Previous Posts: articles 2018
Guardi blocked for export - but for how long?
October 17 2011
Picture: Sotheby's
The vain attempt to stop some of the greatest paintings in England being exported continued today when Francesco Guardi's epic View of the Rialto Bridge was deferred for six months. A UK museum now has six months to try and raise the £26.7m needed to match the price paid for it at auction earlier this year.
A quick look at the value of paintings temporarily refused export shows that the more expensive the picture, the more likely it is to end up being exported (usually to a US museum). The plain fact is that due to the slashing of acquisition funds over the last fifteen years or so, no British museum can afford to compete with international institutions. And, because the recession is creating more selling pressures for the owners of these great works, we have a 'perfect storm' situation for the UK to lose forever some of its greatest treasures.
There is of course one quick and simple way this situation could be avoided - and that is the restoration of a proper acquisition fund. When I was helping to write Conservative arts and heritage policy before the 2005 election (with Hugo Swire MP and John Whittingdale MP) we suggested the creation of a National Acquisition Fund, to be supported by funding from the National Lottery.
David Cameron, who was then in charge of policy and with whom I drafted the arts and heritage manifesto, thought it was a good idea. But so far we've not seen anything similar under the present administration. But the Lottery, or specifically the Heritage Lottery Fund is the one funding stream which has had an increase in revenue, thanks to the Conservative policy (copyright, Whittingdale, Swire & Grosvenor) to increase its share of the Lottery pie. The only problem is, the HLF does not like to fund the acquisition of paintings. It would, via a statutory instrument, be the work of a moment for the government to overturn the HLF's reluctance - so what are we waiting for?
Pietro Psaier - new evidence?
October 17 2011
Picture: pietropsaierartist.com
This is meant to be a photo of Pietro Psaeir, an artist who was friends with Warhol and whose works fetch thousands at auction. The problem is, nobody really knows if he existed. The regional English auctioneer John Nicholson has held a number of sales of his (frankly, very poor) paintings, chiefly collages, along with occasional sales by the likes of Sotheby's and Christie's. But there have been perpetual reports that the whole Psaier industry is a scam.
Psaier's advocates have a website which claims to have proof of his existence and work, including the above photo. But there is hardly any evidence to go on, not least because Psaeir was apparently killed in the 2004 Tsunami, and both his beach house and body were never found.
Now, writing in the Guardian, Tim Williams has published some further evidence to claim that the whole Psaier industry is nothing more than a cynical fraud. And I think I believe him.
Over on another art history blog...
October 17 2011
...you'll find an article featuring - me! Three Pipe Problem is a fascinating site offering in depth analysis on all aspects of art history, with a particular emphasis on science and technical analysis.
The writer behind 3PP is Hasan Niyazi, who has a background in clinical sciences. Niyazi's scientific training gives his views on art the sort of analytical edge you don't often find amongst art historians. In this piece, he looks at connoisseurship - an issue readers of this site will know I often bang on about - and proposes an ingenious system of reporting for art historical discoveries.
Niyazi has often been baffled by the huge differences in reporting findings in his two disciplines of science and art history. For example, any scientific discovery should be reported in a weighty peer-reviewed journal, with all the available data published for analysis and debate, and opposing views given equal weight. Whereas in art history, the evidence for a discovery can often be nothing more than the pronouncement of a single expert. So Niyazi suggests (and I'm paraphrasing) what should be an industry-accepted system based on: (1) stylistic, thematic and iconographic evidence; (2) documentary evidence; (3) visual and technical evidence; and (4) consensus - critical response and peer review.
Art History Futures - cremation edition
October 17 2011
Picture: Memories From Ashes
I bet not even Leonardo thought of this: a company in the US is offering portraits of the deceased made with their own cremated remains. Yes, mixed in with the yellow ochre and prussian blue will be 'one ounce of your loved one's ashes... the ashes will not be visible. However, they will turn your painting into that extraordinary rememberance piece.'
Or, you can have the ashes incorporated into a painting such as the above, with the deceased meeting Jesus. Pet paintings are also available.
