A Message from Christie's CEO Guillaume Cerutti, which hit my inbox late Friday, included a boldfaced passage that struck me (and probably some of his firm's clients) as an implied gibe at archrival Sotheby's. Here's a key excerpt: We [Christie's] have benefited from decades of stable, supportive shareholder ownership, and a financially robust balance sheet. This … [Read more...] about Going for the Archrival’s Jugular? Christie’s Assures Clients About Its “Continuity of Activity”
Mark Rodrick Lauds the Late Tom Sokolowski’s Work to Save the Jersey City Museum’s Collection
My recent tributes to three artworld luminaries whom we recently lost---Alan Shestack, William Gerdts and Thomas Sokolowski---triggered many fond comments from CultureGrrl readers who knew these scholar/curators and valued their work. But the warmest expressions of gratitude were occasioned by my eulogy (linked above) for the youngest of the three, as I tweeted here: My … [Read more...] about Mark Rodrick Lauds the Late Tom Sokolowski’s Work to Save the Jersey City Museum’s Collection
Thomas Sokolowski Dies at 70: Incorrigible Warholian, Thrice Museum Director
As I learned when I visited the Andy Warhol Museum, Pittsburgh, in 2010, the late Thomas Sokolowski, its then director, could do a dead-on impression of the spacey speaking style of his museum's eponymous artist, whom he had known personally and whose work he deeply appreciated. He had enlivened tours of the museum with his personal reminiscences of Warhol's era and its cast of … [Read more...] about Thomas Sokolowski Dies at 70: Incorrigible Warholian, Thrice Museum Director
Sotheby’s Reports $71.2m Loss & “Substantial Doubt” About Continuing; Major June Sales Planned
Sotheby's new leaders, who took the publicly traded company private, are understandably eager to reopen their New York saleroom for post-pandemic business. Having disclosed a $71.2-million net loss in its 2019 Annual Report (compared to net income of $108.6 million the previous year), the company could use a life-sustaining income infusion. As revealed on p. 61 of its annual … [Read more...] about Sotheby’s Reports $71.2m Loss & “Substantial Doubt” About Continuing; Major June Sales Planned
Covid Obit: William Gerdts, 91, Distinguished Scholar of American Art (& my tipster)
Because of my bent for investigative reporting, I've received some confidential leads over the years from major (and minor) figures seeking to expose artworld transgressions. William Gerdts, a consummate scholar of American art (who died on Apr. 14), was one of CultureGrrl's most illustrious tipsters. (Another was art historian Leo Steinberg, who died at 90 in 2011.) As … [Read more...] about Covid Obit: William Gerdts, 91, Distinguished Scholar of American Art (& my tipster)
View Metropolitan Opera’s “At-Home Gala” Online (plus: Met baritone’s performance in my parking lot)
Opera fans have a rare chance to visit renowned singers in their own homes, thanks to the Metropolitan Opera's At-Home Gala, streaming for the first time yesterday (Saturday) from 1-5 p.m. New York time, with repeat viewings today. A couple of weeks ago, my friend and neighbor enjoyed an earlier version of Met At Home in a chance encounter with Alexey Lavrov, a … [Read more...] about View Metropolitan Opera’s “At-Home Gala” Online (plus: Met baritone’s performance in my parking lot)
Alan Shestack, 81, Old Master Prints Scholar, Generous Mentor, Thrice Museum Director
Considering his long, illustrious career as an art scholar and museum director, not to mention his generosity in sharing his deep insights with others (including me), I'm puzzled as to why there's been so little mention of the death last week of Alan Shestack, 81, who retired in 2008 as deputy director and chief curator of the National Gallery, Washington. His expertise was … [Read more...] about Alan Shestack, 81, Old Master Prints Scholar, Generous Mentor, Thrice Museum Director
Deaccession Concession: AAMD Bends Its “Fundamental Principle” on Art-Sale Proceeds
Desperate times call for desperate measures? At a time when "cutbacks," "furloughs," "layoffs" & "cancellation" have become the baneful bywords of museum management, the Association of Art Museum Directors has capitulated to the exigencies of the moment by loosening its tight strictures against the use of proceeds from art sales for anything other than acquisitions. It … [Read more...] about Deaccession Concession: AAMD Bends Its “Fundamental Principle” on Art-Sale Proceeds
