Previous Posts: March 2011
Fraudulent dealer's 'Mission from God'
March 11 2011
More details are emerging about Lawrence Salander, of the Salander O'Reilly gallery in New York, better known as the Bernie Madoff of the art world. He had a habit of selling multiple half shares in paintings, and then never telling the owners when he had sold them. He pleaded guilty last year and was jailed, but by doing so avoided a full trial. Now, in the trial of his staff, the full workings of his business are starting to emerge.
The £100m/£20k Leonardo - its implications for auction attributions
March 10 2011
There’s an interesting piece by Simon Hewitt in this week’s Antiques Trade Gazette on the Leonardo/not Leonardo drawing, above. The article isn’t online, so I can’t link to it.
Christie’s sold the drawing for $19,000 in 1998, but recently Martin Kemp, a leading Leonardo scholar, said it was by the great master. If it’s ‘right’, some say the drawing would be worth £100m. If it isn’t, then the original valuation is probably right. There’s nothing in between.
The picture is now the subject of a lawsuit between a previous owner, Jeanne Marchig, and Christie’s. Mrs Marchig claims that Christie’s were negligent in selling the drawing as ‘German School, 19th Century’, when in fact it was by Leonardo. However, Christie’s are sticking to their guns, and say that although Martin Kemp believes it is a Leonardo, many other scholars do not, and neither do they. [More below]
Landseer in the Highlands
March 10 2011
Picture: Mallams
This small and rare landscape sketch by Landseer, estimated at £8-12,000, sold for £70,000 yesterday.
Update 20.3.11: it isn't the highlands, it's Devon apparently. I saw the picture at Maastricht.
Rodin nicked
March 10 2011
Picture: AP
A bronze statue of Balzac has been stolen from the Israel Museum in Jerusalem. The work, cast in 1892, was taken during renovations three months ago. The theft has only now been made public, which is perhaps rather late. Like the Henry Moores stolen in England recently, I suspect it has already been melted down. Who knows, bits of it may already be in the circuitry of your new mobile phone.
Important Turners donated to Abbotsford
March 9 2011
Picture: Art Fund. Left, Abbotsford, right, Newark Castle.
Two watercolours by JMW Turner have been donated to Abbotsford, Walter Scott's home. They were painted in 1831 to illustrate the 1833 edition of Scott's poems. The donor, Phoebe Barrow, chose to donate them through the Art Fund so that they were safeguarded in perpetuity - a smart move in this world of increasing deaccessions. More here.
'The man who said museums should charge for entry.'
March 9 2011
Tristram Hunt has re-opened the debate on entrance fees for museums. He says that in an age of arts cuts, particularly for regional museums, it is unfair that London-based museums such as Tate get funds for free entry, but not the Potteries Museum in his own Stoke constituency. [More below]
Unsettling sculpture of the week
March 9 2011
Meet Petra, a life-size sculpture of a female German riot officer. Petra is squatting and urinating. The piece has caused a stir in Germany, but has also won a prestigious prize from the Lienneman Foundation. Its creator, Marcel Walldorf, said;
'The public response has been overwhelmingly positive, and I don't understand why people are attacking Petra. She even contains a special mechanism by which a liquid can be made to flow out of her genitals. But to avoid damaging the gallery's floor, I have substituted a puddle of simulated urine made from gelatine for this exhibition.'
Goliath's Revenge?
March 8 2011
Like the Mona Lisa, Michelangelo's David is always good for a few column inches on a slow news day, no matter how far-fetched the story. I've watched this story grow from an obscure press release to, now, the world's media. Apparently the statue is in danger of collapse, because the new Roman metro system will pass over half a kilometre from it. Fernando De Simone wants the city to build a special underground viewing room for David. He says:
'The tunnel will pass about 600 meters (2,000ft) from the statue of David, the ankles of which, it is well known, are riddled with micro-fissures. If it’s not moved before digging begins, there is a serious risk that it will collapse.'