Gainsborough study day in Bath
October 17 2011
Picture: Holburne Museum
What could be nicer than spending a whole day discussing Gainsborough, surrounded by some of his best landscapes, in the city in which he painted?
There will be a Gainsborough Study Day at the Holburne Museum in Bath on Monday 14th November, price £50. The day will coincide with the museum's Gainsborough landscapes exhibition. Speakers include:
- Dr Martin Postle, (Assistant Director for Academic Activities, the Paul Mellon Centre for Studies in British Art and Trustee of the Holburne Museum)
- Dr Susan Sloman (exhibition Curator)
- Prof Deanna Petherbridge
- Hugh Belsey (Senior Research Fellow, Paul Mellon Centre for Studies in British Art, London)
- Dr Steve Poole (Principal Lecturer in English Social and Cultural History, University of the West of England)
- Prof Peter Holman (Professor Emeritus of Historical Musicology, University of Leeds)
Was Van Gogh murdered?
October 17 2011
No - but there's a hefty new biography which needs publicizing. The above programme on CBS' 60 Minutes, which examines the new evidence around Van Gogh's death, is worth a watch.
Christie's Contemporary sale lifts the gloom
October 15 2011
Picture: Christie's
Christie's comprehensively beat Sotheby's this week in the battle of the contemporary art sales. Where Sotheby's totalled only a below estimate £17.8m, Christie's came in with an above estimate £38m.
One of the star performers was a maquette by Anthony Gormley of The Angel of the North (above), which sold for £3.4m (inc. premium) against an estimate of £1.5m-£2m. As a guide to how fast the contemporary market can move, it was only in 2008 that Philip Mould's valuation of another Gormley maquette of The Angel made headlines as the first Antiques Roadshow item to beat £1m.
The Louvre cleans a Leonardo
October 15 2011
Exciting news - the Louvre has released some images of its restoration of Leonardo's Virgin and Child with St Anne. You can zoom in on what it used to look like here.
The Louvre is famously averse to cleaning pictures. Some (including me) would say that the Louvre's keep-em-dirty approach has paid off, for wandering around the collection today it is noticeable that the pictures are generally in exceptional condition. Ov average, the collection is in better condition than that of the National Gallery, which was one of the first public galleries to start cleaning pictures, often with disastrous consequences. These days, happily, cleaning techniques are advanced enough for us to be sure of doing as little permanent damage as possible.
The 'Monet of Manchester'
October 14 2011
Picture: Guardian, detail from 'Manchester Ship Canal'
A new exhibition of the works of French artist Adolphe Valette opens at The Lowry in Manchester tomorrow. Valette is best known as Lowry's teacher. Runs until 19th January. More here.
Which one is by the Orangutan?
October 14 2011
Picture: Sotheby's/Hogle Zoo
Which one of these sold last night at Sotheby's for £421,250 and which one was painted by an orangutan? I bet quite a few of you get the answer wrong.
Ok, I know it's a tired old cliché. But you've got to admit that this particular Orangutan, Acara (b.2005), is pretty talented...
Here's the catalogue note for Untitled by Christopher Wool:
Wool's attitude towards the role of images in our culture today, one which he shares with contemporaries such as Prince, Oehlen, Cady Noland and Kippenberger, has become increasingly important to a younger generation of image makers, including New York artists Wade Guyton, Josh Smith and Kelley Walker.
And here's the note for Untitled by Acara;
Born here at Utah's Hogle Zoo in 2005 to Elijah and Eve, Acara inherited some of her talent for art from her parents. She has been the most consistent and reliable orangutan in her desire to paint when asked to, and rarely turns down an opportunity to create a masterpiece. Still learning her craft, she has been an intent observer of the techniques our human guest artists have used, and has then used these techniques in her own work. She seems to be the most versatile in using different materials as well as different styles and can be counted on to deliver a finished piece in mere moments.
If you like Acara's work, then why not buy some here to help protect orangutans' native forests around the world.
