In one of the biggest auction gaffes I've ever seen, Andreas Rumbler, who last night conducted Christie's modestly successful Impressionist/Modern sale (enlivened by the record-breaking price for its stellar Manet), astonishingly declared that the second-highest estimated work, Léger's "Construction Workers with Tree" had sold when it hadn't---an error that was perpetuated in … [Read more...] about Rumbler Bumble: Christie’s $15.5-Million Léger “Sells” (but doesn’t)
Archives for 2014
Falling for “Spring”: Getty Buys $65.125-Million Manet at Christie’s UPDATED
At the end of this CultureGrrl Video, you heard Brooke Lampley, Christie’s Impressionist/Modern head, express her hope that Manet’s “Spring,” in a private collection since 1909, might “go to an institution.” It had been on loan to the National Gallery of Art for almost 21 years, until last May. Brooke wasn't just babbling. But it wasn't the National Gallery that hooked this … [Read more...] about Falling for “Spring”: Getty Buys $65.125-Million Manet at Christie’s UPDATED
Spinning the Big Fall Auctions: How Fresh is “Fresh to the Market”? (with video)
The silly season of major evening sales of Impressionist/Modern and Contemporary art is again upon us, when we turn back the clock and ramp up the hype. Euphemistically called "auctions," these tightly choreographed spectacles of conspicuous consumption, which reconvene this evening at Sotheby's and tomorrow night at Christie's, are increasingly pre-engineered, with much of the … [Read more...] about Spinning the Big Fall Auctions: How Fresh is “Fresh to the Market”? (with video)
Bad News: NY Times as Insert for Christie’s Advertising Section (plus: me at NYU)
I read a lot of the NY Times on my tablet these days, but I still subscribe to the print edition and somewhat sleepily pulled it out of its plastic bag late this morning---off to a slow start after having spent yesterday evening in an energetic give-and-take with a lively New York University class of aspiring visual arts administrators (almost all young women). Startled, I … [Read more...] about Bad News: NY Times as Insert for Christie’s Advertising Section (plus: me at NYU)
Jail Break: My Video Report on “Ai Weiwei on Alcatraz”
In my previous post about the extraordinary show organized by the San Francisco-based FOR-SITE Foundation---@Large: Ai Weiwei on Alcatraz---I wrote about the powerful, provocative and (to my mind) somewhat problematic aspects of this sprawling, seven-part installation. Taking the boat to The Rock, as hardcore criminals once did, visitors to Ai's temporary exhibition (to Apr. … [Read more...] about Jail Break: My Video Report on “Ai Weiwei on Alcatraz”
Detroit Detritus: Institute of Arts Responds to Cheap Shots Against Graham Beal’s Compensation
As reported this week by the Detroit News and Detroit Free Press, politicians are again seeking to score cheap points by positioning themselves as defenders taxpayers' interests in questioning the entirely reasonable compensation of Graham Beal, the Detroit Institute of Arts' esteemed long-time director. While this is not the first time this has happened (see here and here), … [Read more...] about Detroit Detritus: Institute of Arts Responds to Cheap Shots Against Graham Beal’s Compensation
“Don’t Retreat. Retweet”: My Twitter Tour of Ai Weiwei’s Installation at Alcatraz
With @Large: Ai Weiwei on Alcatraz, the dissident Chinese artist's installation (to Apr. 26) at the former high-security prison in San Francisco, Ai Weiwei has expanded his political activism to embrace dissidents throughout the world, including the U.S., whose National Parks Service is hosting the exhibition in partnership with the Golden Gates National Parks … [Read more...] about “Don’t Retreat. Retweet”: My Twitter Tour of Ai Weiwei’s Installation at Alcatraz
Photo Essay for My WSJ Article on MoMA’s Restoration of Matisse’s Glorious “Swimming Pool” UPDATED
A story about the conservation and installation of such a celebrated landmark in the history of modern and contemporary art as Matisse's "The Swimming Pool," 1952, needs to be a "show-and-tell." My article in today's Wall Street Journal---Trying to Turn Back Time---is the "tell" part, in which I describe … [Read more...] about Photo Essay for My WSJ Article on MoMA’s Restoration of Matisse’s Glorious “Swimming Pool” UPDATED
