The violin once played by Titanic bandmaster Wallace Hartley during the ship's sinking is on display at the Titanic Museum Attraction in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, from May 22 to July 27 before headed to Branson, Missouri for August 1–15. The instrument, discovered seven years ago in an English attic, is expected to fetch a six-figure price at a Henry Aldridge and Son auction on October 19. The violin passed through multiple hands and is currently owned by a descendant of a former student of the violin’s later owner; proceeds from ticket sales during the exhibit support Strings Crossings and Belmont University’s summer music camp.
Ellsworth Kelly, Black Form II, 2012, acquired by the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) from Matthew Marks Gallery; the piece is an aluminium wall sculpture described as resembling a bulbous capital C and measures seven feet by six feet. The acquisition is part of a year featuring special presentations by nine museums including MoMA and Tate Modern to celebrate Kelly’s 90th birthday.
The article discusses Mozart’s own violin and viola coming to the United States for the first time for the June 2013 Boston Early Music Festival, in collaboration with the Salzburg Mozarteum Foundation. It mentions a concert on June 10 at 8pm in NEC’s Jordan Hall by the BEMF Salzburg Mozarteum Foundation Quartet, featuring Amandine Beyer on Mozart’s violin and Miloš Valent on Mozart’s viola, with Kristian Bezuidenhout on fortepiano and Eric Hoeprich on clarinet. Tickets range from $25 to $66 and can be purchased via the BEMF box office or by phone.
The New York Times reported that a Mozart-owned violin and viola will make their first American appearances in Boston and New York. The violin will be heard at the Boston Early Music Festival in Jordan Hall and at the Austrian Cultural Forum in New York, with a program including Mozart’s sonatas and a new work by the performer. The instruments are owned by the Mozarteum Foundation Salzburg, and the violin is believed to be a Klotz, made in Mittenwald.
Iryna Krechkovsky, co-founder of Chamber Music OC, has a three-year loan of the 1689 Baumgartner Stradivarius from the Canada Council for the Arts Musical Instrument Bank, allowing her to perform on the $5 million violin with her husband Kevin Kwan Loucks. The article notes the instrument’s antiquity and value and places it within the Canada Council’s instrument bank program.
A dispatch from the 2013 Art Basel Hong Kong edition describes the international mobility of Chinese contemporary artists and the fair’s role as a gathering point for that community.
Zhang Daqian, the so-called Picasso of the East, saw a set of four large Zhang Daqian scrolls titled Lotus sell for HK$80.51 million at Christie’s Hong Kong; the Sotheby’s sale of 24 works titled A Master’s Secrets Unveiled grossed HK$330 million, with Daoist Goddess Playing Panpipe fetching HK$74 million.
Wallace Hartley, born in Colne, is confirmed to have played a violin believed to have belonged to him, following a 3D CT scan conducted at BMI Ridgeway Hospital in Wiltshire. Andrew Aldridge of Henry Aldridge and Son commented that the scan proved the instrument was real beyond reasonable doubt, and the violin is slated for display in the US before potentially going to auction.
The article reports that a violin believed to have belonged to Titanic bandmaster Wallace Hartley was confirmed real after a CT scan, per the Huffington Post. Aldridge explains the findings, noting deterioration consistent with a Titanic-era instrument, and describes the bag, leather protection, and animal glue as part of its construction. The violin, originally returned to Hartley’s fiancée and then to the current owner’s mother, may be sent to auction.
BBC News reports that a violin believed to be used by Wallace Hartley’s band on the Titanic has been declared genuine following a CT scan at BMI Ridgeway Hospital. Andrew Aldridge of Henry Aldridge and Son stated the scan proved the instrument’s authenticity beyond reasonable doubt, with radiographers producing a 3D internal image.
John Constable’s Salisbury Cathedral from the Meadows (1831) has been secured for the British public at £23.1 million with tax concessions, equivalent to an open market sale of £40 million. The acquisition is part of the Aspire partnership with Tate Britain and five national/regional galleries, enabling the painting to be viewable across the UK.
John Constable's 1831 painting Salisbury Cathedral from the Meadows was acquired by Tate Britain for £23.1m after previously being on loan to the National Gallery for 30 years. The work was secured through grants from the Heritage Lottery Fund, the Art Fund, The Manton Foundation and Tate Members, and will tour the UK after a spell at Tate Britain.
Benning Violins, a Los Angeles area violin shop, announces a part-time resident partnership with master bowmaker Ole Kanestrom. Kanestrom operates a shop in Port Townsend, WA, and makes and repairs bows for violins, violas, and cellos. The news was published online May 21, 2013 by Newswire.
Christie’s reported a total of $495,021,500 for its Contemporary art auction, with 94% of lots sold. The sale featured Pollock’s Number 19, 1948 and Jean-Michel Basquiat works leading the results, including a Basquiat piece that set a record at $48.8m, and Roy Lichtenstein’s Woman with flowered hat at $56.1m.
