century, artist Charles Wilson Peale retired to the cultivation of his garden at Belfield, and the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society was founded (in 1827), two years later hosting its first flower show. Interest gained momentum with the Colonial Revival movement, itself an outcome of Philadelphia’s 1876 Centennial Exhibition, and continued into the twentieth century.1 In her popular 1901 Colonial Revival-inspired publication Old Time Gardens, Alice Morse Earle wrote of Philadelphia: “There floriculture reached by the time of the Revolution a very high point, and many exquisite gardens bore ample testimony to the ‘pride of life,’ as well as to the good taste and love of flowers of Philadelphia Friends.” 2

Horticultural obsession also permeated the Philadelphia art scene. One of the most iconic conjunctions of art and the garden is the commissioning from Maxfield Parrish and Tiffany Studios of the fabulous Dream Garden (1913–1915, installed 1916) for the Curtis Building. The work was commissioned by Edward W. Bok (1863–1930), the head of Curtis Publishing, the influential publisher of Ladies Home Journal for the company’s new headquarters in Philadelphia.


Visit InCollect.com to read more about American Impressionism and the Garden Movement.

Friday, 27 March 2015 11:11

On Thursday, April 2, 2015, at 4PM, Jay Robert Stiefel, a lawyer and well-known collector and historian of American decorative arts, will give a lecture entitled “Leather Apron Men: Benjamin Franklin & Philadelphia’s Artisans” at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut. The event, which is under the auspices of Yale's History Department, is free and open to the public.

The illustrated talk will center on Benjamin Franklin’s work as an artisan as well as his role in fostering the public appreciation of his fellow craftsmen. One of America’s foremost founding fathers and the country’s first printing magnate, Franklin tended toward self-deprecation, writing in a 1740 issue of his “Pennsylvania Gazette” that he was no more than “a poor ordinary mechanick of this City.” But Franklin, who crafted witty editorial that promoted and encouraged his fellow artisans and founded such enduring cultural institutions as the Library Company of Philadelphia and the American Philosophical Society, served as a role model for his peers. In addition to encouraging many Philadelphia artisans to elevate themselves, Franklin provided them with opportunities for education that had previously been reserved for the privileged. Stiefel will illustrate Franklin’s profound influence with pieces of furniture and fine art, including “Handiworks” made by Franklin and other admired Philadelphia artisans.

Friday, 27 March 2015 11:03

A rare Leonardo da Vinci manuscript from the collection of Microsoft founder Bill Gates is coming to the Minneapolis Institute of Arts (MIA) this summer.

The "Codex Leicester," one of only 31 Leonardo notebooks known to exist, features the artist and scientist's distinctive right to left "mirror writing" and includes his drawings, texts, and observations about the properties of water, and how it might behave on the moon and other planets. The MIA will offer visitors a complete translation and explanation of the codex through an interactive touch-screen digital device called Codascope.

Friday, 27 March 2015 10:50

It’s the beginning of a long-term relationship Los Angeles County Museum of Art and Hyundai. The Southern California institution and the Korean automaker announced a 10-year partnership today which is part of the larger Hyundai Project. The move marks LACMA’s longest commitment to a corporate sponsor and will enable myriad projects in the areas of art and technology and Korean art scholarship, specifically through acquisitions, exhibitions and publications until 2024.

“Art is a creative expression of human values that transcends age, gender, race and culture,” said Hyundai Motor Company Vice Chairman Euisun Chung in a release.

Friday, 27 March 2015 10:43

Pablo Picasso is best known for his paintings, bold works such as “Les Demoiselles d’Avignon” and “Guernica” that profoundly influenced the course of modern art.

This fall, the Museum of Modern Art plans to showcase a less-celebrated aspect of Picasso’s output—his sculpture—with a major survey of three-dimensional works that spans the artist’s entire career.

Featuring around 150 pieces from major collections around the world, “Picasso Sculpture” will run from Sept. 14, 2015 to Feb. 7, 2016.

Friday, 27 March 2015 10:36

On March 25th "Landscapes of the Mind. British Landscape Painting. Tate Collection, 1690-2007" was presented for the first time ever in Mexico City, an exhibition organized by Tate in association with Museo Nacional de Arte, as part of the celebrations of the Dual Year between Mexico and the United Kingdom.

This exhibition presents 111 artworks by British and European artists, with a plurality of techniques (painting, drawing, printmaking, photography, sculpture/installation, etc.) which ponder on the evolution of British landscape in art history. The term "Britain" is understood as the geographical entity of the British Isles, i.e., the archipelago that includes England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland, before the independence of the latter in 1921.

Friday, 27 March 2015 10:27

When a dozen weather-worn wood sculptures from southeastern Nigeria debuted in a Paris gallery in 1974, they were radically different from any African art that had been exhibited in the West. After that brief assembly, the carved Mbembe figures mostly retreated from public view to private collections, excepting one on proud view in the Louvre. "Warriors and Mothers: Epic Mbembe Art" at the Metropolitan Museum of Art now reunites those works from the 17th to 19th centuries for the first time since the 1974 Paris exhibition.

The sculptures — originally part of massive drums used to communicate between Mbembe communities — remain as enigmatic as they were in 1972 when gallery owner and art dealer Hélène Kamer acquired them from a Malian dealer named O. Traoré.

