Monthly archive
33 headlines
Source-linked reporting
lefigaro.fr
Somaya Aqad reports that a Ferdinand Gagliano violin dating from the late 18th century was bought for $200,000 by a pawnbroker in Boston. The instrument, signed by Ferdinando Gagliano, had been stolen from a couple ten days earlier and later recovered in a Boston shop that purchased it without knowing its origins.
medievalists.net
The J. Paul Getty Museum has acquired the Rothschild Pentateuch, a late 13th century medieval Hebrew manuscript dated 1296. The manuscript, created by an unknown artist, features abundant illumination, micrography, and hybrid motifs, with the opening of each book celebrated by ornate initials; it may have been written in France for Jewish émigrés expelled from England in 1290, with illumination likely completed in France or Germany.
nytimes.com
The article discusses a Ferdinando Gagliano violin valued at over $200,000 that had been stolen and later sold to a Massachusetts pawnshop for $50 before being recovered by police. Dylan McDermitt of LBC Boutique & Loan in Somerville indicated authorities provided documents to prove the violin’s theft.
wcvb.com
The article discusses a Gagliano violin made in 1759, appraised at about a quarter of a million dollars after being pawned for $50, and notes it was later identified as a rare instrument with original bows. The piece emphasizes the violin’s significant increase in value and mentions the thief as a cat burglar.
power1051.iheart.com
The article reports that a Massachusetts pawn shop, LBC Boutique and Loan, purchased a $50 violin that is valued at $250,000, which was later identified as a Federico Gagliano hand-crafted violin from 1759 and stolen. Police recovered the instrument and returned it to the owner.
apnews.com
AP News reports that a Ferdinando Gagliano violin handcrafted in 1759, purchased for 50 dollars at a Somerville, Massachusetts pawn shop, is valued at about 250,000 dollars. The bows are estimated at 16,000 to 18,000 dollars; the instrument was reported stolen and later returned to its owner, and the shop plans to have customers play violins to verify ownership.
theviolinchannel.com
The Ulysses Quartet, from the United States, won 1st prize at the 2018 Schoenfeld International Chamber Music Competition in Harbin, China. The quartet comprises Christina Bouey, Rhiannon Banerdt, Colin Brookes, and Grace Ho, and will receive US $20,000; 2nd and 3rd prizes went to the Gallant Quartet and Delta Piano Trio respectively, with 4th prize to the Rhythms Quartet.
news.artnet.com
Pablo Picasso. Artwork: Fillette à la corbeille fleurie (1905). $835 million from the Rockefeller collection, total first-half sales to almost £3 billion ($4 billion). Other figures: private sales rose to £287 million ($390.3 million); online-only sales rose to £27.7 million ($37.7 million); 55 lots sold for more than $10 million. USD and GBP present. Christie’s.
apollo-magazine.com
The National Gallery in London acquired Artemisia Gentileschi’s Self-Portrait as Saint Catherine of Alexandria (c. 1615–17), currently undergoing conservation. The piece underscores Gentileschi's rising prominence in Italian Baroque painting and reflects broader scholarly attention to her work in recent decades.
theviolinchannel.com
The Violin Channel reports that a 35-year-old woman in Nagoya, Japan was sentenced to two years in prison for violently trashing a collection of 54 violins and 70 bows, owned by her ex-husband Daniel Olsen Chen, a Japan-based string instrument dealer. The collection was valued at over US $1.5 million. Qin Yue denied involvement and plans to appeal. The couple divorced in 2016.
collection.sina.com.cn
阿特米谢-简特内斯基的自画像《亚历山大圣凯瑟琳自画像》被英国国家美术馆以约360万英镑购入，成为馆藏第21件女性艺术家作品。画家阿特米谢-简特内斯基（Artemisia Gentileschi, 1593-1653）为意大利巴洛克时期著名女画家。
news.artnet.com
The article discusses a legal battle between Enrico Navarra Gallery and Marlborough Gallery over alleged interference with a contract involving Chu Teh-Chun, a Chinese-French abstract painter. The dispute originated in Paris in 2007 and moved to New York in 2010, with multiple rulings and appeals over more than a decade. An appeal decision is anticipated before the end of the summer.