Pollock’s Guest Appearance in the Metropolitan Museum’s Subdued 150th-Birthday Video
What if you threw a birthday party and no one could come? That's what happened earlier this month to the most sociable member of my family---CultureGranddaughter, who just turned 4. And that's what happened today to the Metropolitan Museum, which turned 150 on a plague-day when no visitors could enter, let alone celebrate. If you've already seen the Max-&-Dan … [Read more...] about Pollock’s Guest Appearance in the Metropolitan Museum’s Subdued 150th-Birthday Video
Small Consolation: Museums’ Hit-&-Miss Attempts to Engage Audiences Via “Virtual Exhibitions” UPDATED
When I returned home Mar. 12 from my proud-grandma visit to California (where I had what was probably my last chance for some time to cuddle my newborn granddaughter and her 3-year-old brother), I had to work my way through the announcements of museums' temporary closures that flooded my art-centric inbox. As it now stands (four weeks later), no art museum would be so … [Read more...] about Small Consolation: Museums’ Hit-&-Miss Attempts to Engage Audiences Via “Virtual Exhibitions” UPDATED
Enlivening the Old Standards: When the Late Bucky Pizzarelli Played Fort Lee
Soon after I moved into our Fort Lee co-op building, almost 15 years ago, I struck up conversations with my neighbor---jazz bassist Jerry Bruno. The enormous instrument that this small, frail-looking man regularly lugged to his car in our building's basement garage, on his way to his jazz gigs, was a natural ice-breaker. I learned that Jerry had regularly accompanied legendary … [Read more...] about Enlivening the Old Standards: When the Late Bucky Pizzarelli Played Fort Lee
More on Shuttered NYC Institutions: A Brief Reprieve for Met’s Endangered Staff; A “Frick Breuer” Update
The Metropolitan Museum's jittery staff members, some of whose livelihoods are likely to be jeopardized due to the virus crisis, have been granted a month-long reprieve, as outlined in a new letter from President Daniel Weiss and Director Max Hollein. Faced with mounting pushback against its plan to consider implementing cutbacks beginning Apr. 5, the Met (as reported in the NY … [Read more...] about More on Shuttered NYC Institutions: A Brief Reprieve for Met’s Endangered Staff; A “Frick Breuer” Update
Cotter Fodder: The Met Museum’s Sober Plan for the Virus Crisis vs. A Critic’s Pandemic Polemic
At a moment when museums around the country are shattered, shuttered and bracing for hard times, what could be more shockingly tone-deaf than Holland Cotter's 3,000-word "manifesto," published on the NY Times' website on Wednesday (and appearing in the Sunday hardcopy)? In America’s Big Museums on the Hot Seat (aka, "How to Save America's Biggest Museums: A Manifesto"---the … [Read more...] about Cotter Fodder: The Met Museum’s Sober Plan for the Virus Crisis vs. A Critic’s Pandemic Polemic
Covid’s Metamorphoses: How Coronavirus Has Transformed the Artworld (updated)
Everything has changed since I left home (and temporarily paused blogging) two and a half weeks ago for the birth in California of the wonderful CultureGranddaughter---my fourth grandchild. Covid-19 fears had caused both my flights between Newark and San Francisco, usually fully booked, to be almost half empty. Our hotel, the commodious, well appointed Homewood Suites, … [Read more...] about Covid’s Metamorphoses: How Coronavirus Has Transformed the Artworld (updated)
Mutiny on the Bounty: Marron Estate’s Rich Art Trove to Be Dispersed by Dealers, Not Auction Houses
This could mark the beginning of a sea change in the balance of power between commercial art galleries and auction houses. The late Donald Marron was a class act, so it struck me as fitting (not to mention smart) that his estate's holdings of modern and contemporary art are not going to be hocked on the block at Sotheby's or Christie's---the usual fate of large collections … [Read more...] about Mutiny on the Bounty: Marron Estate’s Rich Art Trove to Be Dispersed by Dealers, Not Auction Houses