Gallery Talk

Recession Affects Sale of Rare Painting

"An economic chill blew through the art world yesterday when a rare painting of Francis Bacon by Lucian Freud sold for £1.6 million less than expected. The unfinished portrait, one of only two Freud painted of his friend and fellow artist, was predicted to go for at least £7 million at the auction at Christie's last night. The only other painting by Freud of Bacon was stolen in Berlin in 1988, making the one sold yesterday even more desirable.

                      

But in a sign of the frail financial climate, the sale netted only £5.4 million, perilously close to the auction house's low estimate of £5 million. In contrast, Freud's Benefits Supervisor Sleeping sold for £17.2 million in May, the highest price paid in an auction for a work by a living artist. The poor sale is likely to be seen as the canary in the coalmine in the art world - a clear warning that the market may be about to blow."

See full article Times Online 

Jack Vettriano paints Royalty for Sports Relief

The Queens 26 year old Granddaughter posed for the unconventional painting by Jack Vettriano to raise money for sports relief.

"I don't really do portraits, so I told them I would only do it if Zara Phillips agreed," said Jack. "To be honest, I never thought she would say yes."
The renowned painter wanted the royal equestrian champion to pose in jodhpurs sitting on a haystack, but Zara had other ideas and told him in no uncertain terms what she would be wearing - Black jeans and a black top.

Vettriano, who painted Zara in her approved clothes sitting in a chair draped with a Union Jack flag, explained he was not used to models refusing his requests.

The painting is to be auctioned later this year, along with paintings of boxer Ricky Hatton and Chelsea football ace Didier Drogba.

From Articles: The Cheers.org Magazine, Hellomagazine.com

Threat to axe London Exhibition

A landmark exhibition due to open at The Royal Academy of Art maybe cancelled. The art show was expected to open on January 26th exhibiting a collection of paintings by Gauguin, Matisse, Renoir, Van Gogh and Russian artists on loan from four Russian museums.

The exhibition should have consist of 120 paintings including 'The Dance' by Matisse but Russia said Britain was not guaranteeing the pictures' protection from legal claims on ownership.

An article in 'AFP' is optimistic the row may be resolved and the exhibition will go ahead

View article in full 'Timesonline' and 'AFP'

  'The Dance' by Henri Matisse

Abstract Painting Found in Rubbish in New York

This image originally provided by Sotheby's auction house in New York shows the 1970 painting, "Tres Personajes" (Three People), by Mexican artist Rufino Tamayo. The abstract painting was found, lying in trash on the street on Manhattan's Upper West Side. (AP Photo/Sotheby's, file)

The painting "Tres Personajes" by Rufino Tamayo was discovered in 2003 by Elizabeth Gibson, who spotted it on her morning walk on Manhattan's Upper West Side. She said she took it home because "even though I didn't understand it, I knew it had power."

The brightly colored abstract work was purchased for $1,049,000 by an unidentified private American collector bidding by phone at Sotheby's Latin American Art sale.

Full Article

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