The most expensive wallpaper per square-inch?
November 28 2011
Pic: 'Burning Flower' by Matt Collishaw. (www.seditionart.com).
Have you always wanted to be a dealer in mobile phone wallpaper displays? - nows your chance.
s[edition] is a new website venture which allows you to purchase digital works by some of the leading contemporary artists for use on mobile phones, iPads and computers. These glorified screensavers are produced in limited editions and are even accompanied by a signed certificate of authenticity from the artist. Prices range from £5-£500 and the idea is that the prices increase as they begin to sell out.
...after you have realised your mistake, theres another section of the website which allows you to sell it again.
More here.
By LH.
New Burlington Magazine
November 28 2011
The new Burlington Magazine has just arrived with the following interesting articles:
- The rediscovery of Pieter Bruegel the Elder's 'Wine of St Martin's Day', acquired for the Museo Nacional del Prado, Madrid. By Pilar Silva Maroto and Manfred Sellink.
- Zanobi Machiavelli, Battista Strozzi and the high altar of the Badia Fiesolana. By James Shaw.
- Phillipe de Champaigne c.1630: a rediscovered 'Pentecost' for the Carmelites in rue Saint-Jacques. Paris. By Guillaume Kientz.
- Selling Leonardo's 'Virgin of the rocks' By Thereza Wells.
- Artemisia Gentileschi's 'Christ and the woman of Samaria' By Richard E. Spear.
- More Adey, the Carfax Gallery and 'The Burlington Magazine'. By Barbara Pezzini.
- The Manet exhibition in Paris, 2011. By Juliet Wilson Bareau.
It is also worth noting that for all you Art History students out there, you can become a subscriber to the online version of this iconic magazine for a paltry £15 a year - i assure you, its worth it!
More here.
By LH.
Small figures...
November 28 2011
Pic: Lowry's painting of Picadilly Circus matches the £5.6m record for the artist. (Christies).
An interesting article in the Telegraph reveals the undying fascination with works by Lowry, and how despite the fairly large supply of them, they are consistent performers in the auction rooms.
Out of the 485 lots offered between the leading auction houses during the recent 20th Century British Art sales, only 33 were by Lowry, yet despite this, they contributed to half of the total £40m sale turnover. There are even rumours circulating that Tate Britain might be staging a long overdue exhibition of his work...
Click here for the story.
AHN goes north
November 28 2011
I'm on a train to Edinburgh (see below), so blogging will be difficult today. But if I ask nicely, I'm hoping my colleague Lawrence Hendra will agree to babysit the site... I'd love to share with you a photo of my very mean 'classic bacon sandwich' (one ancient rasher, damp toast), but I can't upload photos from my mobile. More random mutterings from me over on Twitter; otherwise, see you tomorrow.
Scotland awaits...
November 26 2011
Picture: Scottish National Portrait Gallery
The Scottish National Portrait Gallery is to reopen next week after a £17.6 million renovation. The gallery officially opens on 1st December - but as ever Art History News readers will get a sneak preview! I've been lucky enough to secure a guided tour on Monday, and I will report back to you on Tuesday.
In the meantime, over in The Scotsman Tim Cornwell has the full and fascinating story on the Scottish National Portrait Gallery's battle for survival some twenty years ago, when there was a dastardly plan to close the gallery, and move the collection to Glasgow. The trustees of the Scottish National Galleries wanted to create a seperate gallery of Scottish art. I wasn't aware just how close it came, but in the end the day was won by the Portrait Gallery's supporters, and the gallery's then director, Dr. Duncan Thomson. And now Duncan, one of the great figures in Scottish art history, has published a new history of the Portrait Gallery, which you can buy here.
Anyway, here's a little Scottish history for you: the portrait above shows a tartan-clad Bonnie Prince Charlie by William Mosman. On this day in 1745 Charles entered Preston, in Lancashire, at the head of his Scottish army, and pronouced his father, James III, King, apparently to 'the loudest acclamation of the people you can imagine'. Sadly for some, Charles ended his invasion when he turned back from Derby, and was eventually defeated at the Battle of Culloden. His portrait now will be one of the stars of the new Scottish National Portrait Gallery - and let's hope that next week it is once again greeted with the loudest acclamation of the people you can imagine.
A Van Dyck arriveth...
November 25 2011
Picture: BG
Anthony Van Dyck is my favourite artist. Here's a new Van Dyck arriving at our gallery earlier today. This brings our total of Van Dycks back up to four (we've recently sold three). If we have less than three in stock, I start to feel anxious...
Friday Amusement
November 25 2011
Picture: Cartoonstock
What might have been...
November 25 2011
Picture: Forte di Bard
An exhibition of 80 works from the Prince of Liechtenstein's art collection will open on December 9th at the Forte di Bard near Turin. There's a little video of some of the highlights here: Rubens, Van Dyck, Rembrandt, Hals, Cranach, Canaletto, Brueghel etc. etc. Looks pretty amazing. This is presumably the show that we were due to get at the Royal Academy at the end of 2010 - but which the Prince cancelled after HM Customs seized a Sanchez Coello he had bought. Swizz...
