Previous Posts: February 2021
Upcoming Release: Gainsborough in London
February 5 2021
Picture: Modern Art Press Ltd
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
Here's a new release that will be of interest to some readers. Gainsborough in London is the upcoming publication by the Gainsborough scholar Susan Sloman.
Here's the blurb from the publisher's website:
Thomas Gainsborough’s (1727–88) London years, from 1774 to 1788, were the pinnacle and conclusion of his career. They coincided with the establishment of the Royal Academy, of which Gainsborough was a founding member, and the city’s ascendance as a centre for the arts. This is a meticulously researched and readable account of how Gainsborough designed his home and studio and maintained a growing schedule of influential patrons, making a place for himself in the art world of late-18th-century London. New material about Gainsborough’s technique is based on examinations of his pictures and firsthand accounts by studio visitors. His fractious relationship with the Royal Academy and its exhibition culture is reexamined through the works he sent to its annual shows. The full range of Gainsborough’s art, from fashionable portraits to landscapes and fancy pictures, is addressed in this major contribution, not just to the study of a great artist, but to 18th-century studies in general.
The book will be released on 9th March 2021 and is available for pre-order.
Alhambra Palace Frieze Fragment is Returned
February 4 2021
Picture: zenger.news
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
A reader has alerted me to the news that a fragment of an ancient frieze has been returned to the Alhambra Palace in Spain. The fragment was returned by the heirs of the travel writer and explorer Richard Ford. Ford had travelled in the region during 1830-33 and had later written a widely published handbook for travelling in Spain. It is not known exactly how Ford acquired the piece, but his descendants seemed to have decided it's better that the Palace had this ancient carving returned to them.
US Supreme Courts Rules for Germany in Nazi-era Case
February 4 2021
Posted by Adam Busiakeiwicz:
Artdaily.com have reported on a recent ruling made by the US Supreme Court in favour of Germany in a case relating to Nazi-era art sales.
The case revolves around items from the Guelf Treasure, a trove of medieval artefacts which were bought and sold by a consortium of Germany-based Jewish art dealers in the 1930s. The heirs of the dealers suggest that the sale of the artworks in 1935 was made among threats of violence and were eventually sold for far less than their market value. The US Supreme Court decision, which is rather too complicated to summarise here, focused on whether a US court could pursue a case against a foreign state in light of the particular circumstances of this case. The notes are worth reading in full.
Cocktails with a Curator at the Frick
February 4 2021
Video: The Frick Collection
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
The Frick Collection in New York's most recent edition of Cocktails with a Curator features Deputy Director and Peter Jay Sharp Chief Curator Xavier F. Salomon discussing El Greco’s “Vincenzo Anastagi”.
Liverpool Museums Loan Boxer Painting from NPG
February 3 2021
Picture: NPG
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
The Liverpool Museums have been loaned a portrait of the nineteenth century boxer Jem Wharton (1813-1856) from the National Portrait Gallery in London. This portrait by the artist William Daniels has been sent as part of the COMING HOME project, which sees artworks being loaned to locations that they are intimately connected with. Wharton made Liverpool is home towards the end of his unbeaten career, where he worked as a trainer and ran a tavern.
The portrait will be on display when the Museum of Liverpool reopens to the public after lockdown.
Ipswich Museum Acquires Constable Album
February 2 2021
Picture: Ipswich Museum
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
The Ipswich Museum have acquired the Mason family album which was offered for sale at Sotheby's last year. The unrecorded album contains four works by John Constable including drawings of his family members. The album was purchased for £24,000 through funding from the Friends of the Ipswich Museums, Arts Council England/V&A Purchase Grant Fund, Art Fund and Ipswich Council’s Felix Cobbold Bequest.
The council run museum were sure, it seems, to include this particular line in their press release:
The album was bought for £24,000 - but no council taxpayers' money was used.
