Monthly archive
23 headlines
Source-linked reporting
usaartnews.com
Mary Elizabeth Price was the artist of the two floral paintings titled Flower Border I and Flower Border II, which together realized $306,250 at Doyle in an April 18, 2018 auction. The James A. Michener Art Museum in Doylestown, Pennsylvania purchased the works for its permanent collection, marking a world auction record for the artist.
shanghaiquartet.com
The Shanghai Quartet received a loan of four fine Italian instruments from J.A. Beare’s International Violin Society in March 2018 to coincide with the ensemble’s 35th anniversary. The instruments include a 1714 Stradivari Violin ‘Kneisel, Grün’, a 1729 Guarneri del Gesù violin named ‘The Stratton’, a 1700 Matteo Goffriller viola, and a 1690 Stradivari cello, played by Weigang Li, Yi-wen Jiang, Honggang Li, and Nicholas Tzavaras respectively.
ottawacitizen.com
Marc Chagall’s La Tour Eiffel is being sold by the National Gallery of Canada. The Chagall Committee in Paris sent a letter to gallery director Marc Mayer criticizing the decision and urging consideration of alternative solutions. The sale was intended to finance Jacques-Louis David’s Saint Jerome, which Quebec has classified as a provincial heritage document to block the purchase.
sothebys.com
Amedeo Modigliani’s Nu couché (sur le côté gauche) is described as the largest painting of the artist’s career and the finest example from the reclining nudes series, estimated to sell for over $150 million at Sotheby’s Impressionist & Modern Art Evening Sale in New York on May 14.
christies.com
Henri Matisse, Odalisque couchée aux magnolias (1923), discussed by Hilary Spurling, is part of The Collection of Peggy and David Rockefeller and is offered at Christie’s in New York on 8 May. The model depicted is Henriette Darricarrère, whose collaboration with Matisse is described as an equal partnership, with details about the painting’s studio origin and use of props. The work’s price is presented as estimate: On request.
davidzwirner.com
Lacma acquires major works by women through lively Collectors Committee Weekend; the article reports that Lacma raised about $2.65m at the Collectors Committee Weekend, enabling the acquisition of ten works across departments, including pieces by Martha Boto, Betye Saar, Jennifer Bartlett, Julie Mehretu, and Ruth Asawa. The event featured dinners, a gala, and a benefit auction, with acquisitions decided through curator-led presentations and published prices and seller information.
theartnewspaper.com
Betye Saar I’ll Bend But I Will Not Break (1998) is one of ten works acquired by Lacma during Collectors Committee Weekend, including pieces by Martha Boto, Jennifer Bartlett and Julie Mehretu, and the museum's first sculpture by Ruth Asawa; the event raised about $2.65 million across 20–21 April 2018.
theartnewspaper.com
A New York State judge’s decision keeps a claim on Seated Man with a Cane alive. The painting by Amedeo Modigliani, Seated Man with a Cane (1918), was allegedly confiscated in 1944 and later purchased in 1996; the case involves the Nahmad family and the International Art Center, with questions about applicable law and HEAR Act implications.
hyperallergic.com
National Gallery of Canada plans to sell Marc Chagall, La Tour Eiffel (1929) to fund acquisition of Jacques-Louis David, Saint Jerome Hears the Trumpet of the Last Judgment (1779). The Chagall is to be auctioned at Christie’s New York on May 15 with an estimated value of $6 to $9 million USD; the David is also of high value and is of interest to two Quebec museums (Montreal Museum of Fine Arts and Musée de la civilisation) which may bid jointly. The gallery emphasizes the goal is to keep the work in Canada and strengthen the national collection.
culturetype.com
The Culture Type article covers Phillips contemporary art sales in London and New York, highlighting new artist records for Stanley Whitney and Hugo McCloud. It notes Lynette Yiadom-Boakye's works, including The Separate (2011), selling among the top lots, and cites Jack Whitten and Lynette Yiadom-Boakye as standout artists in the sale, with overall Phillips results achieving high totals.
