Archives for 2008

Here's the account in today's Philadelphia Inquirer of yesterday's Anne d'Harnoncourt tribute. And here's the newspaper's online photo slideshow of the event. … [Read more...] about Philadelphia Inquirer Report on Yesterday’s d’Harnoncourt Tribute

The reattributed, renamed self-portrait, "Rembrandt Laughing" Okay, so I'm not a Rembrandt expert. Last October, I looked at the photo of the above painting and imprudently wrote: My gut reaction, from a lifetime of gazing at Rembrandts, is "not" [as in, "not a Rembrandt"] but I'm certainly no specialist. There's always that time-honored category for new … [Read more...] about “Rembrandt Laughing”…and So Is Its Anonymous Buyer

Today at 6 p.m. is the special program on the East Terrace of the Philadelphia Museum in tribute to its late, great director, Anne d'Harnoncourt. If her widower, Joe Rishel, who is listed on the program, does decide to speak (as stated in this Philadelphia Inquirer item), there had better be lots of tissues on hand. I'd be there, if I didn't have to leave here early tomorrow … [Read more...] about Anne d’Harnoncourt Day: A Reminder

Damien Hirst with "The Golden Calf"© Damien Hirst. Photo: Prudence CummingLess powerful, less high-profile artists might not get away with it, but Damien Hirst has just dealt a body blow to the gallery system. What's more, his New York and London galleries (Gagosian, White Cube) are going along with it, even to the extent of supplying supportive comments for Sotheby's press … [Read more...] about Hirst First: Bypassing Dealers with Direct-to-Sotheby’s Sale of New Work

Okay, all you newshounds who are clicking on CultureGrrl today because of this post on mediabistro's blog, UnBeige. I didn't (as suggested by Steve Delahoyde) "predict" that Maxwell Anderson, Michael Conforti or Timothy Potts WILL become the next director of the Metropolitan Museum. What I did say in Who Should Succeed Philippe at the Met? is that they are MY OWN picks of who … [Read more...] about Succession Obsession: Mediabistro Misconstrues CultureGrrl’s Met Picks

Arshile Gorky, "The Artist and His Mother," 1926-36, Whitney MuseumIt's a generous but highly unusual gesture---a masterpiece-for-a-day loan to the Diocese of the Armenian Church of America (Eastern), on the occasion of the 40th-anniversary celebration of St. Vartan Armenian Cathedral, New York. Tomorrow, the Whitney Museum's iconic Arshile Gorky painting, "The Artist and His … [Read more...] about Masterpiece-for-a-Day: The Whitney’s Speedy Loan of Timeless Gorky

Roman Sarcophagus representing a Dionysiac village festival, 290-300 A.D. J. Paul Getty Museum, Villa Collection, Malibu As I previously mentioned here, the Getty Museum's recent announcement that it had acquired a 3rd century A.D. Roman sarcophagus (above) reminded me of the shock I felt last February in perusing the two-year old reinstallation of the renovated Getty Villa … [Read more...] about Another Getty Antiquities Scandal: Villa’s Dumbed-Down Installation

In my June 4 post announcing the new antiquities acquisition rules promulgated by the Association of Art Museum Directors, I noted that it would be interesting to see whether the Metropolitan Museum changed its policies to conform with the new guidelines. Its director, Philippe de Montebello, had been an outspoken advocate of AAMD's previous "10-year rolling rule," which said … [Read more...] about Met Gives Up Its 10-Year Rolling Rule for Antiquities Acquisitions

Back row, left to right: Montgomery County Commissioners Joseph Hoeffel, James Matthews and Bruce Castor Jr.Montgomery County will not appeal Judge Stanley Ott's recent reaffirmation of his previous permission for the Barnes Foundation to move from Merion, PA, the county's communications director, John Corcoran, just informed me. And a spokesperson for the Friends of the … [Read more...] about News Flash: No Barnes Decision Appeal by Montgomery County UPDATED TWICE

Planned museum in Vilnius, LithuaniaPhoto: Zaha Hadid ArchitectsYesterday, in announcing that the planned Zaha Hadid-designed museum in Vilnius (above) had just gotten a green light from the Lithuanian government, many news organizations were reporting something similar to what the NY Times published, drawing upon a report from Agence France-Presse: The museum will build its … [Read more...] about Guggenheim in Vilnius? Maybe Not.

As promised in its new antiquities acquisition guidelines, the Association of Art Museum Directors has now created on its website what it calls an Object Registry. You need to read the description below the title to find out that this page has something to do with antiquities:The AAMD Object Registry provides access to all relevant information known about our members' … [Read more...] about AAMD’s New Antiquities Acquisitions Registry Now Online (but not the objects)

The Philadelphia Museum today announced that June 19 will be "A Day of Appreciation for Anne d'Harnoncourt," the museum's late director. The day will feature free museum admission, free Director's Delights audio tours (scroll down to the third on the list of "Art Tours"), and a 6 p.m. public gathering on the Museum's East Terrace for a tribute that will include a performance by … [Read more...] about More D’Harnoncourt Tributes: A Day of Appreciation; Official Memorial Service

Philippe will soon Exit. Who will hear the trustees say (above): "Welcome to the Met. Enter here"? My next post on this subject will probably be "Who WILL Succeed Philippe at the Met." But before that fateful choice is made, let me give the trustees my unsolicited and probably undesired opinion. I've been procrastinating on this post too long, but Kate Taylor, in … [Read more...] about Who Should Succeed Philippe at the Met? My Last Word (maybe)

Soutine catalogue raisonnée, co-authored by Klaus PerlsKlaus Perls, who died last week at the age of 96, was that rare art dealer whose knowledge of art and the art market was both scholarly and worldly. What's more, as I often had occasion to discover during my early days as an art-market reporter, he was generous, friendly and articulate in sharing all he knew. A former … [Read more...] about Perls of Wisdom: Nuggets from Late NYC Dealer Klaus Perls, 96

The results are now in:In its 8K-Report just filed with the SEC, Sotheby's reported that its operating income for the quarter ending June 30 with include "a non-recurring income statement benefit of approximately $18 million." That amount represents Sotheby's half-share of the value of unused antitrust settlement coupons (issued to compensate clients who were hurt by illegal … [Read more...] about Auction Houses’ $36-Million Antitrust Settlement Coupon Windfall