Previous Posts: articles 2023
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!
Francesco Guardi's Portrait of Bonnie Prince up for Sale
January 31 2021
Picture: Pandolfini
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
The Italian auction house Pandolfini are offering up a very interesting portrait of Charles Edward Stuart by the Venetian painter Francesco Guardi in their upcoming sale. It is believed the portrait was completed when the Prince was in Venice during 1737, and is likely to be Guardi's copy of Rosalba Carriera's portrait of the Prince made that year. This version ended up in the Marshal von der Schulenburg collection where it is recorded in archival materials. It is believed to be one of Franesco Guardi's earliest known completed works, created when he was twenty-six years old.
The portrait will be offered for sale on 2nd February 2021 with an estimate of €30,000 - €50,000.
Update - The portrait made €120,000.
Borghese Gallery Director Leads Daily Tour for Reopening
January 31 2021
Picture: La Galleria Borghese
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
Rome's La Galleria Borghese is set to reopen on 1st February 2021. To celebrate this momentous occasion the gallery's new director Francesca Cappelletti will be giving a presentation for visitors each day at noon for two weeks on the gallery's new Guido Reni acquisition. She'll be assisted in this presentation by alternating members of staff including curators and conservators. The museum director's daily talk will also be accompanied by new thematic talks presented throughout this two week period.
Galileo Mystery in Francis Cleyn Portrait
January 31 2021
Picture: The Wall Street Journal
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
The Wall Street Journal and The Telegraph have published reviews for a new book by John L Heilbron entitled The Ghost of Galileo. The book investigates the above painting of John Bankes and his Tutor, Sir Maurice Williams by Francis Cleyn (1582-1658) in the collection of Kingston Lacy, Dorset (The National Trust). More specifically, the author goes into the possible reasons why Cleyn included a copy of Galileo's Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems (1632) in the picture.
It all makes for rather interesting reading. Equally, one can really feel the influence of Cleyn's painting on William Dobson here. Dobson is believed to have worked in Cleyn's studio during his youth.
The Wallace Collection Library set to Close (?)
January 30 2021
Picture: Pinterest
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
A group of staff from The Wallace Collection in London have set up a petition to encourage management to rethink their plans to lay off library and archive staff. The petition suggests that the museum is planning to close its library service altogether, in favour of a revamped digitisation service online it seems.
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On a personal note, I think this would be a terrible shame. I was lucky enough to spend a great deal of time in the library during my Master's Degree. The staff couldn't have been more helpful and generous with their time and knowledge. The collection of materials available is outstanding too, especially if you're studying specialist subjects such as arms & armour for example.
Update - The petition has now gathered over 10,000 signatures.
The Guardian have also published a story regarding the planned changes.
Musée de la Chasse et de la Nature Acquires Huntsman
January 30 2021
Video: Artcento
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
The Musée de la Chasse et de la Nature in Paris has acquired the above painting of a huntsman by Jean Daret (1614-1668) and Nicasius Bernaerts (1620-1678). The picture made €373,520 at the auction house Mathias - Bournazel yesterday, soaring past its €60k - €80k estimate.
Here's a full write up by La Tribune de l'Art, alongside this article by La Gazette Drouot.
Velázquez Conference at the Wallace Collection
January 29 2021
Picture: The Wallace Collection
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
The Wallace Collection in London are hosting a two day conference in March focusing on Diego Velázquez's Prince Baltasar Carlos in the Riding School.
As the description explains:
Our first session will explore the Wallace Collection painting and the questions raised by its recent restoration, including Velázquez’s technique, and the broader context that might have influenced the composition.
Our second session will explore the differences between the Wallace Collection picture and the fully-accepted autograph version in a private collection, aiming to reveal the complexities of these two portraits.
The conference will be held on Zoom Thursday 4th and Friday 5th March 2021.
Maria Schalcken Video
January 29 2021
Highlights from "A Conversation - Boy Offering Grapes to a Woman" from The Leiden Collection on Vimeo.
Video: The Leiden Collection
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
The Leiden Collection have recently published this video describing Maria Schalcken's Boy Offering Grapes to a Woman.