'The mood has changed'
October 14 2011
So says London-based art dealer Edmondo di Robilant, discussing last night's weak contemporary art auction at Sotheby's. A number of high-profile lots failed to sell, and although the Sotheby's press release talks boldly about records being broken, a closer look at the numbers reveals a different story.
The Contemporary Art Evening Sale, Sotheby's major event of this important contemporary art week (alongside Freize) raised a total of £17.8m. This figure includes buyer's premium, whereas the the pre-sale estimate of £19-26m does not. So knock off a couple of million for premiums, and you get a total hammer price some way below even the lower pre-sale estimate. That's not good, however you spin it.
From Bloomberg:
Some paintings went unsold, such as Peter Doig’s “Bellevarde,” valued at as much as 2 million pounds.
“That would have sold a year ago,” the London-based dealer Edmondo di Robilant said. “The mood has changed. Auction houses entice things with high estimates and in the past they’ve been able to sell them. That wasn’t always the case tonight. A number of lots that sold were knocked down against lowered reserves.”
Dealers said economic worries were weighing on some buyers. Even headline-grabbing pieces such as Marc Quinn’s 18-carat gold sculpture of Kate Moss in a yoga pose attracted just one bid. The 2008 “Microcosmos (SIREN)” was knocked down to a bidder represented by Patti Wong of Sotheby’s Asia for 577,250 pounds.
There was also just one telephone bid for the 1952 close-up portrait “Boy’s Head” by Freud, who died in July, aged 88. It was valued at 3 million pounds and fetched 3.2 million pounds.
The word is that Frieze this year hasn't exactly been stellar. So - what's going on? Is it the economy? Has the price-it-high and sell-it-low game played by the auctioneers finally been rumbled? Or, is the excesseive hype around contemporary art beginning to fade. Probably a combination of all three.
Mixing pigments in 98,000 BC
October 14 2011
Archaeologists claim to have found the earliest evidence of humans mixing paint. The find, dated to 100,000 years old, is of a set of tools used to mix red and yellow ochres.
Two sets of implements for preparing red and yellow ochres to decorate animal skins, body parts or perhaps cave walls were excavated at the Blombos cave on the Southern Cape near the Indian Ocean. The stone and bone tools for crushing, mixing and applying the pigments were uncovered alongside the shells of giant sea snails that had been used as primitive mixing pots. The snails are indigenous to South African waters.
Other bones, including the shoulder blade of a seal, were among the ingredients for making the pigments. The bones were probably heated in a fire and the marrow fat used as a binder for the paint. Along with ancient flakes of charcoal, researchers found a "high water mark" on the shells' inner wall, evidence that an unknown liquid, probably urine or water, was added to make the paint more fluid.
Full details here. How long until somebody says Leonardo was involved?
So the Queen prefers men..?
October 13 2011
Update: HM clearly reads AHN! For just two days after this was posted news came that the Queen is to support changes to the line of succession.
Here's a question I have been pondering. It's nothing to do with art, but it's certainly history: is the Queen in favour of changing the laws on royal succession to allow Prince William's first child to become sovereign, even if a girl? It would appear not, if her decision on the succession of William's other title, the Dukedom of Cambridge, is anything to go by.
Early readers of this site may remember that when William was made Duke of Cambridge on his wedding day, I wondered whether the title would pass to his first child regardless of sex.
Well, I've finally found the answer - it's boys only. From the official London Gazette: [More below]
Lucas Cranach goes to Hollywood
October 13 2011
Here's some innovative use of Old Masters in the opening sequence to The Borgias. Can you name all the artists and the paintings?
Update - Twitter art sleuth @metadadaist names the works, in order:
Van der Weyden Philippe de Croy; Bronzino Exposure of Luxury; a Cranach Lucretia ('curiously flipped'); a Cranach Judith; Ghirlandaio Zachariah in the Temple; Sabatelli Battle of Serchio; Caravaggio Death of the Virgin; a Hans Baldung; another Sabatelli; Boullogne's Triumph of Neptune (in reverse); Regnault's Execution; Anguissola, Portrait of the Artisti's Sister.
