Previous Posts: articles 2023
Missing Art from Museums
March 17 2021
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
Artdaily.com have published a short article on the amount of art that goes missing from museums. According to several museum insiders, institutions are particularly keen to keep the lid on things when something goes missing especially when reputations are at risk. Outdated inventories are also blamed, which can mean works of art can have been missing for years before they are spotted as missing.
As AHN often points out, keeping art out of storage and on display is one way such problems can be averted.
Art in Churches
March 17 2021
Picture: The Sunday Telegraph
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
The Sunday Telegraph published an interesting article at the weekend asking the question whether Churches in Britain are the safest place for art. Although the knee-jerk reaction is to send important works to be looked after by museums, the article asks whether important paintings could help lure audiences out of cities and into more local areas. As is often pointed out, museums and galleries seem to have more art than they know what to do with. If a certain redundant churches could be fitted out with the relevant security and climate control measures, why can't these buildings become places to enjoy sculpture, carvings, paintings and metal work for example? A partnership with the likes of the V&A could yield magnificent results, it seems.
William Hogarth Lecture Series at PMC
March 16 2021
Picture: Sir John Soane's Museum
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
The Paul Mellon Centre for Studies in British Art have announced a new public lecture course on the eighteenth century artist William Hogarth. Consisting of seven online lectures, the series will focus on some of Hogarth's key works including The Rake's Progress (pictured). The three lecturers who will lead the presentations are Mark Hallett (Director of Studies, Paul Mellon Centre), Meredith Gamer (Assistant Professor, Columbia University), and Elizabeth Robles (Lecturer, University of Bristol).
This free course, which requires no previous knowledge of British Art, will run from 8th April - 13th May 2021.
Renaissance Children at the Museum Hof van Busleyden
March 16 2021
Picture: Museum Hof van Busleyden
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
The Museum Hof van Busleyden, Mechelen, in Belgium will be opening their latest exhibition this month on Renaissance Children: Art and Education at the Habsburg Court in Mechelen.
According to a translation made by hnanews.org:
Mechelen was not only an important political and cultural hub for Burgundian and early Habsburg rulers, it was a center of education too. Three successive generations of Habsburg princes and princesses spent part of their childhood there. When Philip the Fair died in 1506 and his wife, Joanna of Castile, was pronounced mad, four of the couple’s children – Eleanor (of Austria), Charles (V), Mary (of Hungary) and Isabella (of Austria) – were sent to Mechelen to be raised by their aunt, Margaret of Austria, regent of the Habsburg Netherlands. When Isabella of Austria died in 1526, her three children with King Christian II of Denmark – John, Dorothy and Christine – were also taken to Mechelen. Margaret of Austria herself, together with her brother Philip the Fair, had spent part of her youth in the city too, at the court of Margaret of York. The regent’s court enjoyed such an excellent educational reputation that great families from all over Europe sent their children there, the best known of whom was Anne Boleyn. The future queen of England came to Mechelen in 1513, where she learned amongst other things to dance and to speak French.
The exhibition Renaissance Children will use artworks, books, prints, letters, jewelry and everyday items to present a unique insight into the education, emotions and identity of children during the transition from the Middle Ages to the early modern era.
The exhibition will run from 26th March - 4th July 2021.
Barcocci's Martyrdom of St Sebastian Put Back Together Again
March 16 2021
Picture: ilgiornaledellarte.com
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
News from Italy that Barocci's Martyrdom of St Sebastian has been conserved and redisplayed in the Cathedral of Urbino. The work had suffered terrible damage after thieves removed a squared section of the painting in 1982. The stolen fragment was recovered in 2017 and has finally be reunited with the rest of the painting. It sounds as if the restoration was a rather tricky one, as the squared returned section had been trimmed down leading to large losses of original work.
Lecture: Reframing the Renaissance
March 16 2021
Picture: The National Gallery
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
The British School at Rome are hosting a fascinating sounding free online lecture entitled Reframing the Italian Renaissance at the National Gallery.
According to the event's blurb:
This conversation will examine the physical reframing of Italian Renaissance panels at the National Gallery undertaken by Peter Schade, Head of Framing and his colleagues. The speakers will discuss the motivations behind reframing, the research required to select an appropriate frame and the intended affect. In the final part of this talk reframing will be considered in relation to how artworks move into new display contexts.
The conversation will be broadcast on 17th March 2021 at 6pm (Rome time). It is free to attend although registration is required.
Modern Renaissance at Sotheby's
March 15 2021
Picture: Sotheby's
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
Sotheby's London have published the lots of their upcoming cross-category sale entitled Modern Renaissance. The sale will be held on 25th March 2021.
The sale is packed with many twentieth century works, with practically all the big names represented. Of particular interest are two works by Edvard Munch. Firstly, Summer Day or Embrace on the Beach (The Linde Frieze), painted in 1904 which carries a £9m - £12m estimate. Secondly, a 1926 self-portrait of the artist, estimated at £4.5m - £6.5m. Picasso is also well represented in the sale, with a 1941 Seated Portrait of a Lady being the most expensive example estimated at £6.5m - £8.5m.
