Christie’s New York will auction property from the Pincus Collection of Abstract Expressionism, a private American Post War and Contemporary Art collection led by David and Gerry Pincus. The collection includes works by Willem de Kooning, Barnett Newman, Jackson Pollock, Mark Rothko, Clyfford Still, Arshile Gorky, Anselm Kiefer, Jeff Wall and Nan Goldin, with a total estimated value exceeding $100 million; proceeds from four de Kooning works will benefit the Pincus Family Foundation.
Stolen artworks including Mulberry Centre by Franz Kline, Ink on Paper by Franz Kline, and works by Robert Motherwell, Karel Appel, Jean Dubuffet and Fernand Leger were recovered in Germany; four paintings were recovered in 1988 from the Solomon Gallery theft and one in 2003, with the remainder found in the estate of a dead German art dealer. The four paintings were identified after the dealer's daughter sought authentication from the Dedalus Foundation and alerted the Art Loss Register, which helped locate the pieces.
The Met Museum is set to receive $20 million from the Brooke Astor Estate, including $3 million tied to proceeds from the sale of Childe Hassam’s Flags, Fifth Avenue (Up the Avenue from 34th Street, May 1917). The painting’s current whereabouts are unknown after a private sale in 2002, and its absence from display is noted by the Met in its statements about the settlement.
Paul Cézanne, 1839-1906, presents Joueur de cartes (A Card Player), 1892-1896, watercolor on laid paper. The work, from the Dr. Heinz F. Eichenwald Collection, is estimated at $15,000,000 to $20,000,000 and was to headline Christie’s Impressionist and Modern Art Evening Sale in New York on May 1, 2012.
Edward Hopper at SFMOMA reports that SFMOMA acquired Hopper's painting Intermission, an early final work measuring 40 by 60 inches featuring a lone woman in a deserted theater. The piece is noted for Hopper's geometric style and themes of isolation; acquisition involved funds from the Schwab and Fischer families, with prior deaccessioning of another Hopper work. The article mentions a related Hopper painting, Hotel Window, purchased for $26.9 million in 2006.
The article reports that Lincoln University will gain effective control over the Barnes Foundation and its collection, which is valued at more than $1 billion. It discusses the historical shift after the death of Violette de Mazia and the resulting changes in the foundation's governance, including Lincoln University's new influence over the five-member board.
Edward Hopper's painting Intermission (1963) was purchased by the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. The work, sold by a private collector, is valued at over $25 million. The acquisition was made with donor funds via Fraenkel Gallery, and SFMOMA plans to sell Bridal Path (1939) to help fund Intermission.
Cindy Sherman Untitled #96 (1981) is being consigned by the Akron Art Museum for sale with Christie’s. The work has an estimated price of $2,800,000 to $3,800,000, with proceeds benefiting the museum’s acquisitions fund; another Cindy Sherman work from the Centerfolds series, Untitled #93, is retained in the collection.
Edward Hopper’s Intermission (1963) has been acquired by the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA) from Fraenkel Gallery, with gifts from the Fisher and Schwab families. The painting will go on view at SFMOMA, and the piece is among Hopper’s largest and most ambitious works; the article notes price is not disclosed and references a past Hopper sale, the 1955 Hotel Window, which fetched $26.9 million.
Edward Hopper Intermission, 1963, oil on canvas, 40 x 60 in., was acquired by SFMOMA in part through gifts from the Fisher and Schwab families. The work, one of Hopper's largest and most ambitious paintings, was acquired from Fraenkel Gallery, San Francisco, and is connected to Hopper's late period and career retrospectives at the Whitney Museum of American Art in 1964 and 1982, with the 1964 retrospective traveling to SFMOMA.
The article reports that a violin and bow valued at 16 million yen were stolen from a concert hall in Nara Prefecture. The violin, made in France in 1804, is owned by Kazuto Umezawa, a former concertmaster of the Osaka Philharmonic and current music director of the Nara Prefectural Cultural Hall; the bow is valued at 3 million yen.
Doreen Carvajal reports that Ginette Heilbronn Moulin pursues a claim against the Wildenstein family over a missing Monet, ‘Torrent de la Creuse’ by Claude Monet, believed stolen during a 1941 Gestapo raid; authorities opened a preliminary investigation and an anti-art-trafficking squad is examining World War II documents related to the painting.
