The jewels of the Museo de Arte de Ponce collection presented like never before

PONCE, PR.- The history of art can be seen as a series of magnificent obsessions. What would the most famous painting in the world have been had Leonardo da Vinci not been entranced by the enigmatic smile of that Florentine lady we know today as the Mona Lisa? How would we see the modern world without the compulsion that led Andy Warhol to make repeated identical images of Campbell’s soup cans? A spectacular chapter in the history of artistic obsessions awaits [...]

Van Gogh museum reopens with a stunning display of some of the master’s greatest works

AMSTERDAM (AFP).- Amsterdam’s Van Gogh Museum reopened its doors to the public on Wednesday with a stunning new display of some of the Dutch master’s greatest works, completing a trio of renovations of the city’s most famous museums. The hanging of Vincent Van Gogh’s final 1887-88 “Self-portrait as a painter” moments before reopening to the public was the last task after a seven-month multi-million euro (dollar) facelift. “From today, visitors will be able to view the new exhibition that displays Van Gogh [...]

Newly discovered pastoral painting by F. G. Waldmüller leads 19th Century European Art at Christie’s

LONDON.- Christie’s announced two paintings that are fresh to the market, which will be offered at auction for the first time as part of the 19th Century European Art sale, in London, on 22 May 2013. A newly discovered pastoral painting by renowned Austrian painter from the Biedermeier period, Ferdinand Georg Waldmüller (1793-1865), A Doric Temple in Sicily with Castelmola and Taormina beyond has been confirmed by the Belvedere Museum in Vienna, as being a part of a group of pictures executed [...]

Bonhams to sell rare paintings by leading modern Chinese artist purged during Cultural Revolution

LONDON.- A dozen works by Lin Fengmian (1900 -1991), a painter considered a pioneer of modern Chinese painting best known for blending Chinese and Western painting styles features in Bonhams next Chinese Art sale on May 16th in London. The pictures come from two private English collections. In one case a family member studied with this artist and acquired signed pictures produced by Lin Fengmian during his classes. Produced with ink and colour on paper the images range from human figures to landscapes [...]

Louvre opens a new series of exhibitions by contemporary artists with Michelangelo Pistoletto

PARIS.- By extending an invitation to Michelangelo Pistoletto, the Louvre opens a new series of exhibitions by contemporary artists. The aim of this new series is not only to present works offering a fresh perspective on the museum’s permanent collections, which has been the founding principle of the “Counterpoint” exhibitions, but also to take advantage of the artist’s presence to organize a program of fruitful encounters in collaboration with the museum’s educational and cultural staff, as well as discussions and performances in the [...]

Ravenel announces Modern and Contemporary Art Auctions on 26 May at Hong Kong and 2 June at Taipei

HONG KONG.- Ravenel’s Modern and Contemporary Art Auctions 2013 will be held at Four Seasons Hotel Hong Kong (Grand Ballroom) on 26 May, and at Taipei Fubon National Conference Center on 2 Jun. The two auctions will present more than 190 finest works, totaling approximately HK$ 124 million/ NT$ 480 million*. Modern and Contemporary Asian Art Auction in Taipei will continue to feature a profusion of crucial works from China, Japan and Korea. Apart from that is a special sale devoted [...]

Albert Bierstadt in New York & New England on exhibition at the Thomas Cole National Historic Site

CATSKILL, NY.- The Thomas Cole National Historic Site , home and studio of the founder of the Hudson River School, celebrated the opening of their 2013 exhibition Albert Bierstadt in New York & New England. For the exhibition and accompanying illustrated catalogue, guest curator, Annette Blaugrund, former director of the National Academy Museum, focused on Albert Bierstadt’s east coast paintings. While Bierstadt is best known for his iconic images of the American West, this exhibition offers a rare chance to see the [...]

Munch and Warhol: Scandinavia House up-ends conventional wisdom on two art icons

NEW YORK, NY.- The American-Scandinavian Foundation (ASF) at Scandinavia House: The Nordic Center in America offers intriguing new insights into the oeuvres of two artists who would seem to have little in common aside from having been extensively researched around the world and posthumously enshrined in art and culture, high and low. On view through Saturday, July 27, 2013, MUNCH | WARHOL and the Multiple Image pairs fin-de-siècle lithographs by Edvard Munch with large-scale screen prints by Andy Warhol. The thrilling, Day-Glo [...]