Newly restored something at Dulwich Picture Gallery
November 25 2011
Picture: Dulwich Picture Gallery
A curious example of poor websitery over at Dulwich Picture Gallery. Announcing the 'stunning restoration' of a 17th Century work Saint Cecilia, they've illustrated it with the most tiny of images (above). The picture was previously thought to have been by Annibale Carracci, but has now been 'de-attributed' (tho' we are not told why). Don't you find it odd when museums assume visitors to their site only want the most trivial of details, or the smallest of images? If Dulwich put a better image up, they might find someone to help them with the attribution...
What those Leonardo queues mean
November 24 2011
Picture: BG
A reader writes:
The National Gallery could insist you bring the credit card you paid for the tickets with, like music venues are supposed to (but never do). Has there ever been art ticket-touting like this? You could see it as a culturally healthy sign. People being mugged for tickets would be even better.
I'm sure it's only a matter of time...
If you like Artemisia Gentileschi, and speak Italian...
November 24 2011
Then you'll love this video from the new Artemisia exhibition at the Palazzo Reale in Milan. Read a review of the exhibition here.
Optimism-watch: Raphael special
November 24 2011
Picture: Art History Today / Graeme Cameron
You may remember a while ago that some startling 'discoveries' were announced in a new self-published book by Australian art historian Graeme Cameron, The Secrets of Leonardo Da Vinci, and on Art History Today. They included a 'Holbein' and a 'Leonardo Self-Portrait'. Aside from some trenchant wonderment expressed by me here, the discoveries have sunk without trace because they are, alas, fantastical.
Now Mr Cameron is back, this time with a newly discovered 'Raphael' (above). Cameron (who despite my horridness was kind enough to send me a copy of his book) claims that the picture dates to 1512, and shows not only a self-portrait of Raphael, but his lover, Margerita Luti. He also uses a technique he calls 'Vegascanning' to find clues in the 'subsurface' of the picture, including another Raphael design. The only problem is there is not one jot of reliable evidence that this picture is by Raphael. The likenesses of the figures are generic (and thus not to be relied on as portraits of anyone). And the 'Vegascans', whatever they are, are taken from digital photographs, and not to be relied on. I noticed the story of the latest discovery on Art History Today a while ago, but have been waiting for Three Pipe Problem to sink his razor-sharp analytical teeth into the theory first.
Read 3PP's views for yourself, but it's fair to say he is sceptical of Cameron's conclusions. For what it's worth, so am I. And if you look closely enough at the available images, you will be too. Go on, try a spot of connoisseurship. Here are some genuine Raphaels. Marvel at their brilliance, their sophistication, and intricate detail. And then see the plodding brushwork in The Judgement of Paris. See the solid drapery evident throughout the picture, from the bulky red of Paris' jacket through to the stiffly blowing orange drape far right. This is not the drapery of Raphael. In fact, it is not the drapery of any reasonably competent artist of the 16th Century - but almost certainly a 17th Century copy of an earlier work. Look also at the badly drawn profile faces of two of the female figures, the solid and unconvincing flesh of the naked bodies, the curious cartoon-like dog, not to mention the inept transition from foreground to background. All of these point to a work of poor quality of execution, and thus a poor artist. Agree? Then count yourself a connoisseur.
Recovering the 'Madonna of the Yarnwinder'
November 24 2011
Two men cleared of attempted extortion and handling Leonardo's Madonna of the Yarnwinder have given their story to the Daily Mail. It's worth a read, but here's the story in a nutshell.
'Private detectives' and liverpool pub owners Robbie Graham (above) and John Doyle were charged with conspiring to extort £4.25m for the safe return of the Madonna, which was stolen from the Duke of Buccleuch's Drumlanrig Castle in 2003. But Graham and Doyle claimed they were acting as middle men who recovered the picture from a shady 'Liverpool businessman', in return for £700,000 in cash - money which had been given to them by a local solicitor, Marshall Ronald. Ronald was in turn negotiating with solicitors acting for the Duke's insurers, Hiscox. On 3rd October 2007 Graham and Doyle handed over the cash in the car park of a Merseyside pub, and walked away with the picture. The cash had been taken by Ronald from his firm's client account. Ronald believed he had negotiated a multi-million pound reward from Hiscox's solicitors. But it turned out that the contact at the Duke's insurers with whom Ronald had been negotiating to return the painting, and secure the reward, was an undercover policeman. All three were arrested, along with two others. Meanwhile, the unnamed 'Liverpool villains' got away with their £700,000...
All five men were cleared when the jury delivered a verdict of 'not proven'. The Scottish legal system allows for three verdicts, guilty, not guilty, and not proven.
