Art show supports water of life

The parking lot was full and the lobby was crowded last Friday evening at Northstar Church, where literally hundreds of people gathered for the fourth annual Art Show and Sale.

“Art speaks in a language all its own,” said a post at the Northstar website promoting the event. “It has the power to provoke, inspire, and give hope. It is a powerful force that rules the Internet, the airwaves, and demands the square footage of thousands of museums and private galleries. Art is important to us as individuals and to our culture, and we believe it should be celebrated.”

Art was celebrated last week in the form of paintings, mixed media, photographs and drawings created by many of the area’s better-known talents — including Jennifer Bonaventura, Heather Clements, Matty Jankowski, Heather Parker and Paulette Perlman — as well as many lesser-known names and student artists. The show included 314 pieces; 47 pieces sold for a total of $2,566.

Of the sales, 90 percent of the money went directly to the artists, while 10 percent was kept to support the church’s mission to Kiu, a village in Kenya.

“We have an ongoing relationship with the village of Kiu,” said Lee Baker, arts pastor at the church. “A couple of years ago, we built the bore pump there, then installed solar panels to power the pump. This year, they’re installing tanks on top of a hill — every year, it gets bigger.”

According to information provided by Northstar, the community of Kiu is a market town divided by a major east-west rail line. Buying and selling of produce is the major economy, with basket and rope weaving also contributing. The village has eight churches, one school and a small medical clinic located at the center of the community on the five-acre grounds of the African Inland Church. The clinic serves people from Kiu and neighboring villages.

“The village is big,” Baker said. “We couldn’t walk across it easily, because of terrain and how extensive it was.”

Access to water is a major issue in the community and people often walk hours to fetch their daily water. The water project was started in 2010 and is nearing completion. With access to clean water on the horizon, the leadership council is shifting their focus to the significant educational challenges that exist in the community.

Meanwhile, church members plan to return later this year to lend a hand.

“We will be working in the community of Kiu with projects that can range from the construction of a water project or school, digging ditches, laying water pipe, building stone walls and putting up fences,” the church website says. “Whatever it may be, we will be working directly with the Kenyan people and the relationships with them are more important than the project.”

Palm Beach Jewelry, Art & Antiques Show

Gigantic, beautiful, exquisite, impressive and elite, while not elitist — in the simplest of terms, these are the sorts of words that best describe the Palm Beach Jewelry, Art & Antiques Show. Conducted by the Palm Beach Show Group, the show opened for a gala preview party on February 17 and continued over the next four days, concluding on February 21.

More than 200 spacious and well-designed booths lined the floor of the cavernous Palm Beach County Convention Center, and the wares displayed dated from a selection of Asian antiquities from 700 BC to cutting-edge contemporary — and as the show's name implies — there was a dazzling assortment of jewelry.

This year's event took place under a reconfigured group of promoters, with Scott Diament and Rob Samuels at the helm, as Kris Charamonde returned to the show this year strictly as an exhibitor. Another change this year was the incorporation of the Hope Design Showcase, an area that featured five room settings consisting of dealer merchandise that had been removed from booths around the floor by five decorators. The items were displayed in room settings to illustrate how antiques can work in rooms suited for modern living. Audrey Gruss, founder of Hope for Depression Research Foundation, hosted the first inaugural "Hope Art-of-Design Weekend." Interior designers who created the Hope Designer Showcase included Jim Aman and John Meeks, Bruce Bierman, Geoffrey Bradfield, Campion Platt and Scott Snyder.

"All the supporters I spoke to were delighted to walk through the Hope Designer Showcase," said Gruss. "It was a wonderful way for them to see how art and antiques from the show work in today's real lifestyles; after all, the show is about creativity and beauty, and it's wonderful to see how it can enhance your life."

Further enhancing the show were daily educational lecture series that featured topics, such as "Glamorous Timepieces" by Edward Faber of Aaron Faber Gallery and "Collecting Faberge Today" by John Atzbach of John Atzbach Antiques.

The Palm Beach Group reported a turnout of more than 6,000 guests at preview on opening night, in addition to the largest gate recorded in the show's history on Presidents' Day. Good sales were recorded around the floor on opening night. "It was a really nice group of people who came out for the evening," said Tim Stevenson of Carlson & Stevenson Antiques, Manchester, Vt. The dealers reported numerous sales on opening night, including an important watercolor from 1821. Also displayed was a wonderful document box in yellow paint with bright floral decoration covering the top and around the circumference. A great pair of cast iron eagle finials was also offered. Standing more than a foot tall, they retained a nice old painted surface.

Paul Vandekar of Earle Vandekar of Knightsbridge was another to report good opening night sales, with a Chinese Export famille rose shaped tureen, cover and stand, circa 1750, among the first items to sell from his stand. The dealer also moved a Victorian bamboo table; a set of first period Worcester blue-scale broth bowls and covers, circa 1770; and a Beverly Morris painting from 1855. "The evening was packed and filled with interesting people," said Vandekar, who also noted the sale of a large set of Chinese water fish paintings and several pieces of English porcelain.

Paintings were plentiful around the floor, ranging from Old Masters to works on which the paint was barely dry.

