Sotheby's December Day Sale
November 22 2021
Picture: Sotheby's
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
Sotheby's London have uploaded their Old Masters Day sale. This online auction will run from 3rd - 9th December 2021.
As usual, there are many beautiful and interesting things up for sale. I won't spoil the fun by pointing any out in particular. However, who cannot not admire this fine portrait of an Old Man attributed to Frans Hals (pictured) from the collection of Greystoke Castle, Penrith, Cumbria.
New Release: Peintures francaises - La collection du musée des Beaux-Arts de Rennes
November 22 2021
Picture: Musée des Beaux-Arts de Rennes
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
The Musée des Beaux-Arts de Rennes have this month released their latest complete catalogue of their collection of French paintings from the sixteenth to eighteenth centuries.
The catalogue was edited by curator Guillaume Kazerouni and features works by the likes of Boucher, Chardin, Vincent, Lagrenée, Amand, Doyen, Suvée, Varin, Lallemant, Tassel, La Hyre, Le Nain, La Tour, Vouet, Senelle, Blanchard, Baugin, Vignon, Stella, Corneille, Loir, Le Brun, Verdier, Coypel, La Fosse, Jouvenet, Boullogne and others.
$30 Drawing turns out to be a Dürer
November 22 2021
Picture: TAN
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
The Art Newspaper have reported on news that the dealers Agnew's have revealed a recently rediscovered drawing by Albrecht Dürer. The work, which has since been authenticated by Christof Metzger, a curator at Vienna’s Albertina Museum, was purchased for a mere $30 at a house clearance in the US. Research has revealed other details including the watermark on the paper and artwork's provenance.
There has been speculation that the work on paper might now be worth up to $50m.
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This will of course be great news to any serious fans of the National Gallery's current Dürer exhibition, in case they might want to pop over to Agnew's afterwards to purchase the ultimate souvenir.
Tudor Portrait Realises $120k
November 22 2021
Picture: Butterscotch Auctions
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
The aforementioned Tudor Portrait realised $120,000 over its $5k - $10k estimate yesterday afternoon at Butterscotch Auctions. J Stephan Edwards has revealed the painting was purchased by an individual American collector.
Bendor adds; I was interested to see this before the sale and ordered some high-res photos, which were revealing. In the end, I wondered if it is actually Tudor. Some things puzzled me, like the technnique in the hands, the drying cracks in the face, the overly 'sweet' characterisation, and the apparent lack of the usual style of gilding you'd expect to see in areas like the collar. I'd be interested to know of any dendrochronology tests the new owners do on the panel. The reason this matters is that the portrait has for a long time been held up as 'the original' of a portrait type which has been identified as a member of the Grey family, copies of which have been identified as Jane, the Nine Days Queen, or her sister Katherine, Countess of Hertford, or even Elizabeth I.
Michaelina Wautier's Five Senses Reunited in Boston
November 19 2021
Picture: MFA Boston
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
Exciting news on Twitter that Michaelina Wautier's (1604-1689) 'Five Senses' have been reunited in the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. This is perhaps the first time in 370 years the paintings have been exhibited together. The suite of pictures will feature in the MFA's newly renovated Dutch and Flemish galleries which open tomorrow!
Sotheby's December Evening Sale
November 19 2021
Picture: Sotheby's
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
Sotheby's London have uploaded the online catalogue for their upcoming Old Master Paintings Sale on 8th December 2021.
Amongst the top lots are two portraits by Van Dyck of Jacob de Witte and Maria Nutius estimated at £4m - £6m (pictured); John Constable's Glebe Farm estimated at £3m - £5m; a still life by Rachel Ruysch estimated at £1.2m - £1.8m; a set of the Four Seasons by Sebastiaan Vrancx estimated at £600k - £800k; a Lucas Cranach the Elder of the Infant Christ and John the Baptist estimated at £550k - £700k; a Crucifixion by the Master of Charles of Durazzo estimated at £400k - £600k and JMW Turner's Cilgerran Castle, Wales estimated at £300k - £500k.
Christie's December Online Sale
November 19 2021
Picture: Christie's
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
Christie's London have uploaded their December Online Sale of Old Master Paintings and Sculpture. This online only sale, the equivalent of the old 'day sale', will run until 8th December 2021.
As usual, there are many fascinating lots to browe through. I won't spoil the fun by pointing any out in particular.