Only two paintings are represented on the old masters front, a reduction compared to last summer's Rembrandt to Richter sale. Alongside Piero del Pollaiuolo's Portrait of a Youth, estimated at £4m - £6m, is a recently upgraded portrait by Giulio Romano (pictured). This head and shoulders portrait of a Lady had sold at the Dorotheum, Vienna, in 2000 where it was attributed to Bronzino. It has since been endorsed as a original work by Romano by two Italian scholars. The work will carry an estimate of £300k - £500k.
French Government to Restitute Klimt Landscape
March 15 2021
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
France's culture minister Roselyne Bachelot-Narquin has held a press conference in Paris to announce that the French state will be restituting a landscape by Gustav Klimt. Rosebushes under Trees had been stolen by the Nazis during the war and had ended up in France. It had been on display in the Musee d’Orsay for many years, but will now be returned to the heirs of the holocaust victim Nora Stiasny.
Rembrandthuis Announces New Loans
March 15 2021
Picture: CODART
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
CODART (The International Dutch and Flemish Curators Network) have announced that the Rembrandthuis in Amsterdam has secured two important new long-term loans.
The first is The Baptism of the Eunuch by Rembrandt and assistants, on loan from the Kremer Collection (pictured). The second is Farmers playing cards at an inn by Adriaen Brouwer, kindly loaned by the art dealer Sander Bijl.
In addition to these old masters, four works by former artists in residents Iriée Zamblé and Timothy Voges have also been acquired for the collection.
Yale University are Looking for a Works on Paper Fellow
March 15 2021
Picture: Yale University
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
The Yale University Art Gallery are looking for a new Florence B. Selden Fellow, a position which will be based in the department of Prints and Drawings.
According to the job description:
Reporting to the Curators of Prints and Drawings at the Yale University Art Gallery, the Florence B. Selden Fellow will supervise the department’s active study room and act as the primary liaison between the department and faculty teaching from the collections of works on paper. The Selden Fellow will prepare and follow through to publication the annual list of the department’s acquisitions on the Gallery’s website, conduct scholarly research to catalogue new acquisitions, answer queries about the collection, and interact with scholars, students, and the public on matters concerning the collection. The Selden Fellow will have the opportunity to propose acquisitions, conduct independent research, and assist with special exhibitions and permanent gallery installations. We welcome and encourage applications from individuals of all backgrounds interested in working in the prints and drawings curatorial field.
The one year position will come with a salary between $40,000 - $45,000 and applications must be in by 2nd April 2021.
Good luck if you're applying!
Christ Church Thefts on BBC Crimewatch
March 15 2021
Picture: BBC
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
It has been one year since the theft of three significant paintings from the Christ Church Picture Gallery in Oxford. BBC's Crimewatch Live featured the story on this morning's programme which contained a renewed appeal for information from the public.
It appears that the burglars managed to gain entry to the gallery by using a set of ladders that were stolen nearby. The gallery was accessed by a smashed skylight and the three paintings were removed from their frames. Alarms were triggered but the suspects managed to get away before gallery staff or the police arrived.
It has been suggested that the paintings were specifically selected by the criminals, the Carracci and Van Dyck being arguably the gallery's most iconic works. Police have released the following and particularly grainy CCTV image showing the theft in action (pictured). Furthermore, the Salvator Rosa landscape has been pointed out to have been a significantly less well known and valuable work. Might the criminal mastermind have had a penchant for this artist's pictures perhaps?
Although it is expected that the investigation can't give too much away, it is rather obvious that the authorities are nowhere closer to discovering the fate of the three works. This is surprising, considering the amount of CCTV found in this University City.
The theft represents a tragic loss for British collections. Let's hope they'll be found one day.
Lecture Series on Frederico Zeri's Museums
March 12 2021
Picture: Fondazione Zeri
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
The Fondazione Zeri are hosting another very interesting set of free online lectures dedicated to collections of Italian paintings which had previously been edited by the Italian art historian Frederico Zeri (1921-1998). Collections featured within the series include the Galleria Spada in Rome, The Baltimore Museum of Art, The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, the Mason Perkins Collection of Assisi, the Saibene Collection in Milan, The Gallery of the Palazzo Cini in Venice and the Pallavicini Gallery in Rome.
This lecture series, broadcast in Italian between March and May, are free to join on Zoom and on Facebook.
Auction House to Donate Slice of Commission to Cultural Institutions
March 12 2021
Picture: Olympia Auctions
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
Olympia Auctions in West London, formerly known as 25 Blythe Road, have recently announced an interesting fundraising initiative. For their three upcoming Pictures, Arms & Armour and Decorative Arts sales they'll be donating half of their specially reduced 10% commission to three cultural institutions. In line with the interests of the auction house, the three charities that will be benefitting are The Wallace Collection, Westminster Abbey and The Grange Festival.
Amongst the works of art already consigned for the Pictures auction on 28th April 2021 is this rather lovely Portrait of a Boy and Whippet by Godfrey Kneller and Studio (no estimate published yet).
Update - The Kneller will carry a very tempting estimate of £4,000 - £6,000.
