Archives for December 2013

“There was a fair amount of turbulence in the beginning, with one lawsuit after another. He weathered all of that in a spirit of, I would say, extreme graciousness and never lost his cool.”

“The abrupt rise of Mr. de Blasio caught much of the city’s cultural establishment off guard and set off anxious speculation about what kind of artistic patron he might be as mayor — a question that took on particular urgency because the city budget is tight.”

“Ward maintained the curator’s presence in ‘Hide/Seek,’ defending the exhibition amid political controversy, while also, like the historian he is, seeking to understand why the controversy erupted as it did.”

“The suit claimed that Perls and his family held on to hundreds of Calder’s works, cheated the artist’s estate out of tens of millions of dollars over the course of three decades and sold fake Calder works.”

That is, by the artist himself.

“Critics did not interpret the animal’s grip on the man — its paws gently resting on the man’s hips — as a bear hug. Moreover, the man appears to be experiencing sensations other than fear: He has an erection.”

The painting “was bought for £400 by a priest in Nottingham, but experts say the restored 17th century portrait could be worth around £400,000.”

“The rising prices are proving prohibitive for some; Davis says that high prices for works by Rockwell and Parrish have made purchases by museums such as his more difficult.”