The article discusses how Scarampella’s rugged violin making influenced his Mantuan pupils, Oreste Martini and Gaetano Gadda, and the Mantuan school’s evolution through the 1920s to 1937. It notes how Mantuan makers refined their instruments while preserving Scarampella templates, and that some instruments bear fakes or labels of other makers. The piece introduces three Mantuan instruments exemplifying this school, including Gaetano Gadda’s violin from 1948.
Jean-Michel Basquiat’s Untitled (1982) sold for £18,765,875 / $28,974,511 / €22,031,137 in the London post-war and contemporary art week. The top lot of the week was Basquiat's Untitled; other highlighted works included Eduardo Chillida’s Buscando la Luz IV and the exhibition Homage to Chillida. Christie's notes a world record for a Spanish contemporary artist and remarks on rising prices for Tauba Auerbach, Ali Banisadr and Oscar Murillo.
A Cy-ing Shame: Dia Ditches All Its Twomblys mentions Dia Art Foundation planning to unload nearly 30 works by Cy Twombly, John Chamberlain and Barnett Newman via Sotheby’s, including all Twombly holdings such as Poems to the Sea (Presale estimate: $6-8 million). The piece discusses the rationale and controversy surrounding the sale, citing statements from Sotheby’s press release and comments attributed to Philippe Vergne and Carol Vogel.
Vienna Symphonic Library announced the release of the Cello Section for Vienna Dimension Strings. The update provides a six-piece cello ensemble recorded with individual microphones and is available to registered users in the User Area, with an Early Bird offer.
The article reports that the Dia Art Foundation plans to sell a group of paintings and sculptures at Sotheby’s in New York on November 13 and 14 to raise at least $20 million for an acquisition fund. Works mentioned include pieces by Cy Twombly, Barnett Newman, and George Baselitz? (Not specified here). The sale is intended to grow Dia’s collection, with the foundation previously possessing works by artists such as Warhol, Walter De Maria, Joseph Beuys, Robert Ryman and John Chamberlain.
Benning Violins, a Los Angeles area violin shop, announced a quarterly online magazine titled Resonance, with the inaugural issue released to subscribers in September 2013. The shop, established in 1953 by Paul Toenniges, is now run by Nancy Benning, Hans Benning, and Eric Benning.
Theresa Thompson reports on the Ashmolean Museum's Stradivari exhibition, featuring 21 instruments from 1666–1734, including many from Stradivari's Golden Period; the show includes violins, violas, cellos, a mandolin and a guitar, with recitals and an audio guide.
Francis Bacon’s works were the star again at Sotheby’s contemporary art sale in London, including two paintings featuring a favorite Bacon model and a man behind glasses. The sale totaled $116.8 million with 15 works not selling, and Sotheby’s outperformed Christie’s, which totaled $108.4 million. The event featured other blue-chip names such as Lucio Fontana, Andreas Gursky and John Currin, and was described as continuing a marathon of sales across major cities.
Jean-Michel Basquiat’s untitled 1982 painting depicting two large figures sold at Christie’s in London for $29 million, topping the sales. The work had been expected to bring about $23 million to $30 million and was bought by an unidentified telephone bidder; it followed a recent $48.8 million record for Basquiat at Christie’s in New York.
The Violin Channel reports that American cellist Andrew Eckard has died after a lengthy brain tumour battle. Eckard studied with Janos Starker and Tsuyoshi Tsutsumi and served in principal positions with the New York City Opera, Honolulu Symphony Orchestra, and the Bach Chamber Orchestra.
The article discusses the US restraining of the 1909 Pablo Picasso painting Compotier et tasse, valued at $11.5 million, on behalf of the Italian government. It references an ongoing Italian criminal investigation involving Gabriella Amati and Angelo Maj, and notes the painting was recovered in May and restrained by a U.S. court order in New York.
The painting Monet, Le Palais Contarini, sold for $30.8 million at Sotheby’s Impressionist & Modern sale in London to an anonymous phone bidder; it last appeared at Christie’s in 1996 when purchased by the Nahmad family for $4.2 million.
Artistic program featuring Matteo Fedeli performing a Grand Stradivarius violin at the Civic Theatre, presented by the American Italian Cultural Center of New Orleans. The event highlights a rare instrument with a twelve-city North American tour; ticket prices range from $25 to $125 with student rush tickets at $10.
Wassily Kandinsky's Studie zu Improvisation 3, 1909 sold for just over 21 million dollars (approximately 13.4 million pounds) at Christie's London, short of its top estimate of 24.19 million dollars and a Kandinsky auction record. The sale was part of Christie's Impressionist and modern art evening, which totaled about 64.07 million pounds ($100 million) and fell short of the pre-sale top estimate of 75.8 million pounds.
TheLuxembourg concert featured Sol Gabetta, Dejan Lazic and Giuliano Carmignola performing Beethoven with the Basel Chamber Orchestra conducted by Giovanni Antonini, including the Triple Concerto in C major, Op. 56. The event was held at Luxembourg Philharmonie with 1,290 attendees.
The article discusses Mozart's own violin and viola, on display in the United States for the first time; the instruments are from the Salzburg Mozarteum and were brought to Boston for the Boston Early Music Festival before a New York premiere.
The article reports that Hannah Graham, a 22-year-old Scottish musician from Orkney, was reunited with her antique violin after it was found for sale on Gumtree by her boyfriend Josh McGregor. The instrument, made around 1890 in Berlin and valued at more than £1,000, had been stolen from a car in Edinburgh two years earlier. Police recovered the fiddle and returned it to its rightful owner, with no arrests made.
The page describes visitors viewing The Lady Blunt violin, made by Antonio Stradivari in 1721, during the Stradivarius exhibition at the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford, England, June 12, 2013.
The Times article discusses an Ashmolean Museum Stradivarius exhibition in Oxford featuring 21 instruments, including the Messiah (1716) and works like the Viotti (1709) and Batta-Piatigorsky (1714). Canadian violinist James Ehnes will perform on several of the violins, and Nicola Benedetti is mentioned as a notable user of Stradivarius instruments.
Katherine Boyle reports that a 17th-century Persian Clark Sickle-Leaf Carpet from the Corcoran Gallery of Art sold at Sotheby’s for $33,765,000, breaking the world record for rugs sold at auction. The sale occurred during a 25-rug auction to raise funds for new acquisitions, with the anonymous phone bidder winning the piece from William Clark’s bequest.
The article reports on the Post-War and Contemporary Evening Sales in London during June 2013, with Sotheby’s and Christie’s competing results. Sotheby’s total was $116.8 million and Christie’s $108.4 million, with detailed figures on lots sold and unsold, and bidder participation from 38 countries. Notable works mentioned include Francis Bacon’s Three Studies for Isabel Rawsthorne (1966) and Jean-Michel Basquiat’s Untitled (1982).