La Beauté en partage at the Musée Fabre
November 19 2021
Picture: Musée Fabre
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
The Musée Fabre in Montpellier will be opening an exhibition next month dedicated to the new acquisitions the museum has made over the past 15 years. With art and sculpture spanning centuries and several national schools, the exhibition will also be accompanied by various conferences relating to the spheres of collecting the museum are involved in.
The show will open on 15th December 2021 and close on 6th March 2022.
Juan de Valdés Leal Exhibition in Seville
November 19 2021
Picture: diocesisdecordoba.com
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
The Museum of Fine Arts of Seville are preparing for their Winter exhibition dedicated to Juan de Valdés Leal (Seville, 1622-1690). The exhibition will include 60 works including drawings and engravings, books, sculptures and paintings. It will be the first exhibition dedicated to the artist since 1991.
In particular, some large paintings are being loaned from various churches including the grand altarpiece from the Church of Nuestra Señora del Carmen in Puerta Nueva (pictured).
The exhibition will open on 2nd December 2021 and run until 27th March 2022.
Spain's Ministry of Culture Acquires El Greco Crucifix
November 19 2021
Picture: abc.es
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
Spain's Ministry of Culture have acquired a Crucifix by El Greco for a reported €1.5m. The painting, produced between 1571 and 1577, was purchased on behalf of the Museo del Greco in Toledo and is one of the first works acquired for the museum since its foundation in 1910. The work of art was subjected to an export ban thus allowing for the Spanish State to raise the funds to keep it in the country.
The National Trust Redisplays Conserved Tapestry
November 18 2021
Picture: The National Trust
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
The Institute of Conservation (ICON) have posted an extensive blog on the recent restoration of a fifteenth century tapestry kept at Montacute House in Somerset, a property owned and run by The National Trust. The work, dating to 1477 and woven by the workshop of Guillaume Desremaulx, has undergone 1,300 hours of documentation and conservation in Norfolk.
'Rembrandt made a mess of his legal and financial life'
November 18 2021
Picture: donner.nl
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
'Rembrandt made a mess of his legal and financial life' is but one of the claims made in a new book by the Dutch Emeritus Professor of Private Law Bob Wessels. I'm sure this fact won't be too surprising to many readers of AHN.
The University of Leiden have published a rather interesting interview with Wessels which explains more about his research into Rembrandt's legal and financial dealings. The book also claims that ‘Rembrandt was a stubborn, socially inept shopaholic.'
Rembrandt's Money is out this month.
NGS Acquire Early Image of Black Woman by Scottish Artist
November 18 2021
Picture: BBC
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
The National Galleries of Scotland have announced they have acquired one of the earliest known images of a black person by a Scottish artist. The work is by artist David Allan (1744-1796) and was produced as part of his Edinburgh Characters series.
According to the article:
Alloa-born artist David Allan created drawings of ordinary people going about their daily lives in Edinburgh, including soldiers, coalmen, fishwives, sedan chair porters, firemen and officers of the city guard. These works, known as Allan's 'Edinburgh Characters', are quite different from this detailed portrait of a specific person.
'Remarkable, rare and extraordinary' Christopher Baker, director of European and Scottish art at the National Galleries of Scotland, said: "We are so pleased to bring this remarkable, rare and extraordinary watercolour into Scotland's national collection.
"It is an incredibly striking and special work, one which we believe will be enjoyed by many and, we hope, lead to new research on its background and most importantly the story of the woman depicted."
How did the Bassano Leave Italy?
November 17 2021
Picture: Getty
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
The Italian Press having been asking the question of how Jacopo Bassano's The Miracle of the Quails was allowed to leave the country to be sold to the Getty Museum?
The Italian State, with its usually rather stringent exporting laws, has been asked exactly how a recognised masterpiece could have been exported without any consultation with experts. The painting was known to have been in the possession of the Florentine collector Vittorio Frascione between 1948 and 2006 and had purportedly even been offered for sale to the Uffizi at one point. Although there has been no suggestion of any illegality, the press are asking why the picture was not saved for the nation.
Waldemar on Young Poland Exhibition
November 17 2021
Video: zczfilms
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
The Sunday Times art critic Waldemar Januszczak has created this short film giving a private view of the William Morris Gallery's current Young Poland Exhibition.
