Museo Del Prado Experts Said Goya Painting Was Painted By His Assistant
Curators of the Museo del Prado briefed the media on new discoveries relating to "The Colossus", a painting traditionally attributed to Goya. Following a meeting of specialists held this week at the Museum, Gabrieli Finaldi, Associate Director of Conservation at the Museum, Manuela Mena, Chief Curator of 18th-century Painting and Goya, and José Luis Díez, Chief Curator of 19th-century Painting, gave details to the media of the current state of research on the painting. This follows the new association of the initials A.J. (at the lower left of the painting) with the Valencian painter Asensio Juliá, a friend and assistant of Francisco de Goya.
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Mayor Bloomberg And Public Art Fund Launch NYC Waterfalls
Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, First Deputy Mayor Patricia E. Harris, Public Art Fund President Susan K. Freedman, and artist Olafur Eliasson today launched The New York City Waterfalls, a major work of public art that will be on display through October 13. The exhibition of four man-made waterfalls of monumental scale are on view on the shores of the New York waterfront: one on the Brooklyn anchorage of the Brooklyn Bridge; one on the Brooklyn Piers, between Piers 4 and 5 near the Brooklyn Heights Promenade; one in Lower Manhattan at Pier 35 north of the Manhattan Bridge; and one on the north shore of Governors Island. The Waterfalls, which have been designed to protect water quality and aquatic life, will operate from 7am to 10pm daily, except Tuesdays and Thursdays, when they will run from 9am to 10pm. The Waterfalls will be lit after sunset.
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Dia Art Foundation Announces New Director
The Board of Trustees of Dia Art Foundation announced the appointment of Philippe Vergne as Dia’s new director. Mr. Vergne, currently deputy director and chief curator at the Walker Art Center, in Minneapolis, assumes his post on September 15, 2008. He succeeds Jeffrey Weiss, who left Dia in March of this year to resume his curatorial and scholarly career.
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Antony Gormley And Yinka Shonibare Chosen For Fourth Plinth
Antony Gormley and Yinka Shonibare, MBE were announced by the Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, as the winning artists of the next two commissions for the Fourth Plinth in Trafalgar Square. Antony Gormley’s proposal One and Other is that the Fourth Plinth is occupied for 100 consecutive days, 24 hours a day, by members of the public who have volunteered to stand on it for an hour at a time. Over this period it is estimated that 2,400 people would take part.
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Philadelphia Museum Of Art Announces Interim Leadership Appointments
Gerry Lenfest, Chairman of the Board of Trustees, Philadelphia Museum of Art, announced the board’s unanimous vote to appoint Chief Operating Officer Gail Harrity as the Museum’s Interim Chief Executive Officer, and Associate Director of Collections Alice Beamesderfer as Interim Head of Curatorial Affairs. These appointments, effective immediately, follow the unexpected death on June 1 of Anne d’Harnoncourt, The George D. Widener Director and Chief Executive Officer. A selection committee co-chaired by Trustees Martha Morris and Keith Sachs will be organized in the coming weeks to search for a permanent successor.
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Picasso Painting Sets New Australian Record in Deutscher-Menzies Auction
An abstract portrait by Spanish master, Pablo Picasso, was sold yesterday at a Sydney (Australia) auction for US$6.1M which set an Australian record for an artwork sold in the country. Picasso's painting was 1954 "Sylvette" depicts a ponytail and young face of model and later successful artist Sylvette David. Buyer was not identified yet.
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1,000 Pose Nude For New Spencer Tunick Photo Shoot
Internationally acclaimed contemporary artist Spencer Tunick took one of his famous nude photos this morning at the Cork Midsummer Festival. Around 1,000 people posed nude for a massive photo shoot amid the historical surroundings Blarney Castle in Cork, Ireland. The event is titled "Dare to Bare".
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£50M Boost For Redevelopment Of Glasgow School Of Art
The Scottish Funding Council and The Glasgow School of Art announced plans for the redevelopment of The Glasgow School of Art campus. The Funding Council is prepared to commit up to £50 million towards the first phase of the redevelopment. This will see the transformation of the site immediately opposite the iconic Mackintosh building which is currently undergoing an £8.6 million conservation and access project funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund.
