Real Clear Arts

Judith H. Dobrzynski on Culture

Getty: Back on The Acquisition Trail

Rembrandt_13It seems like only yesterday that I wrote here about a spectacular acquisition by the Getty Museum. But it was really in December: at the time, the Getty bought a illuminated manuscript,  Roman de Gillion de Trazegnies, by Lieven van Lathem (1430–1493), at Sotheby’s in London for nearly $6.2 million. It’s a true masterpiece, and — last I heard — the British government was holding up the export, calling it a national treasure. The Brits have some time now to raise money to match the price.

Today the Getty announced two additional purchases that are pretty spectacular — one, a Rembrandt, undoubtedly worth tens of millions of dollars. That would be a small oil-on-copper early self-portrait “dressed as a soldier, in deep violet and brown clothes and sporting a gleaming steel gorget. The young man leans back, smiles broadly and catches the viewer’s eye. His animated features are captured in this spontaneous moment of lively exchange with expressive, short brushstrokes,” according to the press release. It’s called Rembrandt Laughing, and was estimated at a few thousand dollars when up for sale at a country auction in Britain several years ago. Instead, it fetched millions and then was authenticated as a real Rembrandt. The Getty did not disclose what it paid for the piece.

canaletto_13The painting is already on view in LA, apparently in the same gallery that holds the Getty’s four other Rembrandt. (SEE CORRECTION IN COMMENTS.)

The Getty also said it had purchased a Canaletto titled The Grand Canal in Venice from Palazzo Flangini to Campo San Marcuola, its second Canaletto painting.

All of the details are here in the press release, and the Los Angeles Times has more back story here.

Photo Credits: Courtesy of the Getty 

 

Is This A Way To Run A Museum? What We Can Learn From Cincinnati

Yesterday I attended the American Federation of Arts’s panel titled “Art Museum Blockbusters: Myths, Facts, and Their Future.” But I don’t want to talk about blockbusters here, at least not today. I’m going to zero in on some comments made by one of the panelists, Aaron Betsky, director (for now) of the Cincinnati Art Museum (none of them are related to blockbusters, as the session wandered away from its original purpose at various times).

GWood-DaughtersI”m singling out Betsky not because of the recent news, or because of what he has done in the past, which I’ve both praised and panned here, but because he said a lot of interesting things yesterday that I’d like to share, comment on, and agree or disagree (with my thumb).

 

  • The Cincinnati Museum used to be free, except for special exhibitions — a not uncommon practice. But, Betsky said, no one went to the special exhibitions — in contrast with most museum patterns. So he made everything inside the museum free, and began to charge for parking ($4). Seems like a fine idea to me, without repercussions for the museum or art-viewing. Can other museums that charge for special exhibitions learn something? Thumbs up.
  • During lean times, Betsky slashed the exhibition budget by 50%, and asked curators to do shows costing about $200,000 or occasionally $300,000. He reasoned that “how you get people in the door” is by programming and social activity and so “that’s where you spend your money, not on the shows.” Take a look yourself at the results. Then notice that the list does not include “The Amazing American Circus Poster,” Feb. 26-July 10, 2011, or Wedded Perfection: Two Centuries of Wedding Gowns in 2010. I wonder why not. Thumbs down.
  • The Cincinnati Museum has what Betsky called Grant Wood’s second most important painting, Daughters of the Revolution (shown here). He recently called Douglas Druick, director of the Art Institute of Chicago, which owns Wood’s best painting, American Gothic, to propose a share. The two-painting exhibition (there may be additional, related material, I’m not sure) will go on view in both museums. How many times have I written here, and elsewhere, praising these small, focused shows? Thumbs up.
  • Betsky said the wall labels for an exhibition should not say “this is the most important artist” or “one of the most important artists” or usue whatever workings — he criticized MoMA, where the panel took place, and said the Cincinnati museum did it too. Why not? It’s not a museum’s place to make a judgment like that. He says museums can use words like “most influential,” which can be demonstrated. Glenn Lowry, MoMA’s director, strenuously objected, saying that museum should not have to remain neutral on an artist, and I agree, strongly. Betsky himself said that meta-studies show that the first reason people visit museums is to learn something. A museum can assert whatever it wants, and those who want to agree can agree, and those not, not. Either way, they are learning. They may even learn more if they disagree than if they agree. Thumbs down.

Interestingly, Betsky — I believe, from my notes, but will await the video from AFA — used the words “second most important” for that Grant Wood painting!

Photo Credit: Courtesy of the Cincinnati Art Museum

 

 

 

Does Cincinnati Art Museum Need A New Director?

Aaron Betsky took over as director of the Cincinnati Art Museum, its eighth, in 2006. Is he now headed out the door?

betsky_aaron_jan07Some people think so. Betsky was formerly director of the Netherlands Architecture Institute in Rotterdam, an important center for the architects, and now it seems that he is a finalist for the post of dean of the College of Architecture, Design and the Arts at the University of Illinois, Chicago. It’s a better fit, really. Betsky is a graduate of the Yale School of Architecture, and from afar architecture has always seemed his biggest interest.

A few more qualifications, according to the museum’s bio of him: “He has held the Eero Saarinen chair in architecture at the University of Michigan and has been a visiting professor at Columbia University, California College of Arts, School of Architecture in Houston, and Southern California Institute of Santa Monica. He is an honorary member of the British Institute of Architects (2004) and has won an award from the American Institute of Architects (2001). From 1985 to 1987, he worked with Frank O. Gehry Associates, Inc.”

