Tanaka Yū’s Tsutsumimono (Wrapped Item), a 2022 glazed stoneware sculpture measuring 24 3/8 x 18 1/2 x 19 inches, was acquired by the Dallas Museum of Art with funding from the Cecil and Ida Green Acquisition Fund, the Susan Mead Contemporary Art Acquisition Fund, and the Discretionary Decorative Arts Fund (2023.71). Dr. Jacqueline Chao, an art historian and curator in the DMA Asian art department, was instrumental in the acquisition, highlighting the work’s fusion of technique and cultural heritage and noting its cross-collection resonance across Asian Art, Post-War and Contemporary Art, and Design and Decorative Art.
The Kloster Schöntal International Violin Competition announced its 2024 prize recipients across three age groups. In Age Group 1, Mai Ikawa won first prize, Jayda Lu second, and Tsz Yan (Tiffany) Li third, with Ikawa receiving €2,000 along with several prizes. In Age Group 2, Natsuho Murata won first prize, Madeline Goh second, and Emmy Gu third. Age Group 3 had no first prize, with Sofia Smǎrǎndescu taking second and Dániel Hodos and Yungi Kaneko sharing third prize ex aequo.
Sotheby’s reports on Sotheby's To Offer Abrams Collection, Including Works by Noguchi and Marisol | Press Release. Its source account states that sotheby's To Offer Abrams Collection, Including Works by Noguchi and Marisol | Press Release | Sotheby’s.
Sotheby’s announced sales from the Abrams family collection, built over seven decades by art-book publisher Harry N. Abrams, his son Robert and their family. A September 2024 live auction was led by Isamu Noguchi’s Study for Energy Void, with works by Alex Katz, Bob Thompson, Marisol, Chryssa, Tom Wesselmann, Robert Indiana and Fernando Botero.
The page announces the world premiere of Umbra, a double concerto for cello and Ondes Martenot with string orchestra, composed for Musicus Soloists Hong Kong. Performers include Trey Lee (cellist) and Nadia Ratsimandresy (Ondes Martenot), with Petteri Iivonen and Aurélie Entringer as guest contributors.
Marc Chagall’s Over Vitebsk (1913) was returned by MoMA to relatives of its original owner, a dispute reportedly settled with Mondex Corporation, a restitution research firm. The work was valued at about $24 million; the heirs claimed Mondex breached its contract over a $4 million compensation to MoMA and an $8.5 million fee, with representatives denying improper negotiations.
The 1720 Brescian viola and its bow were reported stolen on the evening of July 4, 2024 at Brasserie Carls in Hamburg, Germany. The instrument is labeled Gaetano Pasta fecit Brescia 1720 and the bow labeled Knopf – Berlin; case is Red Tononi. Owner is offering a €10,000 reward and case number is 014|1K|455127|2024.
Claude Monet’s Water Lilies (Nymphéas, 1897–99) is listed at HK$200 million to HK$280 million ($25 million to $35 million) and will headline Christie’s first evening sale of 20th–21st-century art in Hong Kong. Zao Wou-ki’s 05.06.80–Triptyque (1980) is also featured with an estimate between HK$78 million and HK$128 million ($10 million to $15 million).
Marc Chagall’s Over Vitebsk (1914) was restituted from MoMA to heirs of Galerie Matthiesen; Mondex settled a lawsuit over fees tied to that restitution. The painting had been in MoMA’s collection since around 1949 before its return to the Berlin gallery’s heirs. The deal involved the heirs paying $4 million to the museum to fund Nazi-era provenance research, and Mondex later sued Patrick Matthiesen for about $8.5 million in fees.
Claude Monet’s Nymphéas (1897-99) from the Water Lilies series is highlighted for Christie’s Hong Kong inaugural sale at the Henderson headquarters, with an expected bid range of HK$200m to HK$280m ($25m-$35m). The solo work was in Monet’s family collection until 1926 and is presented as part of Christie’s Asia-focused expansion.
Claude Monet, Nymphéas (1897–99) is estimated HK$200 million to HK$280 million ($25 million to $35 million) and will lead Christie’s first evening sale at its new Asia headquarters in Hong Kong. The work will be joined by Zao Wou-ki’s 05.06.80–Triptyque (1980) with an estimate HK$78 million to HK$128 million ($10 million to $15 million).
The press release discusses Claude Monet’s Nymphéas, a seminal work from Monet’s water lilies series, to be offered at auction for the first time in 125 years at Christie’s Inaugural Evening Sale at The Henderson in Hong Kong on 26 September. The painting, dating circa 1897-1899, is oil on canvas and has an estimate of HK$200,000,000–280,000,000 (US$25,000,000–35,000,000). It notes the painting’s provenance within the Monet family and mentions other related works owned by major museums.
The article discusses Salvator Mundi, attributed to Leonardo da Vinci, which sold at Christie’s in 2017 for $450 million. A BBC report suggests the painting has been stored in Geneva since it was bought by Saudi crown prince Mohammed bin Salman and may be headed to a future Saudi museum in Riyadh.
The article reports that Czech violinist Pavel Sporcl became an artist-ambassador for Thomastik-Infeld, and cites his Jan-Spidlen-built blue violin, which he says has never sounded as good as now. It also notes Sporcl debuted the new Dynamo strings in Israel, substituting for Viktoria Mullova and performing the Beethoven Violin Concerto with the Israel Camerata Jerusalem.
Archie Moore’s kith and kin, winner of the Golden Lion for Best National Participation at the 2024 Venice Biennale, is being acquired by Tate in partnership with Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art (QAGOMA) in Australia. The acquisition is supported by Creative Australia and the Australian government and builds on Tate’s ongoing collaborations with Australian institutions.
