Gallery Talk

Jack Vettriano - The Canny Scot

Jack Vettriano has bought his lover a £225.000 home in Kircaldy - Scotland(as reported in the Glasgow Sunday Mail).  He has apparently insisted that Margaret Millar sign a minute of agreement which promises him 77% of the sale price of the property should she sell.  Jack also owns homes in Knightsbridge, Oxfordshire & Kirkaldy.

Jack earns an estimated £500,000 royalties from his prints and posters worldwide. A small selection of Jack Vettriano's work currently available

Picture Studio Artist Exhibits At The Hampshire Art Fair

The Hampshire Art Fair exhibiting at Stoke Charity, Winchester in November will host an exiting collection of contemporary work from an array of British and International artists. including artists such as Penelope Anstice, Louise Braithwaite,  David Atkins, Roy Conelly to name but a few.

'A Night at the Theatre' is very typical of Louise Braithwaites work with her quirky figures and unique style. Her work is always popular with new releases this year of Limited Edition prints entitled 'Quayside Capers' and 'Out to Play'.

'Beatrix Potter' still proves to be of great interest

With the launch of the film 'Miss Potter' in 2006, a report in the News & Star has reported a major boost in visitors, especially Japanese tourists who have been flocking into Cumbria this summer to visit 'The World of Beatrix Potter' , showing there is still a great love of her work and of her characters 'Peter Rabbit' , 'Miss Tiggy-winkle'  and 'Squirrel Nutkin' to name but a few.

In 2008 'The Tale of Jemima Puddle-duck' will reach its centenary, and with this they anticipate a further increase of 'Potter' fans to the area.  Her images and books have always been loved by children and adults, and it appears from the report in 'News & Star', it is set to continue for many more.

Doug Hyde Sculpture Stolen From Gallery

An bronze sculpture by Doug Hyde was stolen last week from a the Cattura Fine Art Gallery in Exeter reports This is Exeter.

A brazen thief walked out of a city art gallery with a valuable bronze sculpture in his rucksack.Elizabeth Armbruster, who owns the Cattura Fine Art Gallery, formerly Triton Galleries, insists that the culprit was caught on CCTV, but to her dismay police had still not collected the footage four days after the theft.

The stolen sculpture - Do Not Disturb - is a limited edition - no. 21 out of a series of 95.

It just goes to show that Doug Hyde is still ever popular!

Russian billionaire buys entire art collection at auction

According to The Times Online, Russian billionaire Alisher Usmanov bought the entire collection of the late cellist Mstislav Rostropovich before it was due to be auctioned in London last week.

Usmanov reportedly paid over the £20 million estimate, and said that he would present the 450 artworks to the Russian state to keep the collection intact, The Time quoted him as saying: “When I knew that this collection would be sold at auction, I felt the need to try to preserve the collection in its entirety"

Mr Usmanov is Russia’s 18th-richest man and only last month bought a 14.6 per cent stake in Arsenal for £75 million from David Dein, the club’s former vice-chairman.

Auction House Sotheby’s described the paintings, porcelain and glassware as among the most distinguished it had ever handled and “one of the most important collections of Russian art in private hands”. It includes Faces of Russians, by Boris Grigoriev, which some critics believe is Russia’s most important postrevolutionary painting, and 22 works by the portrait artist Ilya Repin.

(Reference, The Times Online)

Bob Dylan - The Artist

A collection of Bob Dylan's artworks, including variations on published drawings and sketches, is to open later this year at a museum in the eastern German city of Chemnitz.

On display in the exhibition, called "The Drawn Blank Series," will be more than 200 colored versions of pictorial motifs from a book of drawings and sketches that Dylan produced between 1989 and 1992.

[Via Washington Post]

Van Gogh Painting is a Fake

A painting attributed to Vincent Van Gogh for more than 70 years

was said to be a fake Friday, after art experts found it was probably painted by one his peers.

The director of Australia’s National Gallery of Victoria, Gerard Vaughan, said a specialist team at the Van Gogh Museum in the Netherlands found the painting had strong stylistic differences from the Dutch artist’s other works, and was mostly likely painted by one of his contemporaries.

The painting, “Head of a Man,” was brought to Australia in 1939 as part of a contemporary art exhibit owned by Keith Murdoch, father of media mogul Rupert Murdoch.

Via MSNBC

Woman Arrested for Kissing Cy Twombly painting

A woman has been charged in France for kissing a Cy Twombly painting, which is apparently worth more than £1 million.

The Woman in question, as Ms Sam Rindy was reportedly 'overcome with passion' in front of the work and just couldn't help herself.

"I left a kiss," she told La Provence newspaper on leaving the police station. "A red stain remained on the canvas... This red stain is testimony to this moment, to the power of art." Speaking to French news agency AFP, she said the artist had "left this white" for her. BBC

The painting was hanging at the Collection Lambert gallery in Avignon, France, in an exhibition called  "Cy Twombly Blooming - A Scattering of Blossoms and other Things.

Via Art News Blog.

La Dona's Treasures Up For Auction

The rather stunning picture to the right is a surrealist tribute to one of Mexico's most interesting characters. Maria Felix, better known as La Doña, was a Mexican film star who has been called the Mexican Marilyn Monroe and who recently inspired a line of jewelry and accessories by Cartier.

Via Luxist

Monet Art Sells for Nearly $36 Million

A view of the River Thames painted by Claude Monet sold for almost $36 million at auction Monday, kicking off a week of big-budget sales on the London art market.

``Waterloo Bridge, Temps Couvert'' (``Waterloo Bridge, Overcast Weather'') was bought by an anonymous American bidder for $35.6 million including buyer's premium during a sale at Christie's auction house.

The price - more than double the work's pre-sale estimate - is the second-highest ever for a Monet at auction. The record of $39.7 million was set at Sotheby's in 1998.

``Waterloo Bridge, Temps Couvert'' is one of a series of views of the bridge and river that Monet painted from his room at the Savoy Hotel near the start of the 20th century.

Another Monet, the water lily painting ``Les Arceaux de Roses, Givenchy,'' sold for $17.8 million Monday, just below its pre-sale estimate.

Via the Guardian