Archives for 2010

Jeffrey Deitch onstage at the Guggenheim MuseumIn March, I mentioned that I had attended a public talk at the Guggenheim Museum by Jeffrey Deitch, LA MOCA's director-designate, after which I chatted with him and learned of his plans to continue selling art from his gallery's inventory, even after he assumes the directorship of the museum on June 1.What I haven't yet reported is … [Read more...] about Deitch Speaks! His Guggenheim Talk on Art, Pop Culture, MOCA and Gaga

At the end of my recent post on Third Party Guarantors and the "Tilted Playing Field", I misleadingly suggested that Christie's printed catalogues don't disclose the fact that third-party guarantors may bid on the works they guarantee and that they receive financing fees from Christie's, whether or not they are the winning bidders. (Sotheby's says [scroll down] that its … [Read more...] about Clarification on Third-Party Guarantees at Christie’s

Kaywin Feldman, president-designate of AAMDNo, that headline is not a Jeopardy question. It's a reprise of a previous CultureGrrl headline, published in September 2007, when Kaywin Feldman was named to succeed the better known William Griswold (now director at the Morgan Library & Museum) as director of the Minneapolis Institute of Arts. At that time I wrote that I had … [Read more...] about AAMD’s New President: Who is Kaywin Feldman?

Jeffrey DeitchIn the time leading up to assuming his new post at LA MOCA on June 1, New York dealer Jeffrey Deitch should have bent over backwards to dispel doubts about his fitness for the job, by sounding and acting like a museum director.Instead it appears that you can take Deitch out of his gallery, but you can't take the dealer out of Deitch.He recently allowed himself to … [Read more...] about In the Hopper: Jeffrey Deitch’s Plans for LA MOCA

Marc Porter, chairman of Christie's Americas While I was at Christie's covering the Crichton auction, I took advantage of my encounter at the postsale press conference with Marc Porter, the chairman of Christie's Americas, to get his response to this post about what I regard as a tilted, rather than level, playing field among bidders for certain lots at Christie's … [Read more...] about My Q&A with Christie’s Marc Porter on Third-Party Guarantors and the “Tilted Playing Field”

Ford Bell, president of the American Association of Museums, responds to New AAM Standards Defend Collections-at-Risk in University Museums:Many thanks for your piece about AAM's new guidelines for museums with parent organizations. I think it is an important step, given the turmoil we have seen in recent years. However, I want to stress that I had very little to do with these … [Read more...] about BlogBack: Ford Bell on AAM’s New Policy Defending University Museums

Ford Bell, president of the American Association of MuseumsWhen it comes to museum-governance issues of utmost importance, the American Association of Museums, under its proactive president, Ford Bell, doesn't merely issue suggested guidelines (the usual course taken by the more decorous Association of Art Museum Directors, with one notable exception).AAM shows it means … [Read more...] about New AAM Standards Defend Collections-at-Risk in University Museums

Laurie Norton Moffatt, executive director, Norman Rockwell MuseumWhile nosing around the Association of Art Museum Directors' website yesterday, I came upon this under-the-radar testimony by AAMD and the American Association of Museums to Congress in opposition to the ballyhooed Our Town initiative of Rocco Landesman, chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts.During a … [Read more...] about AAM, AAMD vs. Landesman’s “Our Town” Initiative (unless NEA funding increased) UPDATED

Museum of Qin Shihuang Terracotta Warriors and Horses, Xi'anI've been looking forward to traveling to China this October, but now I'm looking forward to it so much more!China Daily reports on an exciting new archaeological find in Xi'an, which, thanks to the famous (and much toured) terracotta warriors discovered there in the 1970s, is a city on every tourist's itinerary … [Read more...] about New Terracotta Warriors Discovered “in Rich Colors”!

Fright Night: Warhol's "Self Portrait," 1986, the top lot at Sotheby'sSotheby's turned in a solid performance at tonight's contemporary auction (which I watched from home, via live feed), with only three of the 53 works failing to find buyers. Bidders on the much touted red Rothko (displayed directly behind auctioneer Tobias Meyer during the entire course of the sale) were … [Read more...] about Violet Warhol Trumps Red Rothko at Sotheby’s Solid Contemporary Sale

Rothko, "Untitled," 1961, scheduled for auction tonight at Sotheby'sMark Rothko's 1961 untitled red abstraction, the highest-estimated lot in Sotheby's big contemporary sale tonight (at $18 million to $25 million), has suddenly become the subject of a lawsuit on the brink of the auction.Lindsay Pollock of Bloomberg reports:Marguerite Hoffman, a prominent Dallas art collector, … [Read more...] about Rothko Rumblings: Last-Minute Lawsuit by Prior Owner (not the consignor) of Sotheby’s Star Offering

Now you can! Here's a CultureGrrl audio podcast from the scene of the rapid-fire bidding on Jasper Johns' record-breaking "Flag" last night at Christie's (followed by the segue into the next lot, a Gursky priced in the hundred-thousands, not millions).Just click the left arrow: … [Read more...] about Wanna Hear Christopher Burge Auctioning the Johns “Flag”?

"The Three Graces," Roman, Imperial period, 2nd century A.D., copy of Greek work from 2nd century B.C., displayed in the Metropolitan Museum's Greek and Roman sculpture courtThe Metropolitan Museum months ago finalized a major antiquities acquisition, but you wouldn't know it from the museum's press announcements, nor from the marble sculpture's label in the … [Read more...] about “The Three Graces”: Metropolitan Museum’s Unannounced Acquisition UPDATED

Jasper Johns, "Flag," 1960-66, proudly hailed (and slightly blurry) at the postsale press conference at Christie's"Great night at Christie's tonight. Can't say more, but it was a thrill," tweeted Richard Rossello, managing director of Avery Galleries, Bryn Mawr, PA, at about 10:30 p.m. last night.The dealer, who does not include Jasper Johns in his inventory of pre-contemporary … [Read more...] about Michael Crichton’s Last Best Seller: An Auction House Page-Turner

Four devoted art-lings have now risen to the challenge. One particularly sympathetic patron has bestowed upon me the largest donation in CultureGrrl History! I'm starting to feel much less under-appreciated.My warm thanks to out to Repeat CultureGrrl Donors 127, 128 and 129 from Boston, Los Angeles and NYC; and new CultureGrrl Donor 130 from San Jose, CA.Who will be magic … [Read more...] about The CultureGrrl Challenge: An Update