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World Art News at IrishArt.com

added: Sun, 16th October 2005 | 172 views | 0x in favourites
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Snippets of interest to lovers of Art - particularly Irish Art - sometimes the ridiculous, the obscure, the unusual or just stuff you might have missed. [Viewed: 148]

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Art Prices Rollercoster

The Scotsman reports that Gerhard Richter – the man dubbed Europe’s greatest living painter – has attacked the staggering prices that the international art market has notched up in the past decade. Even the price tags on his own paintings, which tipped £7 million earlier this year, he says are “too high”. The painter of giant, vibrant tableaux expresses scorn for the auction antics of celebrity artists such as Damien Hirst. “This has to do with these mad prices we have now, because we are losing our culture, when you see the auction catalogues full of bulls*** and hype,” he says. Aside from the very greatest Old Masters, Raphael or Leonardo, “paintings shouldn’t cost more than a million”. Asked if he thinks auction prices are now falling, he says, “I hope so.” A few days ago the Art Newspaper published figures on the astonishing growth in value of contemporary art sold at auction over the past few decades. From 1984 to the end of September 2008, average prices for the top quarter of art sales rose from $20,000 to $660,000 – up by 3,100 per cent. In the top 10 per cent, the average price grew from $43,000 to $2 million, a gain of nearly 4,400 per cent. After rising steadily from 2000, growth went wild in 2006. Richter, along with the art world’s critics and Cassandras, however, may finally be about to see their gloomy predictions realised. Over the past few months, as the credit crunch has made its impact felt, art dealers and auctioneers have clung to the hope that the art market may be one of the few sectors able ride out the recession. For a while, the see-sawing results seemed to bear them out. Each poor sale in New York or London that brought warnings of a downturn would be followed by one that saw stellar works break multimillion pound records. Serious jitters took hold at the end of last week, however, when auction houses struggled to find buyers for works from Manet and Renoir to Rothko. In New York, two private art collections expected to fetch more than $100 million (£63 million), brought in less than half that. The sale, at Christie’s auctioneers in Manhattan saw 17 out of 58 works failing to sell and others bringing much lower prices than predicted. Toulouse-Lautrec’s Portrait de Henri Nocq, estimated at $6-8 million, sold for $4.5 million. As the week progressed, one Picasso painting went for more than $20 million but two others remained unsold. “Obviously in the future we will have to lower estimates,” said Christie’s honorary chairman and auctioneer Christopher Burge, though he insisted “there is still a great deal of money left for the art market”. (For full source and full article click the Headline). Irish Art

Irish Art Thieves Took Taxi

Bungling Irish art thieves led Gardai to their door last weekend when they brought their loot home in a taxicab. Two men were apprehended at a residence in Kilmore following the theft of three paintings. It is believed that the thieves were easily located after they hired a taxi to ferry them, and two of the paintings home following the robbery. According to Gardai a plate glass window in Greenacres was smashed and paintings removed from the display. Gardai this week said that while investigations into the matter are 'not yet complete', they are 'not looking for anyone else in connection with the matter'. (For full source and full article click the Headline). Irish Art

Christies Art Sale Falters

Bloomberg reports that French billionaire Francois Pinault attended his company Christie's International's New York art auction of impressionist and modern art last night, and watched from a sky box as almost half the lots failed to sell. Buyers passed on 44 percent of the 82 pieces offered. Sales tallied $146.7 million, against the low estimate of $240.7 million. It's the week's third evening auction that missed estimates and a sign the global financial crisis continues to undermine demand for the most-expensive art. Works by Henri Matisse, Claude Monet and Alexander Archipenko found little or no interest. Collectors felt no urgency to vie for anything less than stellar, especially at prices that seemed suddenly steep, dealers said. A disappointing sale the previous night at Christie's set the stage for last night's low expectations. On Nov. 5, art works of Park Avenue widow Rita Hillman and real estate heiress Alice Lawrence fetched $47 million, less than half the low estimate of $103 million. On Nov. 3, Sotheby's impressionist sale tallied $223.8 million, a third below the $338 million low estimate. The evening's biggest prize was Gris's green 1915 cubist still-life, "Livre, pipe et verres," estimated to sell for more than $12.5 million. New York private art dealer Franck Giraud bought it for $20.8 million. (For full source and full article click the Headline). Irish Art