Spain Pays €130,000 for Restoration of V&A Predella
March 12 2021
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
The Spanish press have criticised the country's Heritage and Culture ministry for spending €130,000 on the restoration and care of a fifteenth century predella owned by the Victoria and Albert Museum in London.
The predella of the Centenar de la Ploma altarpiece was restored by the Valencian Institute of Conservation and Restoration (IVC + r) for a three month exhibition held at the Museum of Fine Arts in Valencia in 2020. The Spanish press have asked why Spanish money was used to fund the restoration of a British owned work of art. The museum also footed the bill for the artwork's insurance and travel expenses, which is usually the case for museums and galleries hosting loans for an exhibition.
The cultural ministry has refuted the claims that the expense was a waste of money. Critics have claimed the money could have been better spent on restoring works in their own national museums.
The Emperor's New Clothes
March 12 2021
Picture: Christie's
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
History was made yesterday at Christie's. A total of $69m (inc. fees) was paid by a anonymous bidder for the artwork above. Indeed, this work of art is not physical at all, but a digital NFT (non-fungible token) dreamt up by the digital artist Beeple. It consists of a collage of thousands of images created daily by the artist over a period of thirteen years.
Zoom in closer and you'll see the ephemera that has been spliced together to create this confusion. Why exactly has this type of digital creation being heralded as the new craze in art? It seems that the fad for NFTs is bound up in the zeitgeist of our age. They are seemingly promoted and collected by the fashionable entrepreneurs of big tech companies. People can spend their money as they wish, but will these works be of lasting interest? Or will they be discarded as quickly as an old electric car, and survive as long as it takes for the artwork's memory card to corrupt.
Tune in to Bendor and Waldemar's podcast on Sunday to hear their live reaction to the sale.
Sotheby's Mid-Season Sale
March 11 2021
Picture: Sotheby's
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
Sotheby's New York have published their upcoming Master Paintings & Drawings sale onto their website. This online sale will take place between 16th - 23rd March 2021. As is expected from a mid-season sale, the estimates are very reasonable and tempting. Equally, there are many lots sold without reserve, so there are sure to be some bargains to be found!
Charles Hill - Art Detective
March 11 2021
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
The New York Times have published an article on the life of the late Charles Hill. Hill, who died last month, worked as a detective at Scotland Yard. He was involved in investigating the theft of Munch's The Scream and Vermeer's Lady Writing a Letter with a Maid. The anecdotes within are interesting and very amusing at times.
The Warburg Institute is Hiring!
March 10 2021
Picture: Warburg Institute
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
The Warburg Institute in London is hiring a Lecturer in Art History.
According to the job description:
The Warburg Institute is now recruiting for a Lecturer to play an active role in teaching, research and public engagement in art history and related fields. In this role, you will contribute to teaching, supervising and mentoring the Institute’s postgraduate students whilst helping to promote and facilitate research across the School. You will conduct individual and collaborative research, publishing your work and actively pursuing external funding for projects. You will contribute to the internal academic life and external outreach of the Warburg, inside and outside the School.
We are calling for applications from qualified candidates with a background in any aspect of art history and with a strong grounding in ancient, Medieval and/or Renaissance culture. All things being equal, preference will be given to candidates with expertise on the Warburg Institute’s key figures and approaches and/or experience with public engagement.
The salary on offer is £40,548 per annum and applications must be in by 2nd April 2021.
Good luck if you're applying!
Frescos from the Palazzo Torlonia Up for Sale
March 10 2021
Picture: finarte.it
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
On 11th March 2021 frescos from the Palazzo Torlonia in Rome will be put up for sale by the auction house Finarte.
Included in the sale are (forgive the poor translation):
five by the Bergamo painter Francesco Coghetti , one by the Venetian Pietro Paoletti , one by Nicola Consoniuno from Lazio and Filippo Bigioli from the Marche region, a fresco attributed to Alessandro Bombelli and three from the Italian School of the first half of the 19th century. In addition, the two plaster panels by the Prussian sculptor Julius Troschel based on compositions by Bertel Thorvaldsen, coming from the demolished Palazzo Torlonia in Piazza Venezia in Rome.
The sale of the 12 frescos, and one other relief, have caused a stir in Italy. The works had been due to be sold individually on 23rd February before the Italian authorities stepped in. They have since been declared of 'exceptional interest' and the auction house has been forced to sell the collection as one single lot.
All the works will be sold together on 11th March 2021, without buyers commission, carrying an estimate of €60,000 - €100,000.
MET may Deaccession to Pay Salaries
March 10 2021
osted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
In the latest development of the Metropolitan Museum of Art's battle to keep their finances in order due to the covid crisis, the museum's board of trustees have agreed to change the rules to use money from deaccessioning to pay for salaries. More specifically, deaccessioning money may now be used for overheads and for salaries of those associated with the collection's care.
It's quite possible that this definition could be interpreted rather freely, as there is no mention of ring fencing for conservation departments or the like. Critics have expressed that this may discourage future donors, who may not wish to have their donated artworks raided during rainy days.
