Previous Posts: February 2025
Christie's New York El Greco Withdrawn?
February 4 2025
Picture: newsweek.ro / Christie's
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
It's very sad news to see that the upcoming Saint Sebastian by El Greco has disappeared from the Christie's website, suggesting that the picture may have been withdrawn from their upcoming New York sale. There had been growing numbers of articles from the Romanian press regarding its provenance and how exactly the picture came to leave the Romanian royal collection. Although many of the press articles had claimed that the Romanian government had succeeded with placing some sort of block on the sale, the painting had continued to be on the auction house's website for some days. More news as and when it breaks.
Have you seen this Mengs?
February 3 2025
Picture: rtve.es
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
News from Spain that the Prado in Madrid are looking for the following painting of Saint Cecilia by Anton Raphael Mengs. The picture was last seen during an exhibition in 2001 where the work was described as being in a Private Collection, Rome. The museum hoping to exhibit the canvas in an upcoming show which opens in November.
Frick Curatorial Fellowship
February 3 2025
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
The Frick Collection in New York are seeking applications for the Stephen K. and Janie Woo Scher Fellowship, 2025–26.
Here's the job description:
The Frick Collection is pleased to announce the availability of a six-month fellowship for an outstanding candidate who wishes to pursue research in the field of medals with a chronology spanning from around the year 1400 to 1900. The fellowship offers invaluable curatorial training and provides the scholarly and financial resources required for completing the assigned research project. Internationally renowned for its exceptional collection of western European art from the early Renaissance through the end of the nineteenth century, The Frick Collection—complemented by the equally significant resources of the Frick Art Reference Library—offers a unique opportunity for object-based research. The fellowship is best suited to a scholar pursuing research that contributes to expanding knowledge in the field of medals, and ideally around one or more objects included the vast collection of medals donated to the Frick by Stephen K. and Janie Woo Scher.
The 6-month role comes with renumeration of $28,500 and applications must be in by 6th February 2025.
There's also an advert up for the Ayesha Bulchandani Curatorial Internship for Graduate Students, with separate details accessible via the link.
Good luck if you're applying!
Recent Release: Slavery and the Invention of Dutch Art
February 3 2025
Earl of Harewood sells Lady Worsley by Reynolds for about £25m
February 2 2025
Picture: Harewood House via Facebook
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
A reader has very kindly drawn my attention to big news published by the FT that the Earl of Harewood has sold Sir Joshua Reynolds' iconic portrait of Lady Worsley to the US private equity executive Steve Schwarzman for 'about £25m'. Schwarzman, co-founder of private equity group Blackstone, has purportedly been amassing a serious art collection for his Conholt Park in Wiltshire, a property which he is in the process of restoring. Alongside the Harewood Reynolds, which the paper describes as having been acquired through a private sale brokered by Christie's, Schwarzman has also acquired Thomas Gainsborough's full-length portrait of Lady Bate-Dudley (through the London dealers Simon C Dickinson), which until recently was on loan from a private collection to Tate Britain.
According to the article linked above:
The billionaire declined to comment this week but people close to the transactions confirmed that he was the buyer of both works. The Lascelles family decided to sell the Reynolds’ portrait to help cover the upkeep of Harewood House after receiving an anonymous offer through Christie’s private sales department. [...]
Representatives of Schwarzman have made approaches to other owners of rare 18th century paintings, according to people with knowledge of the London market. Sales have been made easier by the fact that he is not applying for export licences for the works, so there is no risk of any deal being blocked by the UK government.
Picture Specialists Wanted
February 1 2025
Picture: drawrecruitment.com
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
It has been drawn to my attention that Draw Recruitment (specialists in art jobs) are currently looking for several picture specialists for various auction houses across the UK.
These include:
(1) Head of Pictures (North of England) - Established auction house with an already thriving department - Salary Negotiable - Depending on Experience.
(2) Old Masters Specialist ( Home Counties - North) - Established auction house - Salary Negotiable - ideally full time, but part time would be considered.
(3) Head of Pictures (South West of England) - Established auction house - Salary Negotiable - Full-Time
Head over to their website to find out more.
Picasso and Paper in Cleveland
February 1 2025
Picture: Cleveland Museum of Art
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
I'm late to news that the Cleveland Museum of Art opened a fascinating sounding exhibition in December dedicated to Picasso and Paper.
According to their website:
Pablo Picasso’s prolonged engagement with paper is the subject of the groundbreaking exhibition Picasso and Paper, organized by the Cleveland Museum of Art and the Royal Academy of Arts, London, in partnership with the Musée national Picasso-Paris.
Showcasing nearly 300 works spanning the artist’s career, the exhibition highlights Picasso’s relentless exploration of paper. His appreciation of and experimentation with the material is revealed in the works ranging from collages of cut-and-pasted papers to sculptures from pieces of torn and burnt paper, manipulated photographs, drawings in virtually all available media, and prints in an array of techniques. The exhibition’s highlights include Femmes à leur toilette (1937–38), an extraordinarily large collage (9 13/16 x 14 1/2 feet) of cut-and-pasted papers, which will be exhibited for the first time in the United States; outstanding Cubist papiers collés; artist’s sketchbooks, including studies for his best known paintings, including Les Demoiselles d’Avignon; constructed paper guitars from the Cubist and Surrealist periods; and an array of works related to major paintings and sculptural projects.
The show will run until 23rd March 2025.
Beefsteak Club acquire Mercier Gambling Den
February 1 2025
Picture: Dickinson
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
The London dealers Simon C Dickinson Ltd have announced their sale of Philippe Mercier's The Hazard Table to the historic Beefsteak Club.
According to the text from their Instagram post:
Influenced by Hogarth’s The Rake Progress, Mercier shows a moment of high drama, with a man jestering in despair having just squandered a fortune. Surmounting the chimney piece is a bust of Mercury, the god of financial gain and fraud and trickery, aptly surveying the gambling club below.
As part of our research we discovered that the picture was owned by three members of the original Beefsteak Club, and hung at the Bedford Arms in Covent Garden, where the original patriotic dining club, including Hogarth himself, met to dine on beef steaks every Saturday.
I had the chance to see the painting in person at the end of last year. It's an impressive work and filled with many curious pentimenti which shows Mercier must have laboured over many of the small details found within the picture.
Master Drawings New York 2025
February 1 2025
Picture: masterdrawingsnewyork.com
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
Master Drawings New York 2025 opens today. With 29 art dealers spread out across 29 galleries, the sheer volume and quality of works on display appears to be rather impressive indeed! For those readers who can't make it to NY this year (including myself, alas) here's an electronic flippable catalogue providing an overview of the dealers and artworks involved.
Krannert Art Museum acquire Willem Bartsius
February 1 2025
Picture: Krannert Art Museum
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
I missed this news story at the end of last year that the Krannert Art Museum in Illinois acquired Willem Bartsius's Samson and Delilah. The work was purchased through the London dealer Ben Elwes.
According to the article linked above:
One major work acquired this spring is an oil painting of Samson and Delilah by Dutch painter Willem Bartsius, who like Rembrandt moved to Amsterdam in the 1630s. Few works by Bartsius survive, and this one is considered his best, said Maureen Warren, KAM’s curator of European and American art. It is a history painting, a category that includes stories from mythology, literature and the Bible. The museum has a fine collection of early modern European paintings, but not many history paintings.