Barnsley, Art & The Beatles

As the Star reports, contemporary art galleries don't open in Barnsley every day. And when the Hive Art Gallery was launched at Elsecar Heritage Centre earlier this year there were a few people questioning whether it would work. Now an exhibition featuring the art of Sir Peter Blake, who created the famous Sgt Pepper's Hearts Club Band Beatles album sleeve, is proof that it does. Other work featured at the exhibition includes art created by Iain Nicholls who has created a visual exploration of the route of the River Dearne from its source at Birds Edge in the Pennines to Darfield. Gallery curator Patrick Murphy says the exhibition is going well. He said: "People commented that we were mad opening a contemporary art gallery in Barnsley, and that people wouldn't be interested. "We have found the opposite to be true. "There is clearly an eager audience for contemporary visual art." (For full source and full article click the Headline). Irish Art

Titanic Artist New Belfast Art Show

Jim McDonald Solo - East Belfast Memories Exhibition Jim McDonald has painted in Canada, England, and Ireland. A three year period in Kildare saw his love of horses produce racing scenes still sought by many enthusiasts of the sport. He worked in the Delorean factory as illustrator before painting full time. In Canada, McDonald was commissioned to paint a portrait of The Governor General of Canada. This led to portraits of other well known personalities. McDonald's paintings have always been popular, from early watercolours and pastels to bold and colourful oils of today. Notable influences are McAuley, Conor, Yeats and Turner - but he is constantly experimenting, and his current project displays a trend towards even more colourful and fascinating subjects which are very collectable. Last year, the Royal Mail published two "Titanic" stamps using McDonald's images. These new works on East Belfast Memories are highly evocative of a long-gone period in Belfast and seem certain to give McDonald his second sell-out show in a row. Jim McDonald Solo - East Belfast Memories Vans Fine Art - Belfast - 13th Nov - 27th Nov 2008 135 Bloomfield Avenue, Belfast Tel: +44 (0)28 90454131 (For full source and full article click the Headline). Irish Art

Art, Blood and Lipstick

The Telegraph reports on Kate Moss's self-portrait 'Who needs blood when you've got lipstick?'. Painted in 2005-2006, it is a self-portrait in lipstick marked with her own lip prints and stains of her former boyfriend Pete Doherty's blood. Estimated to fetch between £30,000 and £40,000, the painting is not signed, but is inscribed by Doherty "Who needs blood when you've got lipstick?", and comes with a receipt of sale made out on a Soho House napkin from Doherty, who originally owned the painting. Also for sale is a self-portrait print by Doherty, "Look what they have done to the boy", which is signed in blood and estimated at £8,000 to £10,000. Robin Barton of the Bankrobber art gallery in west London, who published the Doherty print, remembers supplying the canvas for Moss. "It was just a cheap canvas from Portobello Road that cost about £15. I don't know of any other paintings she did." (For full source and full article click the Headline). Irish Art

Toilet Art Pulls Crowds

Reuters reports that a public toilet in Munich which has been transformed into an art museum has attracted hundreds of people in the first days after opening. Built in 1894, the toilet house was originally constructed to serve nearby households which lacked necessary facilities. After being in use for over a hundred years, the toilets were locked up in 1992 because they were very rarely used. "On the night we opened, around 800 people came to see our work," initiator of the museum project, Mathias Koehler told Reuters. He said that a toilet was a great place for artistic expression because art is a form of relief in the same way that going to the toilet is. The art exhibited is mainly graffiti often with a political theme. Examples include images of Barack Obama and German Chancellor Angela Merkel flanking a urinal in the corner of the room. Four artists contributed their work to the exhibition. Although the 70-square meter museum is only temporary, Koehler said he could not rule out making it permanent if public interest remains high. (For full source and full article click the Headline). Irish Art