Friday, 27 March 2015 10:23

When the Whitney Museum of American Art opens its new building in Manhattan’s meatpacking district on May 1, it’s the big things everyone will notice first: the sweeping views west to the Hudson River; the romantic silhouettes of Manhattan’s wooden water towers; the four outdoor terraces for presenting sculptures, performances and movie screenings; and the tiered profile of its steel-paneled facade, intentionally reminiscent of the Whitney’s Modernist, granite-clad Marcel Breuer building on Madison Avenue, which had been the museum’s home since 1966.

Its new digs, designed by the Italian architect Renzo Piano, also offer commodious interior spaces: 50,000 square feet of galleries, unencumbered by structural columns, and huge elevators that are themselves immersive environments, the work of the artist Richard Artschwager.

Thursday, 26 March 2015 17:19

In his seminal book, Modern Americana: Studio Furniture from High Craft to High Glam (Rizzoli), Todd Merrill, a New York-based dealer of mid-to-late 20th century design and studio furniture, describes Karl Springer as having a “flair for glamour without ostentation.” Using exotic materials, bold proportions, and striking colors, Springer took classic forms and made them his own. His aesthetic was a perfect match for the glittering Disco Decade, and in the late 1970s through the mid-1980s, Springer was one of the most well-regarded and in-demand mid century modern designers in the world.

Born in Berlin in 1931, Springer studied bookbinding and worked as a window dresser at a prominent clothier before leaving for New York in the late 1950s. At the age of twenty-six, Springer began styling windows at Lord & Taylor. In an effort to advance his career, he started applying his bookbinding skills to making jewel boxes, desk accessories, and telephone tables, which he expertly wrapped in animal skin. Soon, his work was garnering attention from the upper echelon, including a buyer for Bergdorf Goodman and the Duchess of Windsor, who introduced Springer to an array of high-end clients.


Visit InCollect.com to read more about the mid century modern design master, Karl Springer.

Thursday, 26 March 2015 11:15

A rare early Italian Renaissance painting that has never been exhibited in public before has been gifted to the National Gallery, and has gone on display. "Christ Carrying The Cross" has been presented to the National Gallery by Angus Neill, a loyal supporter of the Gallery.

“For many years, regular visits to the National Gallery have given me great pleasure. I hope that this gift goes some way to thanking the Gallery for all that it - and its collection - have done for me” stated Neill.

Thursday, 26 March 2015 11:10

One of the most comprehensive displays of works by Diego Velázquez is opening this week at Paris’s Grand Palais. Showcasing 119 artworks from museums around the globe, it will cover the breadth of his career. But pulling together this large retrospective of the influential 17th-century Spanish painter was no easy feat for curator Guillaume Kientz.

Mr. Kientz, the chief conservationist for Spanish paintings at the Louvre, which is jointly producing the exhibition, spent the past two years negotiating with private collectors and museums to assemble some of the Spanish master’s most famous works in what will be the Grand Palais’s blockbuster show of the year.

Thursday, 26 March 2015 11:05

For the past 15 years, Málaga, the birthplace of Pablo Picasso, has pushed to promote its connection to the great painter, as part of its efforts to turn itself into an arts center.

Now, the cultural ambitions of this southern Spanish city are taking on a new dimension, spearheaded by its longstanding mayor, who persuaded two prestigious museums to add here their first overseas offshoots: the Pompidou Center from Paris and the State Russian Museum from Saint Petersburg.

The Málaga branch of the Russian Museum was to be inaugurated on Wednesday, three days before the opening of the so-called Pop-Up Pompidou.

Thursday, 26 March 2015 11:01

London's Serpentine Galleries have revealed the design for the institution's 15th annual summer Pavilion.

Madrid-based architects SelgasCano have released preliminary images showing an amorphous, double-skinned, polygonal structure consisting of translucent, multi-colored fabric membrane made of EFTE panels woven through.

Visitors will be able to pass through the structure via one of the multiple entrances or pass between the outer and inner layer of the building to admire the Pavilion's stained glass interior.

Thursday, 26 March 2015 10:57

Any Andy Warhol fan with money to spare can bid on the official lease of Andy Warhol’s first New York City studio, outside of his own house on 159 East 87th street next week.

The lease, which over the years has seen some wear and tear, is up for auction at Sotheby’s inaugural New York Sale on April 1. It is estimated to sell for anywhere between $8,000 and $12,000.

Signed by Warhol, the document shows that he agreed to lease the obsolete fire house for $150 through the month of January in 1963.

Adrien Legendre, Assistant Vice President and Specialist of Books & Manuscript said the short lease suggests Warhol was most likely trying out the studio space for size.

Thursday, 26 March 2015 10:49

Thomas P. Campbell, Director and CEO of The Metropolitan Museum of Art, announced today the launch of a new online video series, The Artist Project, in which 100 artists respond to works from The Met's vast collection, which spans more than five millennia and cultures throughout the world.

Since its founding in 1870, The Met has been a place where artists go to gain inspiration from the art of their own time, and across time and cultures. Beginning this month and continuing for a year, The Artist Project will share with the public what artists see when they look at The Met.

Thursday, 26 March 2015 10:45

Everything but the kitchen sink would be one way to describe the staggering array of possessions owned by Lauren Bacall that go under the hammer in New York next week.

From fine art to kitchenware, from avant garde to the kitsch: hundreds of items collected and loved by the Hollywood siren go on sale Tuesday and Wednesday at Bonhams auction house.

The collection is nothing if not eclectic. It includes jewelry and clothes, Aboriginal and African art, English and French furniture and items bought in antique shops around the world.

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