Botticelli goes for $80m at Sotheby's
January 28 2021
Picture: Sotheby's
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
Sotheby's Botticelli Renaissance Man pulled in an enormous $80m (hammer price) in New York this evening. With commission this adds up to $92,184,000. Bidding ended with two experts on the phone, with the Russian department representative eventually with the last bid.
In a rather shocking piece of news, the $20m - $30m Rembrandt was withdrawn before the sale began. Was there a lack of interest perhaps?
More analysis in the upcoming days.
Attic Rummage Reveals £2.5k Painting
January 28 2021
Picture: Stratford Observer
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
A curious story this. The Stratford Observer in Warwickshire has published a story regarding a painting found by a local resident who was inspecting their attic during lockdown last year.
According to the report:
The Stratford resident found the old canvas which depicted drunken Bacchus – Roman God of wine – during a lockdown inspired rummage.
Although the painting was unframed and in poor condition, the finder decided to get it checked out before consigning it to the skip. They took it to Hansons Auctioneers who recognised it as the hand of 17th century Italian painter Filippo Lauri.
...
Despite its poor condition, it was estimated between £1,000 and £1,500. It eventually sold for £2,500 to an Italian client based in Rome – meaning the painting went home to its place of creation.
Needless to say, the painting was actually catalogued as 'Manner of Filippo Lauri' rather than given to the artist in full. Looks like a copy of something to me. Perhaps a reader of AHN might have a clue. Alternatively, perhaps you know of someone who forgot to take that old painting with them when they moved house a few years ago?
Sleeper Alert!
January 27 2021
Picture: thesaleroom.com
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
Over the past few days social media has experienced a flurry of posts and pictures featuring the painting above. Catalogued as '18th century Italian School', the work finally made £100,000 (hammer price) over its £400 - £600 estimate today at Reeman Dansie in Colchester, Essex. Indeed, online bidding had already passed the £20,000 mark yesterday evening with 122 profiles watching the lot.
This beautiful work is surely a sketch by Mary Beale (1633-1699), whose brilliant and intimate portraits of her children have become rather desirable over the past decade. Two such comparable sketches are in the collection of Tate Britain. Another portrait of one of her sons sold for £93,750 (inc. commission) at Sotheby's in 2019.
Update - A reader has written with the following comment:
There was a very similar one, overlooked in Adam Partridge a couple of years ago which made about £15,800 plus fees. Of course, the new one is a charming image but how to account for such a price?
This is quite true, the aforementioned full-catalogued Sotheby's picture made a rather top-end price for similar work a mere two years ago. One wonders whether it was acquired by a dealer or collector. However as the old saying goes, nothing sells quite like a sleeper!
Update 2 - A reader has pointed out that the aforementioned Sotheby's picture is now in the collection of the National Gallery of Victoria in Australia.
Unfinished Guido Reni up for Sale
January 27 2021
Video: Artcento
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
The French auction house Me LABARBE are offering an unfinished painting of Cleopatra by Guido Reni at auction tomorrow. This previously unidentified painting, completed in his looser and so-called 'second manner', has been linked to a picture in the artist's studio sale in 1642.
The painting will sold on 28th January 2021 and carries a tempting estimate of €80,000 - €120,000.
Here's a write up from La Gazette Drouot.
Update - After having a rummage around the internet, it appears that the painting didn't sell (?). I'd be grateful if a reader wants to correct me on this point!
Judith Leyster Online Lecture
January 27 2021
Picture: Philadelphia Museum of Art
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
The Philadelphia Museum of Art's curator Nicole Cook will be presenting an online lecture on the Haarlem painter Judith Leyster (1609-1660) this month. She will also be joined by the scholar Frima Hofrichter who has published a book on Leyster and other subjects relating to women in art.
The lecture will be broadcast on Friday 29th January 2021 at 12.00pm (Philadelphia Time). It is free to attend (donations are encouraged) although registration is required.
Raphael Cartoons Digitised
January 27 2021
Picture: V&A
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
The Victoria and Albert Museum in London have published high resolution images of the Royal Collection's Raphael Cartoons onto their website. During 2019 these enormous works on paper were scanned by the Factum Foundation. Both infrared, high resolution images and 3D scans were made. The new images has revealed several interesting insights into how Raphael's workshop operated and the pentimenti made during the initial stages of drawing.
Here's the full write up from The Art Newspaper.