Jean-Michel Basquiat’s Dustheads sold at Christie’s for $48.8m, setting a new world record and surpassing the previous record of $26.4m. The seven-foot-tall canvas, depicting skull-like faces, came from the collection of Tiqui Atencio and was sold to an anonymous telephone bidder.
The New York Times reports that Christie’s postwar and contemporary art sale in Rockefeller Center totaled $495 million, the highest art auction sales figure. The sale featured 12 artists including Jackson Pollock, Roy Lichtenstein and Jean-Michel Basquiat, with Pollock’s No. 19, 1948 fetching $58.3 million.
Christie’s May 2013 Post-War and Contemporary Art Evening Sale in New York achieved $495,021,500 with a 94% sell-through rate. The event featured works by Jackson Pollock, Roy Lichtenstein and Jean‑Michel Basquiat, with 16 new world auction records set and several top prices cited such as Pollock’s Number 19, 1948 at $58.3 million and Lichtenstein’s Woman with Flowered Hat at $56 million.
The article discusses a precious violin made by Matteo Goffrillerom (Venice, 1698) that was lost on a Paddington to Taunton train in Britain and valued at over 350,000 dollars; Robert Napier is named in connection with the loss, and the insurance company reportedly would pay about 20,000 dollars. The instrument’s ownership is described as being shared among Napier’s siblings.
The Ashmolean Museum in Oxford will display 20 Stradivari instruments, some never shown publicly. Curator Dr Jon Whiteley and experts note the collection spans the golden period of 1700–1725 and includes famous pieces such as the Lady Blunt and the Messiah violin.
Gerhard Richter’s 1968 painting Domplatz, Mailand sold for $37m (£24m) at Sotheby’s in New York, setting a new record for a living artist. The work was bought by Donald Bryant and previously hung with the Hyatt hotel group; the sale followed Richter’s 2012 record in London for Abstraktes Bild owned by Eric Clapton.
Barnett Newman’s Onement VI sold for $43.8 million at Sotheby’s contemporary art auction, a record for the artist. The total haul was $293.6 million, above the $283.9 million estimate; Francis Bacon’s Study for Portrait of P.L. did not receive any bids.
Barnett Newman’s painting sold for $43.8 million in New York, an artist record, at a Sotheby’s contemporary art auction that totaled $293.6 million. Gerhard Richter’s photo-painting “Domplatz, Mailand” brought in $37.1 million at the same sale. A Yves Klein piece, “Untitled Blue Sponge Sculpture,” sold for $22 million.
Aleksandra Maslovaric, a performing and recording artist, acquired a master violin crafted by Eric Benning, made in 2009 on a Stradivarius pattern, to record her next album. Benning Violins in Los Angeles has long supplied instruments to prominent players, and Maslovaric has a history of performing and recording works by women composers.
The article discusses Jackson Pollock, Number 19, 1948, which sold for a hammer price of $52 million ($58,363,750 with buyer’s premium). It also notes Christie’s overall contemporary sale total of $495,021,500, a record, and mentions other works including Jean-Michel Basquiat’s Dustheads selling for $43.5 million.
The Getty Museum announced the acquisition of two European paintings: a rediscovered Rembrandt self-portrait and a Grand Canal view by Canaletto. The entries include remarks by director Timothy Potts about strengthening the collection of early Rembrandts and Italian views.
The Getty Museum has acquired two Old Masters, including a rare Rembrandt self-portrait from around 1628 and a Canaletto scene of Venice from around 1738, for undisclosed prices. The Rembrandt was previously auctioned in England in 2007 and valued by experts in the tens of millions of dollars; prices may be revealed when the museum applies for an export license. Timothy Potts, Getty Museum director, commented on adding the painting to the collection and its significance.
The Sotheby’s sale featured works by Cézanne and Modigliani, among others, with strong bidding from international collectors. Cézanne’s Les Pommes sold for $37 million (about $41.6 million with fees) and Modigliani’s Amazone was also highlighted. The auction was part of a broader spring Impressionist and Modern Art sale that exceeded expectations.
Frank Almond, the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra’s concertmaster, is associated with his new solo album A Violin’s Life: Music for the Lipinski Stradivari. The Violin Channel is offering a giveaway of 3 personally autographed copies, recorded with pianist William Wolfram and inspired by the Lipinski Stradivari (1715). The giveaway closes May 10, 2013, and entry is via a provided link.
The Amon Carter Museum of American Art acquires The Caves (1869) by Robert Seldon Duncanson. The painting, oil on canvas, was previously owned by Cincinnati abolitionist Richard Sutton Rust and is now on display in Fort Worth with access beginning May 4. Also on view are watercolors by Adrien Mayers and works by Romare Bearden and Sedrick Huckaby, with Bearden featured in a related summer exhibition.