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BBC DJ Chris Evans Loses Hirst Artwork
BBC Radio Two disc jockey, Chris Evans, admitted to have accidentally thrown away a Damien Hirst work while he was moving. The painting was placed in one of several boxes being sent to charity shops when the DJ got ready to move house. It is believed the print is at a charity shop in Cranleigh or Godalming, Surrey.
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Sotheby's To Offer Basquiat Artwork On Behalf Of U2
Sotheby's forthcoming Contemporary Art Evening Sale will be highlighted by Jean-Michel Basquiat’s early masterpiece, "Untitled (Pecho/Oreja)", 1982-83. The work will be offered on Tuesday, July 1st, 2008 and comes from the joint collection of Irish rock band U2. It is estimated at £4-6 million. The painting was first spotted by U2's bassist Adam Clayton at the Robert Miller Gallery in New York. The band acquired "Untitled" in 1989, and it has since resided in their Dublin studio.
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Two Picasso Prints Stolen From Museum In Brazil
Three thieves stole two Pablo Picasso prints and two Brazilian paintings from the Pinacoteca do Estado Museum in Sao Paulo. The Picasso prints are "The Painter and the Model" from 1963 and "Minotaur, Drinker and Women" from 1933. The two Brazilian works were "Women At The Window" (1926) by Di Cavalcanti, and "Couple" (1919) by Lasar Segall. The stolen artworks combined are worth US$657,000.
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Audit Reveals Serious Problems For Long Beach Museum Of Art
An audit of the non-profit foundation that runs the Long Beach Museum of Art has release that the previous administration of the museum spent US$1.5 million on operations such as the use of the foundation credit card for personal purposes, unauthorized pay advances, altered receipts and deposit slips. City Auditor Laura Doud released the 26 page audit from fiscal years 1996-2006.
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Police Recover Some Of Stolen Canadian Museum Art
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) have recovered some of the Bill Reid gold art stolen from the B.C.’s Museum Of Anthropology last month. More information will be released in the next couple of days as the investigation continues. The pieces were recovered after a Burnaby home was searched.
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Art Sale Success Thanks To Eric Clapton
Legendary blues guitarist Eric Clapton donated more than 20 paintings to an art sale held at the Chelsea Red Cross charity shop, which raised more than £4,000 on 5 June. Prestigious art galleries, art dealers and artists, including local artist Paul Richard, also donated artwork for the Red Cross sale at the Chelsea shop on Old Church Street, London.
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Richard Armstrong To Step Down As Director Of Carnegie Museum Of Art
Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh announced that Richard Armstrong, The Henry J. Heinz II Director of Carnegie Museum of Art, will retire from the museum at the end of the year. Armstrong came to Carnegie Museum of Art in 1992 to organize the 1995 Carnegie International as curator of contemporary art. He became chief curator in 1995 and was appointed director in 1996.
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Anselm Kiefer Awarded The 2008 Peace Prize Of The German Book Trade
The Board of Trustees of the Peace Prize of the German Book Trade has chosen German artist Anselm Kiefer to be the recipient of this year’s Peace Prize. The award ceremony will take place during the Frankfurt Book Fair on Sunday, October 19, 2008 in the Church of St. Paul in Frankfurt, Germany.
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Brad Pitt Bought Cinderella Table At Design Miami/Basel
American actor Brad Pitt visited the famous Design Miami/Basel fair in Switzerland and was interested for many pieces. He paid US$293,000 for a "Cinderella Table" by Dutch designer Jeroen Verhoeven at the booth of Carpenters Workshop Gallery. The table is a 4-foot-long hollow white marble rococo-style from an edition of six.
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Philadelphia Museum Of Art Director Anne d'Harnoncourt Dies
Anne d’Harnoncourt, Director and CEO of the Philadelphia Museum of Art, who led the institution with greatness and grace since 1982, died on June 1, 2008 at her home in Center City Philadelphia of cardiac arrest.
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French Fashion Designer, Yves Saint Laurent, Dies in Paris
French desginer, Yves Saint Laurent, died yesterday in Paris at the age of 71 years old. His death was announced in a statement from the Pierre Berge-Yves Saint Laurent Foundation. Pierre Berge, the designer's former business and personal partner, said Laurent had died at his home after a long illness. He did not give details. He was well-known for designs inspired by artists including Picasso and Mondrian.
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