Bill Cullen to Open Dublin Viscardi Art Show

It is always an unmissable event when an important artist like Claudio Viscardi shows new work - his multi-layered compositions of infinite depth combine complexity with a rare poetic quality. Viscardi is a dual Irish-Swiss citizen living in the Beara peninsula in SW Ireland using natural, rare pigment such as lapis lazuli, malachite, rock crystal and ground marble to create in his very individual style. This new exhibition explores imaginary landscapes intermingled with the moods of the Beara Peninsula and those of New York and Venice. Re-occurring themes of night and day are further explored, deepening Viscardi's fascination with night landscape - evolving day into night. Viscardi himself comments: "My technique of the semi fresco and the continued research with historical and natural pigments, has brought me to allow the sea and skies to move on the canvas and capture the light, moods and realism of the landscape." Viscardi is internationally collected and seriously investable. A downloadable PDF of the full catalogue can be found at IrishArt.com http://www.IrishArt.com (Click - "View the Catalogue" under the Gormley front page article). Bill Cullen opens the PRIVATE VIEW: 6.30-8.00pm Thursday 6th of November Wine Gormleys Fine Art - Dublin - 6th Nov - 20th Nov 2008 24 South Frederick St, Dublin 2 Tel: +353 (0) 1 6729031 (For full source and full article click the Headline). Irish Art

Nazi Looted Art Story

After 10 years of detective work, the Minneapolis Institute of Arts has concluded that a $2.8 million painting it has owned for decades was stolen by the Nazis. The museum has returned the 1911 painting, Fernand Leger's "Smoke Over Rooftops," to the French heirs of a Jewish art collector who died in 1948. The institute's saga began in 1997 when the museum received a letter claiming that the painting had been taken from Alphonse Kann, a legendary French art collector who owned "tons of Picassos, Braques and late-19th-century Impressionist paintings." His story helped inspire a 1964 movie, "The Train," starring Burt Lancaster, about a trainload of art that the Germans tried to spirit away before the Allies liberated Paris in 1944. Much of Kann's art was returned to him after World War II, but not the Leger. That painting was bequeathed to the museum in 1961 by a Minneapolis businessman who bought it from the Buchholz Art Gallery in New York in 1951. No one questioned the picture's history. Nazi-era archives were sealed in France and inaccessible in Soviet-controlled Eastern Europe. Responding to the claim took years because the museum had to establish if it was legitimate. Was this Leger the same one Kann had owned? ("Smoke Over Rooftops" was a theme Leger painted at least six times.) If so, what had happened to the picture between 1939, when Kann fled Paris on the eve of war, and 1949 when a New York art dealer bought it from a French gallery? Did Kann sell it freely, or did the Nazis confiscate it? "Many of the people who could tell stories and remember what happened were gone," Not until the Soviet Union dissolved in 1991 did people began to grapple seriously with the fallout of the Nazi practice of confiscating art from Jewish collectors or forcing them to sell it under unconscionable circumstances. At that point museums realized they had to "do the right thing," which often meant returning the art to heirs, even if the art had been acquired innocently. Resolution of the Leger painting's fate required a French lawsuit and years of painstaking scrutiny of Nazi-era documents, gallery and auction records in four countries. The research established that, after Kann fled to London, the Nazis confiscated the bulk of his collection and in 1940 moved it to the Jeu de Paume, a museum in central Paris, where it was inventoried and stayed during most of the war. The art collection was so extensive that the Nazis' list ran to 60 typed pages. The Leger painting, however, remained in Kann's house until Nov. 5, 1942, when France's German-controlled government auctioned the house's contents. A Paris art dealer, Galerie Leiris, bought the Leger at that auction and subsequently sold it to Buchholz Gallery. Leiris was essentially a front for a prominent German-Jewish art dealer, Daniel-Henry Kahnweiler, who had transferred title to his business to his French Catholic sister-in-law, Louise Leiris, when the Nazis moved in and threatened to confiscate his company. Buchholz Gallery was established in the 1930s by Curt Valentin, a protege of a Berlin art dealer, Karl Buchholz, who was one of four German art dealers whom the Nazis allowed to sell the modern art they confiscated from museums and private collectors. While Valentin has not been implicated in the Nazis' nefarious deeds, his role in the transfer of modern art out of Europe is ambiguous at best. Making matters more difficult, the current owners of Galerie Leiris refused to open its archives until forced to do so by a 2001 lawsuit in a different case. Settling such claims is expensive. The Minneapolis museum hired art scholars in Paris and London, corresponded with bureaucrats in Germany and studied archives in New York, Los Angeles and Washington. What will happen to the Leger painting now is unclear. No one from the French collector's family could be reached for comment. Initially the museum hoped Kann's heirs would lend or give it to the museum but that proved impossible. Asked if the institute would try to buy it back if the Leger were to be offered at auction, the museum made clear they had "..two other very nice Leger paintings in the art collection."

