Audrey’s Society Whirl: The Metropolitan Museum of Art Showcases 300 Masterworks by Pablo Picasso

New York.- On Wednesday, May 19, 2010, over 500 guests attended a special viewing of Picasso in The Metropolitan Museum of Art hosted by the Museum’s director Thomas P. Campbell, president Emily K. Rafferty and The Met’s Multicultural Audience Development Initiative (MADI) under the direction of Donna Williams, chief audience development officer. The rare exhibition runs from April 27 through August 15, 2010 and is made possible by the Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Foundation.  The viewing was followed by [...]

Sahure: Death and Life of a Great Pharaoh at Liebieghaus Skulpturensammlung

FRANKFURT.- From June 24 to November 28, 2010 the Liebieghaus Skulpturensammlung will present the exhibition “Sahure – Death and Life of a Great Pharaoh.” Ruling Egypt from about 2428 to 2416 BC, Sahure was a both politically and culturally outstanding king of the Fifth Dynasty and thus a prominent representative of the Old Kingdom, the “Age of the Pyramids.” Amongst all known pyramid complexes, that of Sahure in Abusir near Cairo, which boasts several superlatives, takes a special position. The [...]

Art dealer Viginia Barrett: A backcountry original

Greenwich, Conneticut. – Virginia Barrett has an eye for a good painting and a considerable track record for selling fine art. In her backcountry gallery, over the years she has had works by artists whose paintings have hung in the Metropolitan Museum of Art. She’s a no-nonsense art dealer in the business of selling fine art – and not glamour. Her Fine Arts Gallery is located in the Banksville shopping center on North Street, far from upscale Greenwich Avenue. “I [...]

Prado Museum Exhibits Tapestry Series by Willem de Pannemaker

MADRID.- The Museo del Prado will be exhibiting the eight mythological tapestries that comprise the only complete surviving example of this series on the loves of Mercury and Herse, one of the 246 tales recounted in the 15 books of Ovid’s great poem known as the Metamorphoses. For the first time since their dispersion in the early 20th century, the exhibition reunites these eight tapestry panels by Willem de Pannemaker, tapestry-maker and supplier to the royal courts of the Flemish [...]

Akron Art Museum Acquires Two New Artworks from Pattern ID Exhibition

AKRON, OH.- The Akron Art Museum added two of the artworks from the recently closed Pattern ID exhibition to its collection: Mickalene Thomas’ painting Girlfriends and Lovers and Yinka Shonibare’s photograph La Méduse. Diverse cultural and art historical references are explored in Girlfriends and Lovers. Thomas’ richly patterned and rhinestone-studded work draws on everything from the group portraits of Picasso and the Dutch masters to 1970s interiors. In this piece, the artist addresses stereotypes of black femininity while also exploring [...]

Doug and Mike Starn Create Monumental Sculpture for Metropolitan Museum’

NEW YORK, NY.- American artists Mike and Doug Starn (born 1961) have been invited by The Metropolitan Museum of Art to create a site-specific installation for The Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Roof Garden, opening to the public on April 27. The identical twin brothers will present their new work, Big Bambú: You Can’t, You Don’t, and You Won’t Stop, a monumental bamboo structure ultimately measuring 100 feet long by 50 feet wide by 50 feet high in the form [...]

300 Picasso Works in Metropolitan Museum’s Collection Featured in Landmark Exhibition

NEW YORK, NY.- Picasso in The Metropolitan Museum of Art, a landmark exhibition of 300 works by Pablo Picasso (Spanish, 1881–1973), will provide an unprecedented opportunity to see one of the most important collections in the world of the artist’s work. On view at The Metropolitan Museum of Art from April 27 through August 1, 2010, this is the first exhibition to focus exclusively on the remarkable array of works by Picasso in the Met’s collection. The exhibition will reveal [...]

