Archives for May 2012

Christopher Burge, Christie's honorary chairman, as seen in the webcast of last night's auction It seems that Christie's won't have the services of last night's triumphant veteran auctioneer, Christopher Burge, at next fall's big evening sales of Impressionist/modern and contemporary art. In response to my request for further clarification about what Burge last night had … [Read more...] about Semi-Retirement of Christopher Burge (plus museum-related news from Christie’s sale) CORRECTED

New Champion: Rothko, "Orange, Red, Yellow," 1961, $86.88 million, sold at Christie's Photo by Lee Rosenbaum, taken at the presale exhibition Forget about the Rockefeller Rothko. Now it's the Pincus Rothko (from the estate of collector David Pincus, the late Philadelphia menswear mogul) that holds the auction record not only for a Rothko but also for any work of … [Read more...] about Christie’s Manic Night: Rockefeller Rothko Supplanted by Pincus Rothko as Record-Holder

Miuccia Prada (in yellow cap) chats with Metropolitan Museum director Tom Campbell (left), while the model for the title character of "The Devil Wears Prada," Vogue editor-in-chief Anna Wintour (wearing Prada, of course), looks on (at right), at today's press preview"My salvation was stumbling into fashion," says fashion designer Elsa Schiaparelli, resurrected from the grave … [Read more...] about Perils of Prada: Met’s Accident-Prone House-of-Mirrors Installation

You've seen me on Finnish TV (here and here). Now how about Norwegian TV? This clip, seen on an afternoon news program of Norway's TV2, was taken at Sotheby's on Apr. 27, at the press preview for the auction of Munch's "The Scream." My 16-seconds-of-fame (wherein I presciently predicted that "The Scream" would break the auction record for any work of art) begins at about … [Read more...] about My “Scream” Soundbite on Norwegian TV

Inga Saffron, architecture critic, Philadelphia InquirerFirst reviews are always highly important. They are often very influential in setting the tone of the future conversation. And now the early reviews of the Barnes are in.The Philadelphia Inquirer was given an advance look and the finished facility, and flooded the zone with architecture writer Inga Saffron, cultural … [Read more...] about First Reviews of New Philly Barnes Are In: Philadelphia Inquirer, Vanity Fair

So much for wishful thinking and circumstantial evidence: My conjecture that the Museum of Modern Art might have bought Munch's "The Scream" was off the mark. I have just heard from the museum, in reply to e-mails sent last night and this morning: It says it was NOT the purchaser.And I was so hoping to see it on display there! … [Read more...] about Munch Update: It Wasn’t MoMA (alas)

If all goes according to plan this afternoon, I'm goin' to Goshen. When I mentioned this to a member of the art-market scribe tribe at last night's Big One at Sotheby's, the young journalist replied, "You're going to Gagosian?" (Proving once again, it's Larry's artworld. We just live in it.)Speaking of yesterday's record-breaking sale of Munch's "The Scream," officials at the … [Read more...] about Goshen Commotion: “Very Much Worth Saving” (WSJ) on this Fateful Day UPDATED

What's my take on the latest in a long series of aborted Global Guggenheims?Heikki Heiskanen, foreign news correspondent for YLE Uutiset, Finnish Broadcasting Company, yesterday sought my views in a phone intervew. If you understand Finnish (I think I need a crash course), you can listen to the news broadcast (which aired this morning) here. (Guggenheim segment starts at 0.48.) … [Read more...] about Sunk in Helsinki: My Finnish Radio Commentary on Rejected Guggenheim Project

Edvard Munch, "The Scream," pastel, 1895, sold for $119.92 million [UPDATE: MoMA informed me at 1:11 p.m. Thursday that it did NOT acquire the Munch. And I was so hoping to see it on display there!] Maybe it's just a combination of wishful thinking and circumstantial evidence, but I'm guessing that Edvard Munch's "The Scream" was bought by a museum---maybe an American … [Read more...] about Who Bought “The Scream”? Could It Be an American Museum? UPDATED

I'll bet those two locales won't find themselves in the same headline ever again! In breaking news (relayed to me by Finnish journalist colleagues), the Helsinki City Board voted today 8 to 7, largely along party lines, against the proposed Guggenheim Helsinki. The board's approval was required before the project could be voted upon by the City Council. Does this sink the … [Read more...] about Endangered Buildings Follow-Ups: Helsinki’s Guggenheim & Goshen’s Government Center

Dartmouth College's Baker Library, home of José Clemente Orozco's monumental mural, "The Epic of American Civilization," 1932-34 Photo by Lee Rosenbaum In my Wall Street Journal piece, Becoming Jackson Pollock, to appear on the "Leisure & Arts" page of tomorrow's Wall Street Journal (but online now), I state that before you can fully appreciate the Hood Museum of Art's Men … [Read more...] about Grrl in the Hood: My WSJ Piece on Pollock/Orozco Show at Dartmouth (online now)

Withdrawn: Giacometti, "Buste de Diego,"  1957, as seen last Thursday at Christie's presale exhibition (but not seen in today's sale)Photos by Lee RosenbaumThe last-minute withdrawal from Christie's Impressionist/modern sale tonight of what was to have been one of its star works, Giacometti's "Buste de Diego," left a very thin sale even thinner. "Diego," tied for the … [Read more...] about Where’s Diego? Christie’s Very Thin Sale Gets Thinner with Withdrawal of Giacometti (Where’s Christopher?)

Almost done? The new Philly Barnes, as seen today from its webcamI'm planning to visit and report on the new Philly Barnes Foundation in two weeks. You, art-lngs, can help make this possible! (More on that at the end of this post.)On Sunday, the Philadelphia Inquirer will scoop us all (or at least most of us) with a special section on the Barnes Foundation's new facility in … [Read more...] about Coming Sunday: Philadelphia Inquirer’s First Look at the New Barnes (plus a new CultureGrrl Challenge)