Vettriano's No To Monty Art

The Scotsman reports that although Jack Vettriano is one of the world's best-selling painters as yet he has been shunned by the Scottish art establishment. His best known painting, The Singing Butler, sold at art auction for £744,000 and is one of the most reproduced paintings of modern times, but none of his works has ever been acquired by Scotland's national galleries. Now, the Fife-born former miner has revived his long-running feud with the National Galleries of Scotland claiming he was finally asked to paint a portrait for its art collection – only to turn the opportunity down because he did not like the proposed subject matter -golfer Colin Montgomerie. Vettriano told an audience at a charity event on Monday how his dealer had revealed an approach from the galleries, which have none of the artist's works in their collections. He said: "I was in France when I got a call from my art dealer, who said there might have been a breakthrough. 'The national galleries would like you to do a portrait'. I said, 'Who?'. 'Colin Montgomerie'. "I said, 'I'm afraid that the answer is no, I don't do men with breasts, and I don't mean that as unkind to Colin Montgomerie". Later in the evening at an Audience with Jack Vettriano, the artist was asked if he would ever paint a man as anything other than a prop for women. He replied: "I have to paint a face I like. Have you seen Colin Montgomerie's face recently?" However, gallery chiefs denied knowledge of any approach being made and insisted the National Galleries of Scotland had not commissioned a portrait of the golfer. A go-between, believed to be trying to break the impasse between the NGS and Vettriano, is thought to have suggested the idea to gallery officials. The Scottish National Portrait Gallery last night insisted it had not instigated the approach and that the idea of a commission had not been formally discussed or approved. Last year, the then director of the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art described the artist's work as "lifeless". (For full source and full article click the Headline). Irish Art

Middleton - $71,500 At Art Auction

An original oil painting by the renowned Irish artist Colin Middleton (1910-1983), titled Teresa and executed in 1947, sold for $71,500 at a multi-estate sale by Richard D. Hatch & Associates. Middleton was probably the most eclectic Irish painter of the 20th century, moving easily between Cubist, Surrealist and Expressionistic styles. He was self-taught and prolific, producing hundreds of works in the 1930s alone. At a Hatch auction held last year, two of Middleton’s works sold for $70,000 each. Teresa was expected to fetch about $50,000, but bidding was lively and competitive. ‘Considering the current state of the economy, compounded by a local gas shortage, this sale was nothing short of amazing,’ said Richard D. Hatch. ‘The turnout was wonderful. A pencil drawing by Louis Le Brocquy (Irish, b. 1916), titled Tinker Man (1946), soared to $38,500; and an original oil painting by Irish artist Neville Johnson titled Family that seemed a good buy for $5,500. At a sale of Irish art held recently by Sotheby’s, three watercolors by Le Brocquy finished in the top ten. (For full source and full article click the Headline). Irish Art

CBC News And Art Market

CBC News reports that as many people anxiously eye the daily rise and fall of stock markets around the world, some experts are advising they look into alternative investments like fine art. The art market has a life of its own, and "prices have gone up tremendously in the past five years," Montreal curator Paul Maréchal told CBC News. Not only are high-profile works by masters such as Pablo Picasso or Claude Monet fetching record prices, the markets for contemporary art and for emerging artists are also seeing a boom. In an economic downturn, savvy investors can find deals by snapping up affordable paintings, prints and drawings for sale later, Maréchal said. "There will be less competition in the sales rooms and at galleries and so on, and so forth. If you are fortunate to have some money, it's a blessed time to buy art, definitely," he said. Outside of art, other investment alternatives include real estate and wine futures. However, caution must still be taken with these markets, said Jeremy Tabarrok, an investment executive with ScotiaMcLeod. "Just as with the stock market, wise investing through art [means] leaning on experts in the galleries, experts in the field. You can actually bring a profit with it as well." (For full source and full article click the Headline). Irish Art