Sotheby’s
Sotheby’s documents the market development behind Three Restituted Masterpieces Offered at Auction in London. Its account reports that t is rather unusual to have three restituted paintings in one auction, but in our 4 July Old Masters Evening sale in 2018, we were honoured to offer three such works.
hyperallergic.com
The National Gallery in London acquired Artemisia Gentileschi’s self-portrait as Saint Catherine of Alexandria, a work offered for sale in 2017 and later sold at auction for $3.6 million, setting a new record for the artist. The article notes it is among only about 20 works by women owned by the National Gallery and references prior acquisitions such as Orazio Gentileschi’s Danaë for $30.49 million and the BBC report on the 1991 milestone.
elle.com
Artemisia Gentileschi: il quadro acquistato dalla National Gallery di Londra è Autoritratto come Santa Caterina d’Alessandria, datato tra il 1615 e il 1617, acquistato per 3,6 milioni di sterline e ora in restauri. L’artista è figlia di Orazio Gentileschi; la storia della sua vita comprende l’abuso da parte di Agostino Tassi e le conseguenze sociali della sua denuncia.
theartnewspaper.com
Banksy painting sells for record £1.5m as greatest hits show opens at Lazinc gallery in London; works including Show Me the Monet (2005) and Media at War (2006) are expected to be worth over £5m, with some pieces priced up to £1.5m
thestrad.com
The Strad reports on the opening of the exhibition Precious Instruments, Illustrious Names at the Royal Palace of Venaria Reale near Turin, featuring 30 instruments from the 17th to 20th centuries by makers including Stradivari, Guarneri del Gesù, Nicolò Amati and Guadagnini. Isabelle Faust performed a recital on the 1710 Stradivari violin Vieuxtemps, and the exhibition runs until 30 September 2018.
Sotheby’s
Sotheby’s documents the market development behind Tate Modern Unveils William Kentridge’s Latest Commission. Its account reports that two million Africans served in the First World War as carriers and porters for the British, French and German forces; 300 porters were needed just to haul a single canon.
lanazione.it
The piece discusses a valuable 1790 violin attributed to luthier Lorenzo Storioni, recovered by the Carabinieri in Florence. It was stolen in December from a Milanese musician who was hospitalized, with the last owner an Empoli worker who voluntarily returned it.
journalchc.com
The Journal of Cultural Heritage Crime reports that a violin from the 18th century attributed to Lorenzo Storioni was recovered in Empoli, after being stolen in Florence in December 2017. The instrument was traced through a Tuscan bow maker and other inquiries, and the last holder returned it; authorities arranged its return to the owner.
pressherald.com
Jackson Pollock's 1941 oil on canvas Composition with Masked Forms was acquired by Colby College Museum of Art for an undisclosed price. The museum calls the purchase a turning point and the acquisition is described as a real coup by Adam D. Weinberg of the Whitney Museum of American Art.
centralmaine.com
The Colby College Museum of Art in Waterville has acquired Jackson Pollock's 1941 oil-on-canvas Composition with Masked Forms for an undisclosed price, calling it a turning point for Pollock and the Maine collection; Adam D. Weinberg of the Whitney Museum calls the acquisition a real coup.
gordonua.com
Yuri Felshtinsky investigates how the sale of Leonardo da Vinci’s Salvator Mundi at Christie’s and related debts involved Donald Trump and Dmitry Rybolovlev. The article discusses a $95 million debt repayment linked to the 2008 loan and the Saudi/UAE bidding dynamics around Salvator Mundi, with Christie’s noting underpainting details.