The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 140 Years of Art Education

NEW YORK.- The Metropolitan Museum of Art was founded on April 13, 1870, “to be located in the City of New York, for the purpose of establishing and maintaining in said city a Museum and library of art, of encouraging and developing the study of the fine arts, and the application of arts to manufacture and practical life, of advancing the general knowledge of kindred subjects, and, to that end, of furnishing popular instruction.” Metropolitan Museum of Art, known colloquially [...]

Disowned Pablo Picasso Painting to Have US Debut in NYC

NEW YORK, NY.- A painting disowned by Pablo Picasso is expected to have its U.S. debut in a major exhibit of his work at New York City’s Metropolitan Museum of Art, though it’s unlikely to be a highlight of the show. Questions have been raised about the authenticity of the painting, which is called “Erotic Scene” and shows a naked woman nestling her head in a man’s lap. But the Met’s curator of 19th-century, Modern and Contemporary art says that [...]

Thomas P. Campbell Welcomed to AFA Board of Trustees

NEW YORK, NY.- At the March 16, 2010, meeting of the Board of Trustees of the American Federation of Arts (AFA), Thomas P. Campbell was elected a trustee. “The AFA has enjoyed a long and extremely fruitful relationship with The Metropolitan Museum of Art,” said AFA Director George G. King, “and we are delighted that Tom will be carrying on the tradition of representing the Metropolitan on the AFA Board. I know that with his talent and wisdom he will [...]

Objects and Materials from the Funeral of Tutankhamun on View at Metropolitan

NEW YORK, NY.- n 1908, while excavating in the Valley of the Kings in Egypt, American archaeologist Theodore Davis discovered about a dozen large storage jars. Their contents included broken pottery, bags of natron (a mixture of sodium carbonate, sodium bicarbonate, sodium sulphate, and sodium chloride that occurs naturally in Egypt), bags of sawdust, floral collars, and pieces of linen with markings from years 6 and 8 during the reign of a then little-known pharaoh named Tutankhamun. The Metropolitan Museum [...]

Paul Johnson Appointed Deputy Director for Development at the Brooklyn Museum

BROOKLYN, NY.- Longtime fundraising professional Paul Johnson has been appointed Deputy Director for Development at the Brooklyn Museum following an intensive search. Mr. Johnson will assume his new position, which will report to Museum Director Arnold L. Lehman, in mid-April. Dr. Lehman, who personally conducted the search, states, “We are delighted to welcome Paul Johnson to the Brooklyn Museum, especially at this challenging time for the not-for-profit cultural community. Paul’s breadth of experience on behalf of art museums, particularly in [...]

Art of the Islamic and Indian World at Christie’s South Kensington

LONDON.- A broad variety of works of art, paintings, manuscripts and an intricate and jewel-like panelled room will be offered at Christie’s sale of Islamic and Indian Art on 13 April 2010. The painted and gilt carved room (estimate: £200,000-300,000) recreates the splendour and beauty of Damascus in the late 18th/early 19th century. The fashion for richly decorated interiors gained popularity in the capital of Ottoman Syria during this period of the late 18th and 19th centuries. Hidden behind plain [...]

Sumptuously Illustrated Medieval Manuscript on View at Metropolitan

NEW YORK, NY.- One of the most beautiful manuscripts in the world is the lavishly illustrated medieval prayer book known as the Belles Heures (Beautiful Hours). It was created by the Limbourg Brothers—three of the greatest illuminators in Europe—for one of the most famous art patrons of all time, Jean de France, duc de Berry (1340–1416). The son, brother, and uncle to three successive kings of France, Jean de France commissioned luxury works in many media—from chalices to castles—without regard [...]

How Did Chinese Artists Learn and Practice Their Craft?

NEW YORK, NY.- A new installation at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Mastering the Art of Chinese Painting: Xie Zhiliu (1910-1997), demonstrates how Chinese artists learned, historically, from earlier masterpieces and from nature. It showcases more than 100 works—including paintings, sketches, drawings, calligraphies, and poetry manuscripts—by Xie Zhiliu (pronounced “shay jer leo”), one of modern China’s leading artists and connoisseurs. It also marks the 100-year anniversary of his birth. A number of his sketches and copies will be accompanied by [...]

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