More Art Buyers Than Expected

The Economist reports that FTSE 100 index has fallen 30%, the Dow 40%. The interbank market is virtually frozen and Goldman Sachs is one of many firms that is defenestrating bankers by the bushel. That is the news from October alone, which goes some way towards explaining why, as the season opened for the autumn auctions of contemporary art, pundits were predicting a bloodbath. There were bad moments, it is true. Phillips de Pury, which had to be bailed out by a Russian luxury-goods group, Mercury, over the summer, fared worst of all, buying in 31 of the 70 lots on offer at its art sale on October 18th. Richard Hamilton’s circular “Epiphany”, which a Sotheby’s marketeer thought to have reproduced as a badge for guests to wear at the launch party for its autumn sale and which featured on the contents page of the art auction catalogue, also failed to find a buyer on October 17th. So did works by Howard Hodgkin, Anish Kapoor and Cindy Sherman. Bidders, together with art-market observers, will be turning to New York next for the Impressionist and Modern sale on November 6th. If it is true that only rare and beautiful work will do well in recessionary times, the picture to look out for is Lot 58, “Deux Personnages (Marie-Thérèse et sa Soeur Lisant)”. Two figures stand at an open window reading from the same book. Such is the radiance and light-heartedness of this creation that you can almost smell the lemony light of early morning that is shining into the room. Owned since 1984 by a private European art collector, “Deux Personnages” has rarely changed hands or been exhibited in public. The painting easily outshone the others hanging around it when it was put on display in Christie’s newly decorated main hall in London earlier this month. It is not the artist’s most obvious work, and many viewers will have looked with some surprise at the signature in the top left-hand corner of the frame. It belongs to Pablo Picasso. The estimate in the catalogue is $18m-25m, but if the consignors are willing to lower their reserve, you might just pick up a bargain. (For full source and full article click the Headline). Irish Art

Stolen Chinese Art Row

Chinese officials have voiced anger over the planned sale of two national treasures in an auction of art amassed by the late French fashion designer Yves Saint Laurent. The two animal sculptures that once decorated the Old Summer Palace in Beijing were stolen in 1860, when French and British troops destroyed the famous complex. China's repeated requests for the two art pieces to be returned have so far been rejected. The sculptures are expected to fetch some 10 million euros each, a price China rejects as unacceptable. The art auction will be held in February. (For full source and full article click the Headline). Irish Art

Art Market Stays Steady

The years-long frenzy to buy contemporary art appears to be coming to an end as the crunch bites, but the art market held steady in Paris this week when top gallery owners gathered for the FIAC art fair. Shrugging off falls on London's once juicy market and a slowdown at its Frieze Art Fair, dealers reported it was basically business as usual yesterday at the yearly four-day gathering of 189 leading world art galleries, closing at the weekend. "Crisis, what crisis?" said French art gallery owner Yvon Lambert. Deals, however, "are perhaps taking a little longer to clinch," he added. "Some buyers are thinking harder. Before you'd get impulse buying, now people are really talking art." Many gallery owners agreed, with New York's Lachner saying that "people are focusing more on essentials, on building an art collection." Staged inside the lacy metal-worked Grand Palais, as well as the Louvre museum, the fair showcases works by top contemporary artists such as Mitchell, Louise Bourgeois, Bridget Riley or Marc Quinn as well as moderns like Picasso, Picabia or Calder. Works on sale by Britain's Quinn — famed for a 2006 sculpture of Kate Moss in yoga position and another this year of the model in solid gold-sold like hot cakes at well over 100,000 euros a shot."Great works sell whatever the times," said Hopkins-Custot gallery. (For full source and full article click the Headline). Irish Art