artsy.net
The National Gallery acquired Artemisia Gentileschi's Self Portrait as Saint Catherine of Alexandria (1615–17), becoming the first artwork by a female artist purchased by the museum in 27 years. The work is titled Self Portrait as Saint Catherine of Alexandria and is attributed to Artemisia Gentileschi, with the National Gallery, London credited for the acquisition.
alowais.com
Artemisia Gentileschi’s Self Portrait as Saint Catherine of Alexandria (circa 1615-17) was purchased by London’s National Gallery for £3.6 million ($4.08 million). The work is a rare self-portrait and is the 21st artwork by a female artist in the gallery’s collection of over 2,300 works. The painting had previously been sold at Christophe Joron-Derem in Paris for €1.85 million ($2.9 million) and was acquired after being rediscovered and reattributed, with Letizia Treves commenting on its significance as a self-portrait.
theartnewspaper.com
Ludovico Carracci's Portrait of Carlo Alberto Rati Opizzoni in armour sold for £4.3m (£5m with fees) during Christie’s Old Master evening sale, which totalled £25.8m (£31.1m with fees). Gerard David's The Holy Family set a new artist record at £4.1m (£4.8m with fees). The sale overall was 74% sold and below the pre-sale estimate, with several high-profile works failing to sell. Christie’s emphasized competitive bidding from 26 countries, including Russia and Asia.
theartnewspaper.com
The National Gallery in London acquired Artemisia Gentileschi's Self-portrait as Saint Catherine of Alexandria (c. 1615–17) for £3.6m. The work was sold at Drouot in Paris on 19 December for €2.4m and later bought by Robilant + Voena in London, with fundraising support from American Friends of the National Gallery and the Art Fund.
ourherald.com
Violinist Julia Salerno is featured in the Rochester Chamber Music Society’s concert on Sunday, July 8 at 4 p.m. at the Federated Church in Rochester, opening the Green Mountain Suzuki Institute. The program includes Beethoven and Debussy piano trios and Handel-Halvorsen’s Passacaglia Duo for violin and cello, featuring Julia Salerno (violin), Benjamin Gish (cello), and Cynthia Huard (piano).
theartnewspaper.com
The article discusses Sotheby’s Old Masters sale, noting no single blockbuster but solid quality and new buyers from Asia and Latin America, with a total of £42.6m including fees. It highlights Victoria Beckham’s role in selecting portraits, including the top lot Portrait of a Venetian nobleman by Rubens, which sold for £4.6m (£5.4m with fees), and mentions other Beckham-selected works such as Mary of Burgundy and Lucas Cranach the Elder, all selling with irrevocable bids.
nomosparis.com
The article discusses the 1945 French ordinance that nullified sales of art looted during World War II and led to the restitution efforts for Camille Pissarro’s painting La Cueillette, formerly owned by Simon Bauer. The case details the initial confiscation by the Vichy regime, subsequent sales, and a 2017 Paris court decision applying the ordinance to allow legal measures to recover the painting.
news.artnet.com
The article discusses Paul Cézanne's 1897 La Montagne Sainte-Victoire in the Kunstmuseum Bern that is part of the Cornelius Gurlitt trove. A 2018 report explains an agreement between the Cézanne family and the museum to acknowledge Bern as the rightful owner so the painting can be exhibited regularly at Musée Granet in Aix-en-Provence, without money exchanged hands.
christies.com
Artists: Peter Paul Rubens. Artwork: Portrait of Clara Serena Rubens. Sale: Old Masters Evening Sale in London on 5 July. Estimate £3,000,000-5,000,000.
disputeresolutiongermany.com
Gurlitt estate: Berne Museum reaches agreement on Cézanne’s La Montagne Sainte-Victoire, with the Berne Museum of Fine Arts and the Cézanne estate reached in April 2014; the settlement relates to Cézanne’s 1897 painting and allows regular exhibition at Musée Granet in Aix-en-Provence, as reported by Frankfurter Allgemeine.