theviolinchannel.com
Kevin Zhu, a 17-year-old VC Young Artist from the United States, was awarded 1st prize at the 2018 Paganini International Violin Competition in Genoa, Italy. Fedor Rudin (France) and Stephen Kim (United States) won 2nd and 3rd prizes, with other prize recipients listed among the participants. Zhu will receive €20,000 and invitations to perform on Paganini’s 1743 Guarneri del Gesu violin, among other debuts.
knoxnews.com
The article discusses Amnon Weinstein, a master violin maker, and his son restoring instruments from the Nazi era known as the Violins of Hope; the instruments, including violins and cellos, travel worldwide to bear witness to the six million victims, with 66 instruments documented in the collection.
fbi.gov
Chagall oil painting recovered nearly 30 years after heist; the work titled Othello and Desdemona by Marc Chagall was stolen in 1988 and recovered last year, leading to its return to the owners’ estate.
artrecovery.com
The article reports that a Marc Chagall painting titled Othello and Desdemona, stolen in 1988 from Ernest and Rose Heller, has been recovered by the FBI. It notes the theft involved multiple works and valued the stolen property at about $600,000 at the time, about $1.3 million today, and mentions other artists in the collection.
news.artnet.com
Steve Wynn is consigning Andy Warhol’s Double Elvis [Ferus Type] (1963) and Pablo Picasso’s Le Marin (1943) at Christie’s, with an estimated combined value around $100 million. The two works are part of Wynn’s blue‑chip collection and are expected to lead Christie’s sale in New York on May 17, with Warhol’s piece estimated around $30 million. The news follows Wynn’s recent personal and financial upheavals, including selling his stake in Wynn Resorts and stepping down amid sexual misconduct allegations.
thestrad.com
The Strad reports that a 1890 Leandro Bisiach violin owned by Russell Crowe, used in the 2003 film Master and Commander, fetched AU$164,700 including buyer’s premium, about £89,500 or US$126,000, at Sotheby’s Australia charity auction in Sydney.
washingtonpost.com
The Washington Post review discusses István Várdai performing at the Phillips Collection, accompanied by a special guest, with the focus on a centuries-old Stradivarius cello dating from 1673. The instrument is described as the oldest surviving cello crafted by Antonio Stradivari and has been played by Várdai for about 18 months.
billboard.com
The article covers Russell Crowe’s auction in Sydney where a Leandro Bisciach violin sold for AU$135,000 ($104,000). The sale was part of Sotheby Australia’s auction titled The Art of Divorce, held on Crowe’s 54th birthday. A nearby costume from the same movie fetched AU$115,000, and the bid for Captain Jack Aubrey’s dress uniform exceeded expectations.
theartnewspaper.com
The article discusses a New York court ruling that London dealer Richard Nagy must return two Egon Schiele watercolours, Woman in a Black Pinafore (1911) and Woman Hiding Her Face (1912), valued together at about $5 million, to the heirs of Fritz Grünbaum, a Holocaust victim. The ruling, delivered by Justice Charles E. Ramos, rejects Nagy’s claim of lawful possession and cites the HEAR Act and the circumstances of seizure as invalidating a conveyance.
artnews.com
Alexander Calder, Albert Bierstadt, and Francis Picabia artworks, plus a Norman Rockwell piece given to the Berkshire Museum, are part of a deaccessioning plan approved by the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court; the sale could raise upwards of $55 million and may proceed with Sotheby’s in New York and a private Rockwell sale.
news.artnet.com
The article discusses a three-way international dispute over art and other assets once owned by Ferdinand Marcos and Imelda Marcos. A US District Court judge denied motions to dismiss and to grant summary judgment, moving the case closer to trial. The disputed property includes Monet's L’Église et La Seine à Vétheuil, Sisley’s Langland Bay, other unidentified paintings, sundry personal items, and about $15 million in cash and seized funds.
artnews.com
The piece discusses a restitution case in which Alain Monteagle recovered a John Constable painting, Dedham from Langham (1813), looted in 1942, and returned to his family. The painting was exhibited at Christie’s in New York and planned for an auction in London; the story places the event within Switzerland’s historical stance on Nazi-looted art and notes prior Swiss restitution cases involving artworks by Max Liebermann and Albert von Keller.
slippedisc.com
Michael Tree, aged 84, died in New York. He was co-founder of the Guarneri Quartet and mentor to many viola players.