Banksy Art To be Cleaned Off

The 7m tall art work, painted in giant white letters on a concrete wall in April, was intended as a criticism of Britain's Big Brother culture and specifically the prevalence of CCTV cameras. "One Nation Under CCTV", it screams, from a wall on which a CCTV camera is also mounted. A child figure perched in a letter appears to be painting the message on the wall, which overlooks a post office yard in Oxford Circus. The art work, Banksy's biggest in London, was painted under the cover of darkness after the artist managed to erect three storeys of scaffolding behind a security fence, despite being watched by the CCTV camera. But Westminster Council says the work will be painted over, The Times reported today. The council says it will remove any graffiti, regardless of the reputation of its creator. Banksy has no more right to paint graffiti than a child, the council says. "If we condone this then we might as well say that any kid with a spray can is producing art," Robert Davis, the chairman of Westminster's planning committee, told The Times. "To go and deface other peoples property is graffiti. Just because he's famous doesn't give him that right." Banksy started out as a street artist, but his work is now coveted by celebrities and has earned him a lot of money. In February, his Andy Warhol-inspired screen print of supermodel Kate Moss sold for £96,000 ($210,550) at a street art auction in London. And a wall he had painted sold for £208,100 ($453,700). Banksy's work has been bought by actress Angelina Jolie and singer Christina Aguilera. (For full source and full article click the Headline). Irish Art

Christie's To Sell Top Art

ArtDaily.org reports that on November 6, Christie's New York Fall Impressionist and Modern Art Evening Sale will follow the November 5 art sale of The Modern Age, enticing the international collecting community with exceptional pictures and sculptures from seminal masters. Primarily from a number of private collections and many never seen before at market, the sale of 85 lots is expected to realize in excess of $250 million, with leading artists including Pablo Picasso, Wassily Kandinsky, Alberto Giacometti, Henri Matisse, Juan Gris and Gustav Caillebotte. The sale will be led by Pablo Picasso’s outstanding Deux personnages (Marie-Thérèse et sa soeur lisant), 1934, (estimate: $18-25 million). Making its first appearance at auction, this important painting is Picasso’s culminating work in a series of six paintings portraying Picasso’s mistress, Marie-Thérèse Walter, and her sister together reading a book in front of an open window. Deux personages shows Picasso in a surrealist idiom informed by the sinuous lines, biomorphic elements and springtime colors associated with Marie-Thérèse. She helped inspire and rejuvenate Picasso and brought a youthful and passionate quality to the portrait. The sale’s cover lot, also never seen at auction, is an extremely rare and gloriously strident Expressionist masterpiece by Wassily Kandinsky, Studie zu Improvisation 3, 1909 (estimate: $15-20 million). Infused with mysticism, it offers Kandinsky’s distinct version of painterly modernism. Kandinsky’s inspiration for the Improvisation series stemmed from the discovery of the idyllic village of Murnau, a town south of Munich. Following the spectacular prices achieved for Alberto Giacometti over recent seasons including the world auction record set in May for Grande femme debout II realizing $27,481,000 at Christie's New York, another fine example from the master’s prime Post-War period, Trois Hommes qui marchent I, will be offered (estimate: $14-18 million). Conceived in 1948 and cast in 1950, the three male figures express one of the central themes of the artist’s work during this period: the memories of marching soldiers or harried refugees he saw in wartime newsreels. Another early leading art work is Juan Gris’s symphonic Livre, pipe et verre, 1915 (estimate: $12.5-18.5 million), steeped in Picasso’s influence but also representative of the younger artist’s distinctive voice. The painting showcases Gris’s exploration of contrasting objects by highlighting them in white against a dark tonality resembling a photographic negative. Furthermore, he experimented with the layering of planes and started working with rich and varied colors, giving up on the limited tonalities of his earlier collages. Livre, verre et pipe is a prime example, showing why Gris is often referred to as Cubism’s most exquisite colorist. The art auction also features Nu au feuillage vert, fond noir, 1936, painted by Henri Matisse (estimate: $12-18 million). “I do Odalisques in order to do nudes,” Matisse declared in 1929. The painting portrays a nude Lydia Delectorskaya, his young Russian-born assistant and muse. Throughout the week, Matisse dictated to Lydia some notes, which she carefully recorded and photographed the painting once each day. These invaluable photographs document the crucial moments when Matisse was taking decisive steps that would bring the picture to its conclusion. It is a rare event to have the opportunity to witness the conception and progression of this important modern painting. Gustave Caillebotte’s Le pont d’Argenteuil, et la Seine, 1883, (estimate: $8-12 million) is anything but traditional. Rather than depicting the entire structure from a distance, Caillebotte drew in close to the Argenteuil road bridge, concentrating on a single span, which slices across the canvas at a slight angle. Le pont d’Argenteuil, et la Seine reflects the artist’s interest in the landscapes and views of Argenteuil and Caillebotte’s characteric use of intense range of blues. The sale will also feature a strong group of eight sculptures by Henry Moore. Other highlights of the Evening Sale are Paul Cézanne’s Le pont et le barrage à Pontoise (estimate: $7-10 million), a beautiful landscape that hallmarks Cézanne’s mature work; Claude Monet’s Vétheuil au soleil (estimate: $5.5-7 million), a sun-filled painting that embraces nature; and Henri Matisse’s Deux masques (La tomate) (estimate: $5-7 million), a collage on paper making its first appearance at art auction. (For full source and full article click the Headline). Irish Art