By the way - Fernando de Simone is an architect specialising in... underground construction.
Geschlossen
March 7 2011
Picture: Tate.
Greetings from Berlin, where I've come for the day to see a painting. Sadly, all the major galleries are geschlossen on Mondays, so there's not much art historical to report. I'm now at the airport, wondering if the implausibly cheap little chunks of 'Berlin Wall' on offer are real. Probably not.
In other news, the world's most expensive painting has gone on display at Tate. Naturally, it's a Picasso. I'm glad they've organised some half plausible art handlers for the photo-op - but I wouldn't recommend trying to hang your own $100m painting whilst standing on a ladder...
Chardin at the Prado
March 4 2011
Picture: The Louvre
The Prado has an excellent micro-site for their new Chardin exhibition (ends 29th May). You can zoom into the paintings in great detail while listening to commentary in English. There is also a charming video with Pierre Rosenberg, Deputy Director of the Louvre. Worth a click.
Cuts, cuts, cuts
March 3 2011
There was a strange piece on the Today programme this morning about cuts in arts funding. Ed Vaizey, the Arts Minister, was 'grilled' by leading arts practitioners. But the whole discussion (between five people) was edited down to just three and a bit minutes, so it was rather confusing. Ed said there was only an 11% cut; the arts gurus said 30%.
Which is true? Would you believe me if I said that the arts are being cut less than the police? Here's a handy guide to those arts cuts figures: [more below]
National Gallery Podcast
March 3 2011
This month's National Gallery podcast is worth a listen. Susan Foister and co discuss the new Gossart exhibition and also the zippy Google Art Project, which features Holbein's Ambassadors in super high-res.
A new Mabuse?
March 2 2011
A reader has kindly sent me this image, which is an old photo of a painting stolen from a Croatian monastery in 1972. The Madonna and Child was believed by the Franciscan monks of Dubrovnik to be by Mabuse, or Jan Gossart, the star of the National Gallery's new show.
Of course, it is impossible to tell at this distance, but the painting is certainly Mabuse/Gossart/Gossaert-like. The composition is similar to that seen in the c.1520 Mauritshuis/Rijksmuseum Virgin and Child with the Veil, which is no.10 in Maryan Ainsworth's splendid new monograph.
The features and drapery in the Dubrovnik picture seem rather hard, and the pattern was quite widely copied. Nonetheless, it is worth a closer look - so if you know where it is, pray tell... [More Below]
Antiguos Maestros Europeos!
March 1 2011
Rare good news for the museum world - the world's richest man, Carlos Slim, is sinking $34m into a museum to display his 66,000 piece private collection. The Soumaya Museum, in Mexico City, will feature an impressive art collection, with works from Rubens to Rodin.
Unlocking Constable's 'Lock'
March 1 2011
Picture: Carmen Thyssen-Bornemisza Collection.
It seems John Constable's 'The Lock', currently part of Baroness Carmen Thyssen's collection, may be sold. The Baroness' collection of 240 paintings (which includes works by Canaletto, Monet, Picasso etc.) has been valued by Sotheby's at up to EUR700 million.
The collection is currently on loan to the Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza in Madrid. The loan term is set to expire in 2012, and the Baroness and her step-daughter, Francesca Habsburg, disagree over the future of the collection. The Guardian reports that Francesca Habsburg has vetoed the removal of the Constable.
The Museo Thyssen is home to a painting that represents one of the greatest losses of English artistic heritage; Holbein's only surviving panel portrait of Henry VIII. It was sold by Earl Spencer in 1933/4.
Leonardo's 'Lady with an Ermine' cannot travel
March 1 2011
Poland's chief arts conservator has refused permission for Leonardo's 'Lady with an Ermine' to travel to Berlin for an exhibition in August.
Earlier, concerned polish art historians had hoped to prevent the picture going to London for the National Gallery's Leonardo show, which opens in November. However, it appears that the London journey is still on.