The news of his possible departure was disclosed in yesterday’s Cincinnati Enquirer, which had this passage:

Reached today at Cincinnati Art Museum, Betsky said he didn’t want to comment, other than, “They contacted me about this possibility and it seemed interesting enough to speak to them. I still have a lot of work to do here.”

Sounds to me as if he wants the new post.

Photo Credit:

 

 

To Boston, With Love — From Tom Campbell

NortheasterGestures are important, and here’s one that deserves notice. Within hours of the bombing at the Boston Marathon last month, Thomas P. Campbell, director of the Metropolitan Museum,* reached out to Malcolm Rogers, director of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, offering his support and backing that up with the suggestion that the Met lend a few paintings to the MFA as a special show. As a result, the MFA will put the three — chosen by Campbell and Met curators — on display during its “community weekend” over the three-day Memorial Day celebration. They’ll remain on view there until July 7, nicely taking in the July 4th celebration as well.

LachrymaeIn a press release from the MFA, Campbell said:

The Met wanted to show support for its sister institution during this challenging moment for the people of Boston. Great museums are places of solace and inspiration, particularly when tragedy strikes a community. I hope the works of art we have lent will help the city’s recovery in some small way.

That’s class (and I appreciate the reference to solace and inspiration).

The works are Northeaster (1895) by Winslow Homer (above); Lachrymae (ca. 1894–95; completed by 1901) by Frederic, Lord Leighton (at right); and The Monet Family in Their Garden at Argenteuil (1874) by Edouard Manet. They got the nod, according to the MFA, because

The works reflect the range of sentiments experienced by Bostonians in recent weeks—from the turmoil brought on by the raging storm of events that began on April 15, to the sorrow felt by residents, to the promise of joy and better days to come. Messages to Boston from both Campbell and Rogers will accompany the paintings, which will be on view in the MFA’s Art of the Americas Wing in the Barbara and Theodore Alfond Gallery (2nd floor). The gallery also features works by Winslow Homer, including the MFA’s beloved painting, Boys in a Pasture (1874), as well as works by Thomas Eakins.

The MFA decided to be free from Saturday, May 25, through Monday, May 27, because of the tragedy. It is calling the event-filled weekend “Boston I Love,” and it also involves contributions — in the form of a quilt — from around the globe. Again, from the release:

In response to the tragedy in Boston, quilters from around the world have created hundreds of hand-sewn squares in tribute to the city, which will be presented in To Boston With Love. Each mini quilt delivers a message of peace and hope and is signed on the back by the artist, with his or her country. They were created by quilters in the US and around the world, including Canada, England, Ireland, France, Holland, Australia, Japan, Brazil, and Africa. The squares have ties at each end, enabling them to be linked together to form a chain of quilts that will be displayed in the MFA’s glass-enclosed Shapiro Family Courtyard. The project was a grass-roots effort conceived by Berene Campbell of Vancouver, Canada, and organized locally by Amy Friend of Newton. It was activated through social media using Flickr…

More in the press release, linked above.

MonetFamilyMFA is also planning to let visitors make their own pictures and add them to “an ever-expanding community collage at the MFA. Visitors will be able to contribute to The One Fund Boston at donation boxes located throughout the Museum.”

Certainly after 9/11, the Met was a place of solace, so it is wonderful that MFA is doing this. Kudos to all involved. It literally has brought tears to my eyes.

Photo Credits: Courtesy of the Met

* I consult to a foundation that support the Met

China’s Art Galleries — Including Foreign Ones — Are Suffering

The art market may be buoyant in the West this spring, especially at the auction houses (we’ll see more this week and next), but it’s still winter in Beijing’s art galleries.

Beijing is the center of China’s art market — of the 1,560 galleries in the country, 742 are in Beijing — according to a recent article in China Daily. The English-language newspaper, supported by the Chinese government, said that “fewer than 7 percent of the national total were able to make ends meet in 2012,” and attributed the comment to Cheng Xindong, director of the Art Gallery Association and founder of Xin Dong Cheng Gallery. Cheng, the article said, estimated that average sales for galleries in Beijing in 2012 declined 20 percent versus 2011 sales.

pacebeijing_1334306685_600Not that many closed,  however — they’re hoping for an upturn and hanging in there because, according to Meg Maggio, the founder and director of the Pekin Fine Arts gallery, the artists are there. Pace (right) in China feels the same way:

Pace Beijing, the China branch of the New York gallery, said it is still hopeful about Beijing as ittries to fulfill its original intention of “connecting to the local artists”.

“They are still the most creative breed in Chinese contemporary art circles. As long as they arehere, there will be art,” said Li Jia, director of Pace Beijing.

The article suggested that the biggest problem for the market is uncertainty about who’s up, who’s appreciated, and who’s not. But there are technical issues as well, such as a crackdown on tax evasion by art buyers, and structural issues:

“Working in China has become more difficult in recent years due to high import taxes and bureaucracy over the import and export of contemporary art,” said Urs Meile, founder and director of Galerie Urs Meile, a Swiss gallery with a branch in Beijing. “If Beijing is to have a chance to play a leading role among the competing art centers in Asia in the future, it is vitally important that those problems are solved and that the structures are improved.”

Given the past troubles Chinese artists have had with authorities — in 2010, you’ll remember, some Chinese artists were beaten by authorities and evicted from their studios — this update seems a bit encouraging. Though there’s no way to tell how truthful it is, perhaps artists there are persevering, come what may.