Archie Moore’s artwork kith and kin was acquired by Tate in collaboration with Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art (QAGOMA). The piece won the Golden Lion for Best National Participation at the Venice Biennale 2024 and features a large chalk genealogical chart representing 65,000 years and 2,400 family generations, reflecting Moore’s Kamilaroi, Bigambul, and British heritage.
The Thomas-Suwalls — known as The Icy Gays — have lent their cutting-edge collection by queer and female artists to a new exhibition now on view at the Plains Art Museum
Jieun Son of South Korea won the senior solo violin category. Results announced for Violin Categories A, B, and C as well as Chamber Music Categories A and B at the Kreutzer International Music Competition in Ghent, Belgium (Aug 6–10, 2024). The prizewinners received more than €13,000 in prize money, with €1,000 awarded to the winners of the top categories.
The Peghead Nation video features Lauren Rioux demonstrating a 2008 Jonathan Cooper five-string violin, described as Jonathan Cooper’s 289th instrument. The instrument has a traditional maple back and sides with a spruce top, a viola-size peghead, and a combination of D’Addario Zyex strings with a Kaplan E string. The bow is a pernambuco viola bow by Thomas Dignan, and the chin rest is Guarneri ebony modified by Jonathan. The video is part of Peghead Nation’s Fine Lutherie series.
The Violin Channel reports that an antique German violin with a Jean-Baptiste Vuillaume label was stolen on August 6, 2024, from the Chiesina Uzzanese in Lucca province, Italy. The instrument’s back is in two pieces of flamed maple and has several repaired cracks; the violin measures about 36.4 centimeters.
Sam Mondros reports on a private salon in San Francisco where violinists Eric Chin and Lisa Lee performed on a 1722 Stradivari and a 1641 Nicolo Amati. The event featured two locked cases, a $20 million Stradivari and a $1.8 million Amati, hosted by George Horsfall at his Alamo Square home, with about 45 attendees. Lisa Lee, the Amati’s current player, is positioned to be the recipient if a buyer for the Amati is found.
Bloomberg Investigates reports on Bernard von Bredow, a rare instrument collector, and the murder of him and his daughter Loreena in Paraguay, detailing the investigation and the eventual prosecution of suspects.
The pioneer of performance art is one of 10 international artists — including Ai Weiwei and Edmund de Waal — who have donated works to Blue: Art for the Ocean. The auction, in support of Blue Marine Foundation, will take place during Frieze Week in October
Egon Schiele: Nazi-Looted Portrait’s Ownership Resolved by Justice Daniel J. Doyle in Rochester, New York, ruling in favor of the Mayländer heirs over the Rieger heirs in a restitution dispute involving the 1917 drawing Portrait of the Artist’s Wife.
The news concerns cellist Richard Harwood stepping down as principal cello of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, a position he has held since 2018. The article notes his background, collaborations, and forthcoming activities.
Egon Schiele, Portrait of the Artist's Wife (1917), is restituted to the heirs of Jewish Viennese art collector Karl Mayländer. The ruling by the New York Supreme Court ends a three-way dispute involving the Lehman Foundation and Heinrich Rieger’s heirs, marking the first Nazi-looted art case to go to trial in the U.S.
The Bronx heir of an art collector killed in the Holocaust was awarded a multi-million dollar painting looted by the Nazis, Egon Schiele’s 1917 watercolor Portrait of the Artist’s Wife, with ownership ultimately passing to the Susan Zirkl Memorial Foundation Trust after Zirkl’s death. The case involved multiple claimants, including the heirs of Dr. Heinrich Rieger, and a bench ruling by State Supreme Court Justice Daniel J. Doyle.
The National Gallery of Australia paid $9.8 million for Paul Gauguin's 1890 painting Farm at Le Pouldu (The Blue Roof). The work is part of the NGA collection and will be showcased in Gauguin’s World: Tōna Iho, Tōna Ao. The acquisition is described as an anchor work within the NGA’s collection spanning artists from Claude Monet to Jackson Pollock.
The Sarasate violin by Antonio Stradivari will be showcased at the Violin Museum of Cremona from 6 September 2024 to 6 January 2025, in collaboration with the Musée de la Musique de la Philharmonie de Paris, marking the three hundredth anniversary of its construction. The exhibition, titled “Sarasate, the violin of the virtuosos. 1724-2024,” explores the instrument’s history and its notable custodians, including Pablo de Sarasate and past owners like Count Cozio di Salabue, Giovanni Battista Guadagnini, Jean-Baptiste Vuillaume, and Charles-Eugène Gand.
Damien Hirst led Sotheby’s Online Contemporary Discoveries auction with a sale totaling $2.43 million (GBP1.91 million). The top lot was Damien Hirst’s i: Beautiful Hathor Erotomania Intense Painting (with Extra Inner Beauty) ii: Beautiful Ceres Intense Anhedonia Painting (with Extra Inner Beauty) (2008), which sold for $122,200. Lawrence Calcagno’s Untitled (1988) sold for $61,100. 96 works sold; 0 guarantees; 26 bought-in; 1 withdrawn before the sale.
Nara in Bilbao, Frankenthaler in Florence, Goldin in Berlin, and more — our selection of the standout shows already running or set to open in the coming months
The New York court awarded a Nazi-looted drawing by Egon Schiele to the heir of a Holocaust victim, recognizing the rightful ownership after the artwork was looted during World War II.
Paul Gauguin's The blue roof, or Farm at Le Pouldu was purchased by the National Gallery of Australia for $9.8 million, becoming the first Gauguin work in an Australian public collection. The acquisition is funded by the National Gallery Foundation and accompanied by commentary from National Gallery Director Nick Mitzevich about providing access to world-class art.