Previous Posts: March 2021
Picasso Exporter Looses Appeal
March 3 2021
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
The ex-banker Jamie Botin, who attempted to illegally export a Picasso from Spain in 2012-3, has had his second appeal rejected by the Spanish courts.
Botin acquired Head of a Young Woman (1906) in 1977. Subsequently, the Spanish State decided to declare the work a national treasure when he tried to sell the painting through Christie's in 2012. The work was eventually confiscated from his yacht by the Spanish authorities in Corsica in 2015, who had stipulated that the painting may not leave the country.
Due to this latest ruling the former vice president of Santander will now have to serve 18 months in prison and pay a €91.7m fine. Ouch.
Newly Discovered Augustus John Drawing Offered in Yorkshire
March 3 2021
Picture: Tennants
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
The auction house Tennants in Yorkshire will be offering a newly discovered drawing by Augustus John in their upcoming March sale. The unrecorded drawing of John's mistress and muse Dorelia was uncovered in a private collection. It will be sold on 20th March 2021 with an estimate of £7,000 - £10,000.
Update - The drawing made £16,000 (hammer price).
Wounded Lebanese Artemisia Gentileschi Arrives in Milan
March 3 2021
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
A damaged painting by Artemisia Gentileschi has arrived for the Le Signore dell’Arte exhibition in Milan. Curiously, the Italian press have published images of the Lebanese Sursock Magdalene which was damaged in last summer's Beirut explosion. The article above shows that glass and rubble have in some cases pierced through the canvas itself. The damaged painting will feature in the exhibition in its unrestored state.
Lecture: Conserving Paintings by Nehemiah Partridge
March 3 2021
Picture: Albany Institute
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
The Albany Institute of History and Art in New York are hosting a special online lecture on the conservation of paintings by the early American artist Nehemiah Partridge (1683-1730).
As their blurb explains:
Maggie Barkovic and Rachel Childers from the Williamstown Art Conservation Center will discuss the conservation of works by Nehemiah Partridge with preliminary insights into his materials and techniques based on technical analysis. This presentation will include the treatment of Ariantje Coeymans Verplanck’s full length portrait in addition to the other portraits attributed to Nehemiah Partridge.
This online lecture will be broadcast on 11th March 2021 at 7pm (New York Time), with a suggested donation of $10.
New Book on Doge Monuments in Venice
March 2 2021
Picture: Il Giornale dell'Arte
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
Il Giornale dell'Arte have published an article on a new book by the Italian restorer Toto Bergamo Rossi. I monumenti dei dogi. Sei secoli di scultura a Venezia is the first to gather beautiful images (pictured) and historical details of the monuments and tombs of Venice's Doges. The publication is part of Rossi's wider directorial role in the International Venetian Heritage Foundation, which supports the preservation and research into the city's cultural history.
Another £408m for the Arts Sector
March 2 2021
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
The UK Government is expected to announce another £408m for the Arts Sector in tomorrow's Budget. This is ontop of the £1.57bn Culture Recovery fund announced last year.
Where exactly will the money be going? Well, the culture secretary Oliver Dowden made this comment on his Twitter page this morning:
Can confirm tmw's #Budget will include £400m for the arts on top of £1.5bn already announced It's a relief we can look ahead now so this funding is not just about survival, but planning & preparing for reopening of theatres, galleries and gigs
An Undiscovered Titian (?) Found in Parish Church
March 2 2021
Picture: BBC
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
The BBC have published news that a undiscovered Last Supper by Titian (?) has been uncovered in a parish church in Ledbury, Herefordshire. The claims of this discovery have been made by the art historian Ronald Moore, who was approached by the church to undertake research into the work three years ago.
The painting was gifted to St Michael and All Angels in 1909 and has been undergoing conservation in recent months. Another article by the Daily Mail suggests that the painting was acquired by the collector John Skippe from a Venetian convent in the eighteenth century.
Amongst the most interesting pieces of evidence is a faded signature which has been compared to Titian's:
Crucially, the article doesn't contain any information whether Moore's attribution has been supported by any Titian scholar.