Roman Caravaggio Exhibition Extended till May
February 2 2021
Video: Musei Capitolini
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
Rome's Musei Capitolini have announced that they have extended their current exhibition Il tempo di Caravaggio till 5th May 2021. The exhibition, which features a great deal of paintings from the collection of the twentieth century academic and curator Roberto Longhi, was due to finish last September. For those of us who won't be able to make it, we have the video above instead!
Christie's to Sell Churchill's Only Wartime Painting
February 2 2021
Picture: Christie's
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
Following on from the ongoing developments regarding the rise of Sir Winston Churchill's prices at auction, Christie's has announced that it will be offering his only wartime painting at auction on 1st March 2021. Tower of the Koutoubia Mosque was completed in January 1943 during the Casablanca Conference. He is believed to have captured the scene for Franklin D. Roosevelt, with whom he had met during this visit. The work, sold from the Jolie Family Collection, will carry an estimate of £1,500,000 - £2,500,000.
Update - I've just spotted from another article that the Jolie Collection mentioned was in fact the one created by the film star Angelina Jolie. Surprising, to say the least!
Conserving Rubens's Het Steen Panel
February 2 2021
Video: The National Gallery
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
The National Gallery in London have uploaded the video above explaining the recent conservation of the panel support for Rubens's Het Steen. Rubens's panel paintings are traditionally known to be a nightmare for conservators, as they were often constructed using vast amounts of panels all stuck together! The video is hosted by conservator Britta New.
Dunrobin Castle Attic Sale
February 2 2021
Picture: Bonhams
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
Something to look forward to in April. The Earl of Sutherland* has been going through his attics at Dunrobin Castle it seems and has partnered up with Bonhams to put on a sale of things they don't need. The sale will be held on 20th April 2021 in their Edinburgh branch. It seems alongside furniture and other related paraphernalia, there are some paintings and sculpture to be included too.
* - I'm grateful to a reader for pointing out that the castle is in fact owned by the Earl of Sutherland, not the Duke of Sutherland.
Frederic George Stephens Lecture on YouTube
February 1 2021
Picture: Tate
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
The De Morgan Foundation have published a lecture on the Victorian art critic and aspiring painter Frederick George Stephens (1827-1907) onto their YouTube Channel. The talk is given by the art historian Dr Robert Wilkes who concentrated on Stephens's often underappreciated works for his doctoral thesis.
Richard Feigen (1930-2021)
February 1 2021
Picture: artnet.com
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
Tributes have been published on the recent loss of the art dealer and collector Richard Feigen (1930-2021). Feigen opened his first gallery in 1957 and went on to become one of the primary dealers of Old Masters. Several paintings he handled ended up in the world's museums, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. He is reported to have died in his sleep after complications resulting from covid-19.
Here's an interesting interview that Christie's published in 2019 regarding Feigen's art collection.
Raphael Related Works to be Scanned in Naples
February 1 2021
Picture: Ansa.it
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
The Museo e Real Bosco di Capodimonte in Naples is embarking on a project to infrared-scan all of their paintings relating to Raphael and his followers.
The project is related to an exhibition they will be opening in June alongside an international conference on the artist held at the museum. This research aims to uncover details regarding how the master's workshop functioned, including works that were developed in collaboration with it. The painting illustrated is the work of Gianfrancesco Penni (1488-1528), who is known to have worked in collaboration with Raphael and later with Giulio Romano. All forms of copies and derivations of his work in the museum will be included too.
Hermitage School of Raphael Frescos
February 1 2021
Video: State Hermitage Museum
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
The State Hermitage Museum in Saint Petersburg have published this fascinating thirty four minute video on the history and restoration of their fresco cycle by the School of Raphael. The video was made to accompany their current exhibition After Raphael. 1520-2020. In particular, the documentary contains some brilliant insights into the conservation of these delicate frescos which were removed from a villa near Rome and acquired by the museum in the mid-nineteenth century.
Alas, the video is only available in the Russian language. YouTube does have an auto-translate function, which is rather useless at times, but will give you the general idea of what they're discussing!