Read the story for yourself, but I find the whole thing a little curious. Graham and Doyle say they were initially contacted by the Liverpool villains because of a website they ran, Stolen Stuff Reunited, a company which Ronald help them set up. Here's the website. It looks a little unsophisticated. It says Graham and Doyle's private investigations company is called Crown Private Investigations. According to Companies House, Crown Private Investigations Ltd has been dissolved. Stolen Stuff Reunited has also been dissolved. I'd be interested to know when the 'Stolen Stuff Reunited website was first set up. According to the Whois information for the domain, it was created on 10th June 2010, and registered in the name of Chaz Brooks Communications Ltd. It's curious that a specific Google search for 'Stolen Stuff Reunited' confined to the time the said 'Liverpool villains' might have been googling it doesn't reveal very much. I wonder how these villains came across the site? What do you think?
Still, at least the picture was safely returned...
National Gallery - ban resale of Leonardo tickets
November 23 2011
Picture: BG
Following reports that tickets for the Leonardo exhibition are trading on Ebay for hundreds of pounds, the National Gallery has announced that resold tickets will be cancelled, and entry refused. From BBC News:
"We are obviously very disappointed at the resale of these tickets for profit," a spokeswoman said. "The resale of tickets for the Leonardo da Vinci exhibition is against the terms and conditions of their sale and this information is printed on the tickets.
"Our website clearly states: 'Tickets that have been resold will be cancelled without refund and admission will be refused to the bearer.'"
The spokeswoman said the gallery is contacting companies and websites that are accommodating ticket resales, requesting that they "stop immediately".
But she declined to comment on which methods are being used to identify resold tickets.
The last paragraph here is obviously rather important: the sad fact is, there is no conclusive way of detecting who has bought a resold ticket. So there's very little the Gallery can do...
Guffwatch: video special, 'Captain Ballsack'
November 23 2011
Captain Ballsack is a sculpture by Paul McCarthy. It consists of a giant penis and, er, ballsack, with an armchair placed on top. It took about two years to make. McCarthy's works sell for up to $4.5m at auction.
Things you can't quite believe they meant
November 23 2011
You will be able to see the skull in a completely different context, without the hype and speculation. We all think we know this work through the media. But if you are actually with the work, and can experience it, smell it, and I shouldn’t say this, but touch it – it will be very different.
Chris Dercon, director of Tate Modern, speaking as part of the hype and speculation over the forthcoming Hirst retrospective.
New acquisition in Stockholm
November 23 2011
Picture: Nationalmuseum, Stockholm
Congratualtions to the National Museum of Sweden in Stockholm for acquiring The Fortune Teller, above, by Nicolas Regnier (d.1667), for about $1.5 million. Half this sum was raised by the museum's Friends group, an impressive feat these days. More here (in Swedish).
Art History and drugs don't mix...
November 23 2011
Picture: changingworld.com
In case you were wondering why we don't have comments here on AHN, this is the sort of thing that often lands in my inbox:
Hello. I discoved all about Mona Lisa,work of Leonardo da Vinci...
On details of the hand, Leonardo draw the left hand hidden a marijuana cigarette while the right hand is with fingers opened for hold a cigarette and smoking.
And when i smoke marijuana I awaken the transcendental cosmic energy of kundalini is the magic revelation of the veil. The Hemp can save the planet. Mona Lisa is the symbol
How i can publish this???
In praise of...
November 22 2011
Picture: Christie's
Christie's! I'm very impressed by Christie's catalogue for their December Old Master Evening sale. With well-written, lengthy entries full of pertinent facts and technical information, it sets a new standard for Old Master auction catalogues.
Get ready for Hirst-mania (again)
November 22 2011
Picture: Damien Hirst and Science Ltd
Like the famous shark, I can't help meeting news of a Damien Hirst retrospective at Tate next year with a giant yawn. Predictably, there is already enough flam to fill a whole volume of 'Guffwatch', such as this from Tate Modern director, Chris Dercon:
They are super-familiar on one level but in a new context the work will be interesting on another level [...] There is a kinaesthetic aspect when you are in a room with these works, seeing your own reflection in the vitrines. It is as if you are stepping into a laboratory of ideas.
Expect plenty more of this.
Star of the show will be Hirst's For the Love of God, the platinum skull encrusted with diamonds and human teeth. The Tate calls this Hirst's 'key work'. But by displaying this sculpture, are the Tate breaking some of their own rules on commenting on works that may be for sale?
It's a little known fact that Tate has a (frankly absurd) rule which strictly forbids members of its staff from commenting on works of art that are in any way on the market. So, for example, if you find a Turner under your bed, and want to sell it but need the Tate's view on whether it is in fact a Turner (the Tate being the world's centre of expertise on Turner), then you're a bit stuck. This has always struck me as odd, because almost every other gallery I know will happily share their expertise with anyone who asks, irrespective of whether you happen to be (gasp) a dealer.
But since some sources (such as The Art Newspaper) allege that the multi-million pound For the Love of God was never actually sold, and still belongs to Hirst, his agent and his dealer (and others), then aren't the Tate in danger of being seen to promote the work?
As Brian Sewell points out in The Independent:
What always happens after this kind of thing is an artist's prices jump by five or more per cent. A huge exhibition at Tate Modern is a mark of importance if not of quality. Those many museums which haven't got a representative sample of one of his many genres will have to investigate the possibility of buying. This show is an advert and he pays nothing.