Het Noordbrabants Museum secure Loans from JK Art Foundation
November 17 2021
Picture: artdaily.cc
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
The Het Noordbrabants Museum in the Netherlands have secured the long-term loan of 550 art works from the JK Art Foundation. This includes works by the likes of by Brueghel, Rubens, Mondrian, Brancusi, Van Dongen, Picasso, Magritte, Delaunay, Fontana, Dalí, Modigliani, Lewitt, Dumas, Kapoor, Tuymans and Eliasson.
According to the article linked above:
‘A dream come true!’, says Charles de Mooij, director of Het Noordbrabants Museum, describing the JK Art Foundation’s pledge to transfer its full collection to the museum, in time. Het Noordbrabants Museum and the JK Art Foundation have been working together for many years. Since 2010, the museum has frequently exhibited works from this private collection, both in support of exhibitions and in presenting its permanent collection. The acquisition of this collection offers Het Noordbrabants Museum the opportunity to organise even more attractive programmes in the future.
Treasures from the Museum & Gallery at Bob Jones University
November 16 2021
Picture: omart.org
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
Apologies, I missed this interesting sounding exhibition that opened earlier in the Autumn. The Orlando Museum of Art in Florida has opened a special exhibition of loaned works from the Bob Jones University, South Carolina.
According to the website:
The European Old Master Painting Collection at the Bob Jones University Museum & Gallery is one of the largest and most comprehensive of its kind in the United States. This exhibition of more than 60 works of art from the 14th through the 19th centuries reflects the dramatic course of religious, artistic, and cultural history in Western Europe during these formative centuries. While the collection’s greatest strength is Italian Baroque painting, major artists working in Holland, Flanders, France, and Germany are represented by large-scale works of exceptional quality. Highlights include masterpieces by Botticelli, Rubens, Tintoretto, Veronese, Cranach, Murillo, Ribera, van Dyck, and Doré. The exhibition will give visitors a deeper understanding of the mainstream developments in European painting over the course of almost five centuries. Additionally, the exhibition will focus on guiding visitors through the fascinating narrative subjects of these works and their rich symbolism, some of which are now obscure and mysterious.
The exhibition will run until 8th May 2022.
Coincidentally, there is another exhibition running simultaneously to the one above featuring loaned works from The Muscarelle Museum of Art at the College of William and Mary. Artists represented within the display include the likes of Titian, Annibale Carracci, Peter Paul Rubens, and Rembrandt, important 19th-century French paintings by Paul Cézanne and Eugène Boudin and a major floral painting by Georgia O’Keeffe.
Stedelijk Museum Alkmaar Acquires Emanuel de Witte
November 16 2021
Picture: @museumalkmaar
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
The Stedelijk Museum Alkmaar have announced their acquisition of An Imagined Church Interior by Emanuel de Witte. The picture had previously been with Otto Naumann at TEFAF in 2013 and was acquired by the museum with funds from the Rembrandt Association, the Mondriaan Fund and by a crowdfunding campaign.
Here's a write up from La Tribune de'Art.
Deaccessioned (?) Tudor Portrait Interest
November 16 2021
Picture: Butterscotch Auctions
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
Twitter is awash with Tudor fans excited about the reappearance of a Portrait of a Lady catalogued as 'Anglo-Dutch School 17th Century - Mary Queen of Scots'. Auction watcher Francis Mouton has already pointed out that the portrait is not that of Mary, but, perhaps a member of the family of Lady Jane Grey. Furthermore, the painting may have been owned by John Pierpont Morgan and was later deaccessioned by the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York in 1954.
The painting will be sold at Butterscotch Auctions, NY, on 21st November 2021 carrying an estimate of $5,000 - $10,000.
Macklowe Collection Realises $676m
November 16 2021
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
It seems that all's well at the top end of the art market.
Sotheby's New York's Macklowe Collection sale of Modern and Contemporary Art realised an eye watering $676m (inc. commission) yesterday evening. The sale was instigated by the divorce of collector Harry Macklowe and his museum trustee ex-wife Linda.
Press reports have heralded the sale as the greatest test for the high-end art market since the beginning of the pandemic. In fact, the sale passed the test with flying colours as each of the 35 lots in the evening sale were sold. The top lot was Rothko's No. 7 (1951) which realised $82.5m (inc. commission).
