Archives for November 2010

[Part II is here.] Almost three months before the Morgan Library and Museum reopened its newly restored and reinstalled McKim building---the former refuge of financier J.P. Morgan---William Griswold, the fifth director of this historic treasure trove (and its 2006 Renzo Piano-designed add-on) took me on a whirlwind tour to discuss the activity swirling around us. Because … [Read more...] about MeTube: Morgan Library’s Glorious Restoration, Before and After—Part I

My fifth annual Art Basel Miami sour grapes souffléI don't know about you, but I find that my experience of artwork online is nothing like my experience of artwork on site. There have been many, many times when I thought that a piece looked very intriguing on my desktop, only to be greatly disappointed by an encounter with the real thing. Brightly backlit pieces on my computer … [Read more...] about Who Needs Art Basel Miami? Pajama Purchasing at the “VIP” Virtual Art Fair

Snap of unflappable Steve Martin on inside flap of his book jacketOh, all right. I admit it: Although I'm still not finished reading it, I'm enjoying my gift from author/actor Steve Martin a lot more than I had expected. As those of you who have read about my recent losses already know, I can use a lifting of my spirits. I could also use a click or two on my "Donate" button. I … [Read more...] about How’s Steve Martin’s Artworld Novel? “Ohhh…Alright…”

Director William Griswold in J.P. Morgan's library at the Morgan Library and MuseumYesterday was the day of my mother's funeral. It was also the publication date for my Wall Street Journal assessment of the restoration of the original McKim building of the Morgan Library and Museum, which has put the "Morgan" back in the Morgan (redressing the imbalance created by the Renzo … [Read more...] about My WSJ Review of the Morgan’s Restoration: “Let There Be Light!”

Should I shelve my gift here?Or here?By now you've now all enjoyed the hit video, Jeffrey Deitch Takes Hollywood. Now it's, "CultureGrrl Takes Hollywood"!I don't think I'll be moving into the mansion formerly owned by Gloria Swanson in nearby Englewood, NJ, any time soon (although I do reside in the former apartment of a celebrated singer, whose Grammys were displayed where my … [Read more...] about Surprise Birthday Present from CultureGrrl’s Movie-Star Fan

Crystal Bridges Museum's construction site, November 2010Book your flight to Bentonville, art-lings. This just in from Alice Walton's in-construction Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art: During an update today on the progress of Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art at the monthly meeting of the Arkansas State Parks, Recreation and Travel Commission, Don Bacigalupi, Crystal … [Read more...] about Crystal Bridges Sets Opening Date: Veterans Day, 2011

New Pop Emblem? The Medal of FreedomThe awards ceremony next year for President Obama's 15 newly designated Medal of Freedom recipients, named tonight, will bring together some strange bedfellows. Here are the White House's descriptions of two disparate awardees:American artist Jasper Johns has produced a distinguished body of work dealing with themes of perception and identity … [Read more...] about Presidential Medal of Freedom Winners: Jasper Johns? Meet Stan the Man!

Elyse Topalian, the Metropolitan Museum's vice president for communications, responds to Brooklyn's Costume "Transfer" to the Met: A Huge Deaccession-in-Disguise: The Metropolitan Museum and the Brooklyn Museum have openly discussed, with both press and the public, the decision to sell certain pieces that would not come to the Met because they duplicated items already in the … [Read more...] about BlogBack: Elyse Topalian of the Met on the Brooklyn Costume Deaccessioning

Screenshot from Jeffrey Deitch's video tour of what he calls his "movie-star house," formerly owned by Cary GrantDid anyone besides me gag while reading this press release from LA MOCA?Max Anderson, director of the Indianapolis Museum of Art, apparently did. On his Twitter page today, Max allowed himself an implied dig at a colleague, LA MOCA's director Jeffrey Deitch, whose … [Read more...] about Museum Director Smackdown: Indy Max Jabs LA Jeffrey UPDATED

Beaded velvet ball gown with fur-edged hem, Paris, 1890s, offered from Brooklyn Museum's costume collection at Augusta Auctions' Nov. 10 sale in New YorkI've got a major correction to make: I was wrong in unconditionally extolling the transfer of the Brooklyn Museum's costume collection to the Metropolitan Museum, back when that deal was announced two years ago. My chief … [Read more...] about Brooklyn’s Costume “Transfer” to the Met: A Huge Deaccession-in-Disguise

Stevie pops the top lot? Warhol, "Coca-Cola [4] [Large Coca-Cola], 1962Making the Internet rounds is this link to Judd Tully's Friday ArtInfo piece, which outed megacollector Steve Cohen as the buyer of the top-priced lot in Sotheby's evening contemporary sale last week---the nearly seven-foot-high Warhol "Coca-Cola," 1962, which bubbled to an estimate-defying $35.36 … [Read more...] about Steve Cohen Grabs Himself a “Coke” (but not a MoMA trustee seat) UPDATED

Wish you could have attended the protest "Crab Fest" that was hosted in absentia by Chinese dissident artist Ai Weiwei at his soon-to-be-demolished Shanghai studio? Now you can!Ai Weiwei / River Crab Feast @ Shanghai Studio from An Xiao Mina (An Xiao) on Vimeo.On a much less celebratory and more personal note: I had to do a U-turn yesterday on my way to Boston, where I was … [Read more...] about Shanghai Ai: Your Seat at His Protest “Crab Fest”

Amy Cappellazzo, talking to a recalcitrant bidder?No, its Roy Lichtenstein's "Ohhh...Alright...," 1964Auctioneer Christopher Burge checked his watch as he descended from the podium after tonight's contemporary sale at Christie's and saw that he had clocked a speedy two hours for his 75-lot marathon---an average of about 1.6 minutes between hammer thwacks. It was a brisk, … [Read more...] about $42.64-Million Record for Lichtenstein in Christie’s Businesslike Sale

Bronze figurine of a dog with a painted gold collar, left; lapis lazuli bracelet inlay in the form of a sphinx, above (Photos: Metropolitan Museum of Art) The Metropolitan Museum and the Egyptian government have jointly announced the Met's return to Egypt of 19 objects from King Tutankamun's tomb that had been unearthed during Howard Carter's celebrated excavations. Both … [Read more...] about Met Repatriates 19 King Tut Objects: Other Tut Holdings to Remain?

Auctioneer Tobias Meyer, caught between a $14.08-million Bacon and a $35.36-million WarholShould Michael Taylor get a commission?It seems likely that tonight's record at Sotheby's for a work on paper by Arshile Gorky---$3.67 million ($3.2 million hammer price, against an estimate of only $800,000 to $1.2 million) owes something to the spurt of interest in such works created by … [Read more...] about Highlights of $222.45-Million Sotheby’s Contemporary Auction: The Curatorial Effect