Displaying items by tag: 20th century art

This November, Christie’s will present an unrivalled selection of paintings and sculpture by some of the titans of twentieth century art. From Andy Warhol’s opulent Four Marilyns to Cy Twombly’s sublime Untitled, and Louise Bourgeois’ monumental Spider to Lucian Freud’s magnificent portrait The Brigadier –the very best examples of Pop, Minimalism, Abstract Expressionism and Conceptual Art are represented. The role of the collector is also honored, with a selection of Pop works from the Miles and Shirley Fiterman Collection, works of Arte Povera from the Collection of Ileana Sonnabend and the Estate of Nina Sundell, and an impressive grouping of works by Alexander Calder from the Arthur and Anita Kahn Collection.

Christie’s auction house in New York will be selling Amedeo Modigliani’s Nu couché (Reclining Nude) at a special evening sale of 20th century art on Monday, November 9, organized around the theme of “The Artist’s Muse.” The auction will kick off the November sales week, and will be Christie’s attempt to rival its success at the auctions last May, when Christie’s made $1.7 billion in sales over the course of one week.

A century after his birth, on Jan. 24, 1915, Robert Motherwell occupies a middle rung on the reputation ladder of Abstract Expressionists. The names Jackson Pollock, Mark Rothko, Willem de Kooning, Barnett Newman, Clyfford Still and possibly others would now come sooner to many people’s minds on the topic.

But through the long arc and productive prime of his career, Motherwell was as important as anyone in shaping the transformative artistic mode of the mid-20th century.

Max Beckmann (1884-1950) was one of the most important German visual artists of the first half of the 20th century. The St. Louis Art Museum has the largest collection of his paintings in the world.

In recognition of that fact, the museum has just published “Max Beckmann at the Saint Louis Art Museum: The Paintings,” by Lynette Roth (published by Prestel, 272 pages, $65). It’s a volume that provides an intelligent layman’s guide to Beckmann — painter, sculptor, printmaker — and his world, as well as a detailed guide to the canvases in St. Louis.

Tate Modern will next year present shows devoted to two giants of 20th-century art, the American artists Georgia O’Keeffe and Robert Rauschenberg.

Announcing its 2016 program, Tate also revealed that the works of Francis Bacon will be on display at its outpost in Liverpool, Paul Nash at Tate Britain, and a solo show by the young British artist Jessica Warboys at St Ives.

There is a widespread assumption that plastic is among the hardiest of materials, but that is far from true, as conservators in museums and galleries know only too well.

The Victoria & Albert Museum is now collaborating with Imperial College and University College London to find ways of saving 20th-century works of art and design featuring plastics, including polyester and polyurethane.

The National Portrait Gallery in London is to stage the first portrait show for an artist whose work ranks as some of the most recognizable of the 20th century.

Alberto Giacometti is well known for his tall and spindly sculptural figures. But he is far less well known as a portrait artist – a situation which the gallery hopes to redress with an exhibition opening in October.

According to Paul Moorhouse, curator of 20th century portraits at the NPG, the show has been five years in the planning. “Giacometti is one of the giants of 20th century art, one of the giants of modernism, but there is a great deal to be discovered about Giacometti,” he said on Tuesday.

Ninety years ago, Al Hirschfeld (1903-2003) drew his first caricature. Now his stylized drawings of stars and scenes are the subject of an exhibit called “The Hirschfeld Century” at the New-York Historical Society Museum & Library, opening May 22. His work, which appeared in many magazines and newspapers over the decades, provides a vivid history of the performing arts in the 20th century.

"Horace Pippin: The Way I See It," a major exhibition of over 65 paintings of his work assembled from museums and private collections across the United States, opened in Chadds Ford, PA. One of the leading figures of 20th-century art, Horace Pippin (1888-1946) is known for his bold, colorful and expressive paintings of family life, history, religion and war. The Brandywine River Museum of Art is the only venue for this landmark exhibition.

Taking its title from Horace Pippin's response to his own question about what made him a great painter: "I paint it exactly the way it is and exactly the way I see it," the exhibition will look closely at Pippin as an artist who remained independent—creating and upholding a unique aesthetic sensibility, vividly depicting a range of subject matter, from intimate family moments and bold floral still lifes, to powerful scenes of war, history and religion that comment on issues such as racism and social justice.

The art collection of pioneering gallerist Ileana Sonnabend and her daughter goes on auction in New York next month, valued at $50 million and featuring some of the finest 20th century artists.

Auctioneers Christie's said it had acquired the Sonnabend collection and the estate of her daughter Nina Sundell, which would be offered for sale as 88 lots on May 13-14.