A rare 2007 James McKean cello, valued at about $40,000, was stolen from a car in Minneapolis, along with a carbon case and a bow, bringing the total loss to about $43,000. The owner, Scott Lykins, hopes for its return for auditions and a regional festival; Minneapolis police are seeking information and the instrument may have been pawned or listed on Craigslist.
The J. Paul Getty Museum announced the acquisition of The Italian Comedians (ca. 1720) by Jean-Antoine Watteau (French, 1684–1721). The painting measures 50 7/8 x 36 3/4 inches. Other 18th-century French paintings by Nicolas Lancret, Jean-Honoré Fragonard, Jean-Baptiste-Siméon Chardin, and Claude-Joseph Vernet are already in the Getty collection. The scene depicts five fairground comedians costumed from the Comédie Italienne, including Pierrot, about to collect money after a performance.
The J. Paul Getty Museum announced the acquisition of The Italian Comedians (ca. 1720) by Jean-Antoine Watteau. The painting is oil on canvas and measures 50 7/8 by 36 3/4 inches. The work joins other 18th century French paintings at the Getty, including works by Nicolas Lancret, Jean-Honoré Fragonard, Jean-Baptiste-Siméon Chardin, and Claude-Joseph Vernet.
The article reports that John Michael Maughan, a traveller from Ruislip, had his four-and-a-half-year sentence for stealing a £1.2 million Stradivarius violin reduced on appeal. The 1698 instrument was stolen from Min-Jin Kym at Euston station in 2010 and has never been recovered; two traveller youths were also prosecuted in connection with the case.
Andy Warhol's portrait of Elvis Presley, titled Double Elvis (Ferus Type) from 1963, is expected to fetch as much as $50 million at Sotheby's May sale of post-war and contemporary art. The piece is described by Sotheby's as featuring a silver background and rhythmic variation, with a shadowy Elvis image and a reference to Warhol's 200 One Dollar Bills; the work previously related sales reached near $44 million in 2009.
George Embiricos’s heirs sold Cézanne’s The Card Players to the royal family of Qatar for $250 million, according to Vanity Fair. The painting, created in 1890, will be presented at the Arab Museum of Modern Art in Doha. The deal was reportedly higher than competing bids from art dealers William Acquavella and Larry Gagosian.
The twin cities’ Minnesota Orchestra, St. Paul Chamber Orchestra and Schubert Club announce a collaboration featuring German violinist Christian Tetzlaff, including a Szymanowski violin concerto with the Minnesota Orchestra, a Schubert Club solo recital, and a three-hats SPCO program, soloist with the orchestra, member of a chamber group, and concertmaster for a symphony.
Roxanne Werly reports that a thief broke into a Traverse City home on West Sixth Street, stole two violins (one manufactured in 1720) and other valuables, and that two people turned in the violins to police around 12:30 p.m. Monday; a reward is offered for information leading to an arrest.
The article concerns Grammy Award-winning violinist Joshua Bell, who alleges a master thief posed as him, entered his hotel room in Zaragoza, Spain, and stole a Breguet watch valued at more than $38,000, along with a laptop, cash, and other belongings; Bell was away performing with the London Philharmonic at the time, and the 1713 Stradivarius violin was not taken. The incident is under investigation.
Titian's Diana and Callisto, a Renaissance painting, was bought for the British people by the National Galleries in London and Edinburgh after a £45m deal with its owner, the Duke of Sutherland. The painting is a companion to Diana and Actaeon, which was purchased for £50m in 2009 following a fundraising campaign, and both works will rotate between the galleries after a public display in London.
Titian’s Diana and Callisto (1556-9) was acquired for £45 million ($72 million / €54 million) by the National Galleries of Scotland and the National Gallery in London, joining its companion Diana and Actaeon (purchased in 2009) to remain on public display in the UK.
The page discusses nine violins from the 16th and 17th centuries, including an Amati and a Stradivari, on display during a dress rehearsal at the Theater on the Vrijthof. It notes the Amati Ensemble’s rehearsal and a concert tied to TEFAF’s anniversary, mentioning a Stradivari from 1667 belonging to André Rieu and an Amati from 1615.
Titian's Diana and Callisto was saved for the nation in a £45m ($71.7m) deal with the Duke of Sutherland, with £25m ($39.9m) from the National Gallery and support from National Galleries of Scotland; the companion painting Diana and Actaeon was saved in 2009. The two works will be displayed together on a rotating basis in London and Edinburgh and are part of the Bridgewater Collection.