While we're all still coming to terms with the fact that a damaged 26" x 18" oil-on-walnut painted panel has just sold for $450.3 million, here's a potential scoop that is based on some data, intuition, circumstantial evidence and my attempt to get confirmation: I have reason to believe that Kenneth Griffin, the Chicago hedge fund mogul, may have bankrolled yesterday's … [Read more...] about Did Ken Griffin Buy the Leonardo (or provide $$$ for Art Institute of Chicago to acquire it)? UPDATED
Archives for 2017
“Ballsy Bidding”: My Live Tweets on Leonardo’s (& Christie’s) $450-Million Jesus Superstar
That surely wasn't the Getty or any other public (as opposed to single-collector) museum who plunked down a jaw-dropping $450-million after a dramatic 19-minute bidding war, the likes of which I've never seen, to acquire Leonardo da Vinci's damaged but still mesmerizing "Salvator Mundi." The bidding lurched from steady, small increments to vertiginous jumps, as the vying … [Read more...] about “Ballsy Bidding”: My Live Tweets on Leonardo’s (& Christie’s) $450-Million Jesus Superstar
Apparition’s Condition: Will a Museum Buy Leonardo da Vinci’s Unsettling “Salvator Mundi”?
"It belongs in a museum, with all the other Leonardos." So said conservator Dianne Dwyer Modestini at the end of a Wall Street Journal video posted early this morning, in connection with tonight's much-anticipated and highly hyped auction at Christie's of "Salvator Mundi." Here's Christ at Christie's, as seen by me at the Nov. 3 press preview: The WSJ's video of … [Read more...] about Apparition’s Condition: Will a Museum Buy Leonardo da Vinci’s Unsettling “Salvator Mundi”?
Strange Interlude: Al Jazeera Interviews Me About the Berkshire Museum (with video)
I was as surprised as you probably are that Al Jazeera, with its focus on international news (particularly as it relates to the Arab world), was interested in talking to me for a segment about the Berkshire Museum's deaccession controversy. But a camera crew journeyed to my New Jersey apartment to get my views for their broadcast that aired yesterday---"U.S. Judge Halts … [Read more...] about Strange Interlude: Al Jazeera Interviews Me About the Berkshire Museum (with video)
Berkshire Museum’s Deaccession Debacle: Reactions of the Protagonists & Antagonists
In their initial responses to last night's Massachusetts Appeals Court preliminary injunction, neither the Berkshire Museum nor Sotheby's has explicitly vowed to continue what could be a self-defeating legal fight in the museum's misguided attempt to sell works from its collection to bankroll purposes other than acquisitions and preservation of the collection. A wiser course … [Read more...] about Berkshire Museum’s Deaccession Debacle: Reactions of the Protagonists & Antagonists
News Flash: Massachusetts Appeals Court Delays Berkshire Museum Sales
Score one for Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey. The Massachusetts Appeals Court tonight granted the preliminary injunction that she had sought in order to delay the controversial sales at Sotheby's of works from the Berkshire Museum's collection. The series of auctions containing the deaccessioned works was to have begun Monday with an American art sale that was … [Read more...] about News Flash: Massachusetts Appeals Court Delays Berkshire Museum Sales
News Flash: Massachusetts Attorney General Files Appeals Court Motion to Enjoin Monday’s Berkshire Museum Sales
Major update here. Now it gets really interesting. The Massachusetts Attorney General's Office has just filed a motion for an injunction pending its appeal of the Superior Court decision to allow Berkshire Museum's art sales this Monday at Sotheby's. You can read the full Appeals Court filing here. The AGO says its investigation "is not yet complete, but cites "the … [Read more...] about News Flash: Massachusetts Attorney General Files Appeals Court Motion to Enjoin Monday’s Berkshire Museum Sales
Trusty Rusty: Powell to Retire from Longtime Gig at National Gallery
It's entirely in keeping with Rusty Powell's self-effacing nature that the National Gallery's homepage today is all about the art, with no hint of its big news: The museum's longest-serving director, who assumed that post in 1992, has announced his plans to retire in early 2019, when he'll be 75. As did Philippe de Montebello at the Metropolitan Museum, he's giving his … [Read more...] about Trusty Rusty: Powell to Retire from Longtime Gig at National Gallery