Poking Koch: Meet the Metropolitan Museum’s Vibrant New Plaza & Its Detractors (with videos)
There's been a persistent Twitter backlash over the last week against the Metropolitan Museum's latest capital project, featuring (among many others) two prominent NY Times critics expressing displeasure over the lively, engaging new urban space created by OLIN's just concluded redesign of the museum's entrance plaza and fountains. (As far as I can see, the Times has published … [Read more...] about Poking Koch: Meet the Metropolitan Museum’s Vibrant New Plaza & Its Detractors (with videos)
Guggenheim Helsinki Gets 1,715 Architectural Submissions (with no assurance it can proceed)
The Guggenheim's open architectural competition for its proposed Helsinki facility has attracted "the largest number of entries recorded for a competition of this kind," according to today's press release by the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation. Some 1,715 anonymous submissions from 77 countries were received, "according to voluntary data provided by 70 percent of competitors," … [Read more...] about Guggenheim Helsinki Gets 1,715 Architectural Submissions (with no assurance it can proceed)
Meet the Smithsonian’s Incoming Secretary: Jazz Flutist David Skorton (with video)
Near the end of Cornell University's Sesquicentennial Celebration this Saturday at New York's Jazz at Lincoln Center, my jaw dropped at the unexpected entrance of the host venue's celebrated artistic director, Wynton Marsalis (who had attended Juilliard, not Cornell). Taking the stage with his combo, he launched into a lively set. "David Skorton (Cornell's president and the … [Read more...] about Meet the Smithsonian’s Incoming Secretary: Jazz Flutist David Skorton (with video)
Art of 9/11: Remnants, Models, Memorial Tributes UPDATED
Every visitor to the 9/11 Memorial Museum brings his personal remembrances and unique sensibility to its viscerally powerful displays. While art is a peripheral player in that solemn space, the remnants of sculptures found at the site and the new works created in commemoration of the horrific event beckoned to me from the agonizing agglomeration of mangled metal and memento … [Read more...] about Art of 9/11: Remnants, Models, Memorial Tributes UPDATED
Capital Choice: Jessica Morgan Named to Direct Dia Art Foundation
In naming as its next director Jessica Morgan, now curator of international art (which includes U.S. art) at London's Tate Modern, the Dia Art Foundation picked a deeply experienced contemporary art curator to succeed Philippe Vergne (named last January to direct LA MOCA). Assuming her new post this January, Morgan is also artistic director of the current Gwangju Biennale in … [Read more...] about Capital Choice: Jessica Morgan Named to Direct Dia Art Foundation
Brooklyn Museum in Transition: The Arnold Lehman Years
The museum world and the Borough of Brooklyn have caught up with Arnold Lehman. The 17-year, 70-year-old director of the Brooklyn Museum, who has just announced he would retire in mid-2015, was a populist before it became fashionable, an early proponent of community engagement and crowdsourcing, an advocate of youth-attracting museum parties and, above all, a native Brooklyn … [Read more...] about Brooklyn Museum in Transition: The Arnold Lehman Years
“Bridgegate” Anniversary (with video): Fort Lee Mayor’s Candid Account of What Happened (plus latest on LG flap) UPDATED
With today's press conference in my hometown, marking the first anniversary of the infamous (still inadequately explained) George Washington Bridge lane closures, I thought I'd share my own video of a candid address delivered last May to borough residents by our mayor, a Fort Lee native, who was improbably thrust onto the national stage last September. Although he had … [Read more...] about “Bridgegate” Anniversary (with video): Fort Lee Mayor’s Candid Account of What Happened (plus latest on LG flap) UPDATED