Dallas Museum of Art Discovers George Romney Painting in the Collections

DALLAS, TX.- The Dallas Museum of Art announced today the reattribution of the painting, Young Man with a Flute, to the artist George Romney. The work of art has been in the Museum’s collections for nearly 25 years and entered it in 1987 as part of a bequest of Mrs. Sheridan Thompson. At the time of the painting’s acquisition, the artist was unknown but the painting was thought to be by the American colonial era portrait painter Ralph Earl. Then [...]

New Book by the Royal Collection Explores the Impact of the Royal Portrait

LONDON.- Portraits have played a central role in shaping the image of Monarchy. They have helped legitimise claims to the throne, reinforced dynastic ambitions, cemented political alliances, accompanied proposals of marriage, and even offered a glimpse into the private life of the royal family. The Royal Portrait: Image and Impact brings together iconic images of kings and queens by some of the most celebrated portrait artists, including Holbein, Van Dyck, Gainsborough, Lawrence and Freud. It looks at the creation of [...]

Advice on Protecting Fine Art Against High Temperatures

NEW YORK (AP).- Temperatures getting a little uncomfortable? Your artwork and antiques are probably feeling the humidity as much as you are. Paintings and works of art on paper expand and contract in response to changes in temperature and humidity, say experts with Chubb Group of Insurance Cos. That can cause surface distortions, flaking paint, growth of mold, staining or decay. It’s not only the summer months that pose a threat to your most cherished pieces, either. Furniture and gilded [...]

Researchers Unveil “Holy Grail” of Audubon Illustration

PHILADELPHIA (REUTERS).- Researchers have found the first published illustration by John James Audubon, America’s most famous bird artist, ending decades of searching for the prized but elusive work. Audubon had made two references to the illustration in his diaries, but it had never been seen until it was found on a sheet of sample images produced in 1824 by a New Jersey engraver who specialized in illustrations for banknotes. Eric Newman, a numismatic, or currency, historian working with Robert Peck, [...]

Negatives Verified by Team of Experts as Ansel Adams’ Work

BEVERLY HILLS (AP).- A trove of old glass negatives bought at a garage sale for $45 have been authenticated as the lost work of famed nature photographer Ansel Adams and are worth at least $200 million, an attorney for the owner said Tuesday. A team of experts concluded after an exhaustive, six-month examination that the 65 negatives are Adams’ early work, which were believed to have been destroyed in a 1937 fire at his Yosemite National Park studio, Arnold Peter [...]

Painting at Center of Caravaggio Mystery Unveiled in Rome

ROME (AP).- Art officials on Tuesday unveiled the painting at the center of the latest Caravaggio mystery, after the Vatican newspaper first suggested and then denied that the canvas was the work of the Italian master. The “Martyrdom of St. Lawrence” will now be subjected to X-rays and other analyses to ascertain its attribution. But art officials and scholars attending the unveiling agreed the painting did not look like a Caravaggio — but rather like the work of one or [...]

Vatican Reverses Itself, “The Martyrdom of St. Lawrence” Not a Caravaggio

VATICAN CITY (AP).- The Vatican’s top art historian on Monday shot down a report in its own newspaper that suggested a recently discovered painting was a Caravaggio. The head of the Vatican Museums, Antonio Paolucci, wrote in the Vatican newspaper L’Osservatore Romano that the work was most likely a copy of an original by a Caravaggio-influence artist. It was L’Osservatore itself that set the art world aflutter last week with a front-page article headlined “A New Caravaggio,” detailing the artistry [...]

Museum Veteran Invites Artists to Reinvent the Master of Fine Arts

NEW YORK, NY.- Beginning in the summer of 2011, the School of Visual Arts (SVA) will offer a Master of Fine Arts (MFA) in Art Practice, a low-residency, interdisciplinary program of study that offers experienced artists an opportunity to deepen their studio practice and to develop an advanced body of work under the guidance of some of the world’s foremost artists and critics. The program will be chaired by educator and art museum professional David A. Ross. Ross has assembled [...]

Caravaggiomania for iPhone and iPad: New Multimedia Guide

FLORENCE.- CaravaggioMania is the multimedia guide to in-depth knowledge of the great master’s art! To mark the celebrations of the 400th Anniversary of Caravaggio’s death, Scala Group International presents CaravaggioMania, the application dedicated to one of the most admired Italian artists. Caravaggiomania iPhone app can be downloaded here and the iPad app here Now available for iPhone and iPad. The app is an indispensable tool for gaining an in-depth knowledge of the great master’s art as well as to retrace [...]

Rubens painting found in a rubbish bag

Mr Ten Vergert identified it as a canvas by the 16th century painter Peter Paul Rubens. It is estimated to be worth around 70 million euros. The painting was one of ten valuable works removed from Sanssouci Castle in Berlin at the end of the World War II to prevent them falling into the hands of the Russians. The Dutch art dealer was paid a finder’s fee for his discovery and the paintings are now back in the castle.

Carlo Orsi’s latest discovery: a masterpiece by Pontormo

MILAN. A long-standing, art-world rumour that gallerist Carlo Orsi had rediscovered a Pontormo masterpiece has been confirmed. The painting, Portrait of a Gentleman, around 1541-1544, went on show in June at Orsi’s gallery in Milan (until 9 July). The work was first identified by renowned art historian Roberto Longhi (in Paragone, 1952), who ascribed it to Pontormo, and declared it to be one of his finest works of portraiture. But after Longhi saw it, no-one else was granted access. Based [...]

Stratton Foundation Donates New Important Publication to Academic Institutions

PARIS.- The Stratton Foundation for the Cultural Arts has a cultural and educational programme which involves generously donating a copy of their important new book ,’Dali in the Third Dimension’ to Universities, Colleges and schools’ arts libraries for use by their students. This award winning book, ‘Dali in the Third Dimension’ is an in-depth study of the three dimensional artworks of the great Catalan genius Salvador Dali. It presents the dreams of an art collector, Beniamino Levi who is the [...]

Laser Scanner Applied at Emblematic Mexican Monuments

MEXICO CITY.- Emblematic Mexican constructions such as the Metropolitan Cathedral, Palacio Nacional, Padre Tembleque Aqueduct and San Juan de Ulua Fort have been digitalized by the National Institute of Anthropology and History using the laser scanner method, becoming a pioneer in Latin America. As part of the seminar that took place at Templo Mayor Museum, in Mexico City Historical Center, different projects that have used the 3D Laser Scanner technology to conform a digital database of historical and archaeological constructions [...]

A Real Van Gogh: How the Art World Struggles with Truth

AMSTERDAM.- Vincent van Gogh’s paintings and drawings are fabulously expensive. Millions of people admire his work, but are those masterpieces all genuine? To this day, the international art world struggles to separate the real Van Goghs from the fake ones, and the key question addressed in this book is what may happen to art experts when they publicly voice their opinions on a particular Van Gogh (or not). The story starts with art expert J.B. de la Faille who discovered [...]

Mead Art Museum Publishes Book on Development of the Mead Collection for Amazon.com’s Kindle e-Reader

AMHERST, MA.- The Mead Art Museum at Amherst College has published its first e-book, The Development of the Art Collection of Amherst College, 1871-1971 (Kindle Edition), for the Amazon.com Kindle e-reader. The original version of the book was written by the museum’s first director, Charles H. Morgan, in 1972, and 1,000 copies of the 160-page volume were published by Amherst College Press. This past year, Teddy O’Connor, an assistant in the Mead, digitally transcribed Morgan’s text for the Kindle. The [...]