Irish Landscape Art For Belfast

‘Contemporary Irish Landscapes’ is a 3 person show sponsored by IrishArt.com celebrating the uniqueness of the Irish landscape, particularly in the North West corner of Donegal and Ulster. Ian Gordon, Pat Irwin and Hugh McIlfatrick interpret the landscape in their own unique ways through vibrant colour and light. Ian Gordon studied at Wimbledon School of Art, before moving to an abandoned farm in Donegal where he worked on conceptual art burying embroidery in beautiful places. Eventually he returned to more traditional painting through which he felt he could achieve the same aims and exhibits widely in Ireland and Europe. McIlfatrick is self taught and left his teaching career to become a full time painter drawing inspiration from the Donegal area. He has been involved in many exhibitions and was runner up in the Bass Irish Arts Award. Pat Irwin is also self taught and works in Limavady, a short distance from the northwest coast and its local scenery is a principal subject for nearly all of his paintings. Irish Landscapes | Gordon | Irwin | McIlfatrick | Square Space Gallery - Belfast - Oct 30th - Nov 28th 2008 34 Shaftesbury Square, Belfast Tel ; +44 (0) 2890 200850 http://www.sqspace.com (For full source and full article click the Headline). Irish Art

Australian Art Master Dies

One of Australia's foremost painters, Sydney-born surrealist James Gleeson, has died in the New South Wales capital at the age of 92. Gleeson, who was born in Sydney, has had his art work exhibited for the past 70 years. Works by Gleeson were donated to the National Art Gallery of Australia in September 2007 as part of one of the largest collections of Australian surrealism art ever collected. His works have been featured at the Art Gallery of NSW, the National Gallery of Victoria and the National Gallery of Australia in Canberra. Gleeson, who lived in Sydney, wrote several books, including one on the work of Australian sculptor and painter William Dobell. He used the human form less and less in his later works. (For full source and full article click the Headline). Irish Art

Money & The Art Market

Yahoo News reports that the mood was frosty at London's Frieze Art Fair. Bidders were sparse at Christie's and Sotheby's. Even Andy Warhol's multicolored skulls failed to lift the art world's gloom. A week of slowing sales and sagging prices suggests the global financial meltdown has finally ended the art-market boom that saw paintings and sculptures become must-have commodities for the world's elite. At Sotheby's and Christie's — where price records have tumbled regularly in recent years — the major autumn auctions of contemporary art generated at least a third less money than predicted, with many works going unsold. "A lot of the froth and hype has gone from the contemporary market," Melanie Girlis, art market editor of The Art Newspaper in London, said Monday. Art world observers have been predicting a crash since the U.S. subprime mortgage crisis began rippling around the world. Many of the buyers driving the art world sales frenzy were hedge fund and private equity millionaires — among the first to suffer as the credit crunch took hold. But prices stayed high, thanks in part to Russian and Middle Eastern buyers who were insulated from the worst of the economic woes. In May, Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich bought two paintings by Francis Bacon and Lucian Freud for a total of $120 million. Last month, a Sotheby's auction of works by Britart star Damien Hirst defied market jitters by generating almost $200 million. (For full source and full article click the Headline). Irish Art

Art - Freud painting of Bacon

The BBC reports that a rare portrait of the artist Francis Bacon, painted by his contemporary Lucien Freud, is to be sold at auction at Christie's in London. The unfinished picture, which is expected to fetch between £4m and £7m, sprang from the friendship between two of the 20th century's greatest talents. Bacon died in 1992, but Freud is still working at the age of 85. The only completed painting of Bacon by Freud was stolen from a gallery in Berlin in 1988 and never recovered. The BBC's Lawrence Pollard said Bacon was already regarded as a master painter before his death and most critics would rank him as one of the most important artists of the late 20th Century. Those same critics would also agree that Freud is the pre-eminent living painter of our age, our correspondent added. The two men met shortly after the Second World War and were both figurative painters. The auction is to be held at a Post War and Contemporary Art Evening Sale on Sunday.