Macron Magic: My Live Tweets of Louvre Abu Dhabi’s Aborted Livestream of Opening Ceremonies
I wasn't invited to the Louvre Abu Dhabi's opening ceremonies today (no surprise), but I did get an emailed invitation to watch them livestreamed on the museum's Facebook page. Below is my tweeted account of that broadcast, which was abruptly interrupted without explanation, depriving us of what I assume were to have been speeches by the Louvre's director, Jean-Luc Martinez, … [Read more...] about Macron Magic: My Live Tweets of Louvre Abu Dhabi’s Aborted Livestream of Opening Ceremonies
“Tepid Investigation” by the AG: Judge Permits Berkshire Museum Sales
It seems that the Attorney General Office's intervention in the Berkshire Museum case was too little, too late in the view of Judge John Agostini of Berkshire County Superior Court. He ruled this afternoon (full text here) that the museum could proceed with its controversial planned art sales, notwithstanding the opposition of several plaintiffs and the Attorney General's … [Read more...] about “Tepid Investigation” by the AG: Judge Permits Berkshire Museum Sales
Berkshire Bombshells: Revelations in the Attorney General’s Berkshire Museum Brief
In consigning its collection's 40 highest-valued artworks to Sotheby's, the Berkshire Museum tried to pull a fast one. That's not gonna wash. In a nutshell, that's the position taken by the Massachusetts Attorney General in her brief filed Monday (full text here) and in arguments yesterday in Berkshire County Superior Court. She chided the museum for "notify[ing] the AGO of … [Read more...] about Berkshire Bombshells: Revelations in the Attorney General’s Berkshire Museum Brief
After Inconclusive Hearing, Attorney General Steps In as Possible Plaintiff in Berkshire Museum Case
After hearing more than two hours of arguments today (Wednesday) from two sets of lawyers for plaintiffs, as well as a response to the plaintiffs' motion by the Massachusetts Attorney General's Office, Judge John Agostini of Berkshire County Superior Court in Pittsfield reserved judgment on whether to grant requests for a temporary restraining order or preliminary injunction … [Read more...] about After Inconclusive Hearing, Attorney General Steps In as Possible Plaintiff in Berkshire Museum Case
Deaccession Obsession: AG Enters the Fray; Compendium of My Berkshire Museum Commentary UPDATED
As I reported Monday on my Twitter feed (while I was traveling and off-blog), the Massachusetts Attorney General has officially entered the fray in the legal battle over the Berkshire Museum's planned art sales. Now we're talking: @MassAGO seeks temp restraining order vs @BerkshireMuseum's planned art sales. Still reviewing https://t.co/UlOo3Ypy3E — Lee Rosenbaum … [Read more...] about Deaccession Obsession: AG Enters the Fray; Compendium of My Berkshire Museum Commentary UPDATED
Parsing the Arguments: Second Lawsuit and Reply Brief Filed Today on Berkshire Museum’s Art Sales
In the continuing saga of Berkshire Museum's planned art sales through Sotheby's, a second lawsuit and motion for an injunction (following close upon these) have today been filed by a new set of complainants in a different court. Both legal challenges, to my mind, fail a crucial test---the need to argue convincingly that the sales would violate explicitly stated donor … [Read more...] about Parsing the Arguments: Second Lawsuit and Reply Brief Filed Today on Berkshire Museum’s Art Sales
News Flash: Berkshire Museum’s Head on Medical Leave; 21 of 40 Consignments Pulled from Sotheby’s Auctions
There have been two major plot twists in the convoluted saga of the Berkshire Museum's highly controversial plans to sell 40 works from its collection at Sotheby's. This just in from the Berkshire Museum: The Berkshire Museum today announced that effective Oct. 31, 2017, museum operations will be led by Acting Co-Executive Directors Nina Garlington [the museum's chief … [Read more...] about News Flash: Berkshire Museum’s Head on Medical Leave; 21 of 40 Consignments Pulled from Sotheby’s Auctions