on vacation, and I probably won't be writing here for the next two weeks. See you in July. … [Read more...]
Oh My, Look What The Corcoran Threw Away, And Other Problems
June 16, 2013 by 2 Comments
What do you suppose the picture here, at right, is? Can you read the writing? If so, you may be as shocked as I was, not to mention the person who sent this to me and the person who took the photo one day last June. The photographer was Linda Crocker Simmons, curator emerita of the Corcoran Gallery of Art in Washington. It's the column that recognized the contribution of Armand Hammer to the Corcoran, and apparently it stood near Hammer’s bust in the foyer for a decade. Crocker Simmons, as I learned through an interlocutor, was walking … [Read more...]
A Few Words About the Detroit Institute of Arts
June 13, 2013 by 4 Comments
I know some of you are all caught up in the goings-on in Detroit and are wondering why I'm not commenting. It's simple, really: while this is serious to the Detroit Institute of Arts, and director Graham Beal must take it seriously, I've always believe that the DIA is simply caught up in a local political dance that, at some point (hopefully soon), will end without a single piece of art being sold. As it should. But the politics has to play out, and hang-wringing won't help. A friend of mine has been sending me links to all the Detroit … [Read more...]
Why Tanzania And Portland, Maine Suddenly Mix
June 12, 2013 by 4 Comments
In tomorrow's Wall Street Journal, I review an exhibition that opened at the Portland Museum of Art on Saturday: Shangaa: Art of Tanzania. It is, according to its curator, Gary van Wyk, the first exhibition in the United States devoted to Tanzanian art, and one of the few period. This material has been shown in Germany, and that's about it. History is the culprit, as I explain in the article, headlined Objects that Amaze. But what's it doing in Maine? Maine is the whitest state in the country, with 96.9 percent of its population described … [Read more...]
Renaissance Sculpture, And Palazzo Strozzi, Get More Credit
June 11, 2013 by 1 Comment
Regular readers of RCA know that I love Old Master sculpture, and they may perhaps remember that a couple of times in the past I have lauded the Palazzo Strozzi in Florence for its excellent exhibitions. Now those two threads have come together, as the Palazzo is currently showing The Springtime of the Renaissance: Sculpture and the Arts in Florence, 1400 - 1460. And here is a payoff: the show, after closing in Florence on Aug. 18, will move to the Louvre, from Sept. 23 through Jan. 6, 2014. That's a pretty nice endorsement, in part because … [Read more...]
Philbrook Launches A Satellite With High Hopes
June 10, 2013 by Leave a Comment
Sometimes, but not all that often, a museum satellite does make sense. Later this week, we'll see the opening of one that does. Friday is opening day for Philbrook Downtown, an industrial space in the Brady Arts District of Tulsa that the museum is turning into a new arts center. The Philbrook itself, a villa built in the 1920s on a 23-acre site, makes for a lovely house museum, with spacious rooms and wide corridors. I visited about seven years ago, and was impressed with the overall feel (though I don't remember any masterpieces). And I … [Read more...]
Koshalek’s Goal: Inflatable Bubble Redux
June 9, 2013 by Leave a Comment
Some people agree with Richard Koshalek, departing director of the Hirshhorn Museum in Washington, D.C., that the world could use a cultural think tank, perhaps even one in an inflatable bubble. Just see the comment from Luis R. Cancel after my last post on the Bubble idea that was killed last week by the Smithsonian. In my opinion, the idea that Koshalek described to me in 2010 was impractical and unlikely to lead to a cultural policy or change (except perhaps for the participants -- as with Davos and TED talks, ideas were to be exchanged, … [Read more...]
University of Iowa Museum Takes A Step Forward
June 6, 2013 by 1 Comment
Iowa is again experiencing spring floods, which reminds us that five years have passed since the devastating 2008 deluge. Coincidentally, yesterday, the Iowa Board of Regents voted to give the University of Iowa permission to plan for a new museum to replace the one inundated in 2008. To recap events: The museum's collection, which includes Jackson Pollock's Mural, was moved ahead of the 2008 floods and now resides at the Figge Art Museum in nearby Davenport. But when the university applied for funds from the Federal Emergency Management … [Read more...]
A Big — Very Mixed — Day For Washington Museums
June 5, 2013 by 5 Comments
Well, it was a bizarre day for Washington museums. First, late morning, the Smithsonian Institution killed the Hirshhorn Bubble -- officially, as we all know that this has been coming for weeks if not months. (More about this in a minute.) Then, this afternoon, the Corcoran laid an egg: The carpet it decided to deaccession, estimated by Sotheby's to fetch $5- to $7 million, actually brought $33.8 million, including the buyer's premium. The so-called "important and revered 17th century Clark Sickle-Leaf Carpet" set a new world auction … [Read more...]
A Cliff’s Notes, Of Sorts, Encompassing All Art History
June 4, 2013 by 4 Comments
Summer's almost here, and you plan to catch up on your art history, right? All those seminal books you've never read. Or maybe you just want to learn, and perhaps understand, more about the history of the visual arts. A new book has come to the rescue: instead of reading everything on your wish list, you can instead turn to The Books That Shaped Art History, edited by Richard Stone and John-Paul Stonard and published in March in the U.K. by Thames & Hudson. It provides essays, commissioned by The Burlington Magazine, on 16 foundational … [Read more...]
Recent Comments
Chris Crosman on Oh My, Look What The Corcoran Threw Away, And Other Problems
Did anyone check to see if Hammer's contributions are honored with a new plaque or signage in the building? ...Jim VanKirk on Oh My, Look What The Corcoran Threw Away, And Other Problems
I believe this is called "Making it up as you go." UMD and the Corcoran have an agreement to agree...Judith H. Dobrzynski on A Few Words About the Detroit Institute of Arts
Well, that's what I said, isn't it? Sign petitions. Use the system. Tell Detroit companies you own shares in. Etc.There IS a Change.org petition on A Few Words About the Detroit Institute of Arts
Here's the link on Change.org. http://www.change.org/petitions/protect-detroit-institute-of-art-assets-from-city-s-bankruptcy-deal. Here's the link to the MoveOn.org petition against this sale, which already has over...richard staub on Renaissance Sculpture, And Palazzo Strozzi, Get More Credit
So nice to find another fan of old master sculpture. I'm still in discovery mode - it gets so...Judith H. Dobrzynski on Why Tanzania And Portland, Maine Suddenly Mix
I agree. That's why I wrote about it!Michael Black on Why Tanzania And Portland, Maine Suddenly Mix
Over the last century, the art of western and southwest Africa has held the greatest cachet for collectors; the ethnological...Judith H. Dobrzynski on A Few Words About the Detroit Institute of Arts
I remember that -- I wrote the story announcing it for the New York Times in June 1998: http://www.nytimes.com/1998/06/03/arts/sara-lee-is-donating-impressionist-art-to-20-us-museums.htmlPeter Carzasty on A Few Words About the Detroit Institute of Arts
While a SVP at The Kreisberg Group, I had the pleasure of working on a project that involved the DIA....Laura on Why Tanzania And Portland, Maine Suddenly Mix
First, while the state of Maine is predominantly white, the city of Portland has quite a diverse population in its...