Hirst Art tops £110 million

A two-day sale of art work by Damien Hirst has set a new record for an auction dedicated to one artist of £111 million, Sotheby's said. Sotheby's said the previous art record set in 1993 for 88 works by Picasso had stood at 20 million US dollars. Hirst, 43, who is criticised by some for using an army of assistants to help him create his art, has called the auction a "mini retrospective" and "probably the most amazing show I've put on". He is selling more than 220 new works directly through the auction, saving millions by cutting out dealers' commission. He said: "I think the art market is bigger than anyone knows. "I love art and this proves I'm not alone and the future looks great for everyone." The auction saw a foal in formaldehyde inside a steel and glass tank entitled The Dream sold for £2.3million with a butterfly work of art called Reincarnated, selling for £1.6million, well in excess of an upper estimate of £700,000. The Golden Calf sold for £10.3million, the highest price ever paid for a Hirst at auction. The Kingdom, a tiger shark in formaldehyde - went for more than £9.5million, far higher than the auction house's estimate for between £4million and £6million. (For full source and full article click the Headline). Irish Art

RUA 127th Annual Art Exhibition

The historic Titanic Drawing Offices of Harland & Wolff hosts the RUA's choice of 530 works of leading and emerging local and international artists for its 127th Annual Irish Art Exhibition, RUA President Rita Duffy: “This venue has been transformed into a major gallery - this is our effort to foster a respect for the visual, and generate a really vibrant exhibition that engages and develops the important relationships needed to create enthusiastic patrons and participants in ambitious artistic projects”. With support from KPMG, Arts & Business and the Arts Council, the RUA have developed an education strand in tandem with the exhibition. Noirin McKinney of the Arts Council NI said: “The exhibition and outreach programme create more opportunities for people to get involved and enjoy the arts - everyone should visit the exhibition and take part in the talks and workshops on offer.” Despite some criticism of its choices, there is a buzz about the RUA this year that makes it totally unmissable. Image by Jonny McEwen at the RUA Annual Exhibition. Irish Art

Art On The Waves

The Guardian reports that at a time when the Tate has had a record year for acquisitions, bringing works valued at £63.1m into its collection, the UK's most important art institution is poised to push the power of its brand to new levels of domination. Nor will it be limiting its reach to dry land. In a three-year deal with P&O;, a scheme called Tate Cruises has recently been established, with passengers idling around the Mediterranean or the Baltic being lectured to by Tate experts. "It is a good opportunity to develop new audiences," said the Tate's director of media, Will Gompertz, adding that the outreach programme was "also financially beneficial to Tate". That might mean sending more works out on loan, according to Tate director Nicholas Serota, or working in partnership with galleries such as the Ikon Gallery in Birmingham or Mima in Middlesbrough. The recent gift of 725 works of contemporary art from former art dealer Anthony D'Offay will also tour around the country from 2009. The Tate's stupendous acquisitions in the past financial year also included the Sainsbury bequest of 18 masterpieces to the National Gallery and Tate. In addition, Damien Hirst gave four works and Louise Bourgeois donated her giant spider sculpture, Maman. There was also a bequest of a Stanley Spencer and a Bacon, Figures in a Garden, from c1936. The past year has also seen Serota's contract, which was due to have expired in 2009, extended indefinitely - a mark of his successful tenure, the only threat to which is the problem of raising £215m to build the projected Tate Modern extension by 2012 in a shaky economic climate. Only £70m has so far been pledged, and the Tate yesterday refused to commit itself to completing the landmark building, by architects Herzog and De Meuron, in time for the Olympics. But if the project failed to go ahead, said Myners, it would be "a blow to the nation". (For full source and full article click the Headline). Irish Art

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