The dangers of 'science', art history and optimism
October 13 2011
All images: Art History Today/Graeme Cameron
A new self-published book has made a number of startling art historical claims. The most eye-catching is a new theory on the Mona Lisa: the sitter is, claims Graeme Cameron, an idealised portrait of Leonardo's mother. Cameron also lays claim to a new Leonardo Self-Portrait, and a Portrait of Elizabeth I by Hans Holbein.
Although I have only seen the findings published over at Art History Today, rarely have I seen so many wild theories in a single book. It's worth ordering a copy of the book out of sheer fascination. The theories highlight how too much 'scientific' analysis of paintings can lead one off on wild tangents if you're not grounded in proper art historical training and connoisseurship. [More below]
Perugino exhibition in Munich
October 13 2011
This looks like a good show: a major exhibition at the Alte Pinakothek on Pietro Perugino, Raphael's master. Opens today till 15th January 2012.
Another restitution - but this time from WW1
October 13 2011
Picture: Musée de la Chartreuse
A Fisherman's Daughter by Jules Breton (above) has been returned to the Musée de la Chartreuse in France after intervention by the United States. The picture had been stolen from the museum by a German soldier in 1918.
Valued at EUR 140,000, the picture was lost for decades, but turned up again in 2000 after it had been consigned to Sotheby's. It then appeared for sale at Maastricht in 2010, before finally being restituted after much legal wrangling.
I'm all in favour of restitution, especially of works so brutally stolen by the Nazis. But 1918 is a long time ago, and you have to wonder where we draw the line on restitution cases. What about a picture taken (and there's plenty of them) by Prussian forces from Paris in 1870? Or Napoleon's army? Or Genghis Kahn?
Strikes at the National Gallery?
October 12 2011
I learn from Art History Today that security staff at the National Gallery are threatening to go on strike, perhaps even during the Leonardo exhibition. Budget cuts have forced the National to put one warder in charge of two rooms, instead of a warder to a room as before.
Obviously, the recent attack on the Poussin, above, means this is an unusually sensitive issue. But it would be a shame if strike action disrupted the gallery. The National suffers more than other galleries from strikes because it is overly unionised. Now is probably not a good time to say that I occasionaly see warders not doing their job very well (for example, playing Sudoku).
The Madoff Curse
October 12 2011
Picture: Christie's
That Wootton once owned by Bernie Madoff failed to sell again today at $70-100k. An after-sale offer of $30k would probably do it. A better investment than any fund of Madoff's...
Guffwatch - Oxford edition
October 12 2011
Picture: Modern Art Oxford - 'Abraham Cruzvillegas, La Familia, 2009. Coconuts, artificial hair, steel wire and glue. Image courtesy of kurimanzutto'.
A reader has sent me this, from Modern Art Oxford:
Abraham Cruzvillegas - Autoconstrucción: The Optimistic Failure of a Simultaneous Promise
Cruzvillegas has created a series of new works for Modern Art Oxford that respond to the diverse contexts of the city of Oxford and the artist’s own personal background: The Optimistic Failure, a large-scale suspended sculpture in the form of a ‘mobile’, adorned with representations of Amazonian tsantsas (shrunken heads) made from animal dung, grass and soil collected from Port Meadow, Oxford; and The Simultaneous Promise, a mobile sculpture constructed from a tricycle and sound system that plays recordings of the artist’s interpretations of songs from his childhood and new songs by Oxford bands. These commissions are presented alongside two other new works: Blind Self Portrait as a Post-Thatcherite Deaf Lemon Head. For 'K.M.', in which found paper items are layered in thick monochrome paint and pinned to the gallery walls in a geometric pattern; and Untitled Scratching Relief with Builders Groove 3, a drawing incised directly onto the walls of the Upper Gallery and inspired by the route explored by Cruzvillegas’ during his visits to Oxford.
Update - a reader writes:
Guffwatch amused me today. Poor MoMA. Still the Deaf Lemon Heads would make a good name for a band. It reminded me of a guy called Victor Wynd, vendor of oddities, who owns a unique shrunken head of a European, priced (cheaply I would think) at £35,000.
Sounds like a bargain. Wonder who he (the head) is.