Mao no-show as Andy Warhol exhibition opens at Shanghai’s contemporary art museum

SHANGHAI (AFP).- Shanghai’s contemporary art museum on Sunday opened a show featuring the works of American pop artist Andy Warhol, but without his iconic portraits of former Chinese leader Chairman Mao. The Pittsburgh-based Andy Warhol Museum, which supplied more than 300 pieces for the show, said months in advance that paintings of Mao Zedong would not be shown in keeping with the wishes of the Chinese hosts. “We worked with curators at both institutions in Shanghai and Beijing and there was a [...]

“Summer at the seaside: Leisure activities and Impressionism” exhibition opens in Caen

CAEN.- The prodigious boom in holiday resorts and outdoor leisure activities was one of the great changes of the 19th century and it had an undeniable impact on the history of art. A whole section of society gaily boarded the train and set off to conquer new territories: the coast, the beach, the sea… Normandy, but many other regions too, played a key role in this new craze. For the first time, artists left the city and shifted their studios to [...]

Major retrospective of works by Salvador Dali opens at Reina Sofia Museum in Madrid

MADRID (AFP).- Madrid’s Reina Sofia Museum opened on Friday a major retrospective of works by Spanish surrealist artist Salvador Dali which explores how his experiments with painting, cinema and advertising have influenced art. The exhibition features more than 200 paintings, sculptures, drawings, writings and television and film clips from the 1920s to the 1980s, including 30 works never before shown in Spain. “We wanted to show the richness of Salvador Dali’s creation. We wanted to show the whole output of this artist, [...]

Sotheby’s London to sell seminal work by Finnish artist Albert Edelfelt in sale of 19th Century European Paintings

LONDON.- On 23 May 2013 Sotheby’s London will offer a celebrated work by Finnish artist Albert Edelfelt in its sale of 19th Century European Paintings, along with other important works by Scandinavian artists. Painted in 1885, The Boys’ Workhouse, Helsinki comes to auction for the first time in almost thirty years, with an estimate of £350,000-450,000 (€411,000-530,000). The painting, which combines the influences of Edelfelt’s years in France with his innate love of his homeland, will be on public view in Helsinki on [...]

The monumental rooms of the Doge’s Palace in Venice exhibit Manet: Return to Venice

VENICE.- Manet. Return to Venice is the name of the exhibition the Fondazione Musei Civici di Venezia will host from 24th April to 18th August 2013 in the monumental rooms of the Doge’s Palace. It will include about 80 paintings, drawings and prints, and has been planned with the special collaboration of the Musée D’Orsay in Paris, which possesses the largest number of masterpieces by this extraordinary painter. The exhibition arises from a need to undertake a critical survey of the cultural [...]

Fresh to the market works lead Christie’s Impressionist & Modern Art Works on Paper and Day Sales

NEW YORK, NY.- Christie’s will present its Impressionist & Modern Art Works on Paper Sale and Day Sale on May 9 in New York. The sales are comprised of paintings, drawings, sculptures and works on paper from the leading Impressionist and Modern masters such as Alberto Giacometti, Paul Klee, Joan Miró, Henry Moore, Pablo Picasso, Egon Schiele and many more. Fresh to the market works from distinguished collections are offered throughout the two sales including highlights from the collections of Andy Williams, [...]

Into darkness: The art of troop life in Afghanistan with Archibald portrait prize winner

SYDNEY (AFP).- Watching the solemn parade of special forces soldiers climb into their trucks, blessed by a priest, and drive into the grey Afghan night, Australian artist Ben Quilty wondered if they would ever return. Quilty, winner of Australia’s prestigious Archibald portrait prize, spent 24 days embedded with troops in Kandahar and Tarinkot as the nation’s official war artist, sketching, photographing and filming life as a modern soldier. It is an “often very mundane existence, spiked with these extremely horrific, terrifying moments [...]