"It's not just about what you sell, but who you meet and the connections you make," said Tom Veilleux of Tom Veilleux Gallery, Portland, Maine. Pleased on both fronts, Veilleux listed among his sales an important painting by William Glackens titled "Bouquet with Poppy." Other paintings on display included a stellar Jamie Wyeth watercolor "Silo and Angus," along with a Max Weber oil titled "Woman with Flower." Sculpture in the booth was dominated by works by Elie Nadelman, including a glazed ceramic piece titled "Two Women," circa 1930, and also a carved marble bust of a woman from 1920.

Mobster Suspected Of Knowing About Art Heist Indicted On Drug Charges

Federal prosecutors signaled Monday that they may try to confiscate mobster Robert Gentile's Manchester home after indicting him and a partner for the illegal sale of prescription painkillers.

Outside of a forfeiture allegation directed at Gentile's suburban ranch and $22,000 in cash hidden in a grandfather clock, the indictment made public Monday by federal prosecutors appears to formalize the drug charges on which Gentile and partner Andrew Parente were arrested earlier in the month.

The Feb. 10 arrest of Gentile, 75, created a stir in legal circles because of the relatively small amount of illegal narcotics involved in the alleged sales and because law enforcement authorities suspect he may have information concerning the spectacular 1990 theft of hundreds of millions of dollars of paintings from the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston.

Three Rembrandts, a Vermeer, a Manet and five drawings by Degas were among the works that vanished in the Gardner heist — the biggest art theft ever and, nearly 22 years later, one of the most baffling. Investigators assigned to the unsolved heist have encountered nothing but dead ends.

Two of the stolen paintings — "Storm on the Sea of Galilee," Rembrandt's only known seascape, and Vermeer's "The Concert" — could be worth than $50 million each in an open market. All the stolen artworks might be worth $300 million or more. But because of the notoriety of the missing pieces, any kind of sale would be difficult, if not impossible, to arrange.

Gentile, a made or sworn member of the Mafia, has repeatedly denied having knowledge of the theft or of the location of the paintings, according to sources. He is known to have associated with crime figures in Boston but was inducted into the Mafia through a faction of the Genovese crime family in Philadelphia, according to a variety of sources.

Documents detailing the drug charges against Gentile and Parente remained sealed to the public Monday. The six-count indictment made public by the U.S. Attorney's office accuses the two men of conspiring to possess and distribute prescription painkillers such as oxycodone. Parente, who lives in Hartford, has been a suspect in drug sales for decades, police sources said.

Parente is named in two counts of the indictment, charged with conspiracy to sell drugs and the sale of oxycodone in November. Gentile is named in all six counts related to drug sales.

All but one of the drug offenses allegedly took place in October and November.

Gentile was charged with a drug offense on Feb. 10, the date FBI agents discovered a relatively small amount of apparently illegally obtained pain medication during a search of his home. But the same search turned up what a federal judge called a "veritable arsenal" of weapons, including guns and silencers. The $22,000 in cash was found hidden with a set of brass knuckles.

A federal judge characterized Gentile as dangerous, based on an inventory of the search, and ordered him held without bail.

It is a crime for a convicted felon, such as Gentile, to possess weapons. He has not been charged with weapons offenses, according to the U.S. Attorney's office.

The forfeiture count in the indictment applies only to Gentile. It seeks to allow the government to confiscate property or money attributed to criminal activity. The forfeiture specifically lists Gentile's home and cash discovered during the search of his home.

Depression-era work of art comes to Huntington

More than 70 years after it was carved from California redwood and nearly a year after it was acquired by the Huntington Library, Sargent Johnson's 22-foot-long work of art has become a cause célèbre.

The work is an arching, three-panel piece that depicts animals and birds near the radiating limbs of a tree. It originally was commissioned by the Works Progress Administration and was built to screen the organ pipes at a school for the deaf and blind in Berkeley. It was acquired by the Huntington for an undisclosed sum in April.

This week, the New York Times printed a narrative of the piece's odyssey from the defunct California School for the Deaf and Blind to a University of California surplus bin — where it sold for $150 — to the hands of art collectors who recognized its value at more than a million dollars.

When Jane Todd Smith, the Huntington's Virginia Steele Scott Curator of American Art, first saw the piece, it was in the Los Angeles warehouse of Manhattan gallery owner Michael Rosenfeld, about to be shipped to New York. Talking to gallery owners and viewing private collections is part of Smith's job. She said landing the exceptional work by a noted maker of abstract and early modern sculptures was a matter of luck.

“We were just incredibly fortunate in terms of when we walked into the gallery, and the availability of the piece,” she said. “We were fortunate to be among the first people through the door.”

Huntington curators presented the piece to the Arts Collectors' Council, a group of private donors who contribute to the Huntington and vote on which pieces it should acquire. The Huntington regularly presents pieces to the group, takes in the council's advice and then matches its donations to make purchases, Smith said.

The group approved the purchase of the Johnson sculpture in late April 2011.

Johnson was an artist of African American, Cherokee and Swedish heritage who spent much of his life in the Bay Area, and who studied with sculptors Benjamin Bufano and Ralph Stackpole in San Francisco. He was among the artists paid by the federal government's Works Progress Administration during the Depression to strengthen American culture, beautify public works projects and buoy the economy.

Several twists of fate were required for Johnson's piece to be on the market. The first was an oversight on the part of the University of California at Berkeley — which had acquired the deteriorating blind school site a few blocks from its campus — that resulted in the sale of the sculpture as surplus. The second was a loophole in the law that generally bars pieces commissioned for the WPA from going into private hands.

When the Huntington bought the piece last year, it noted in a press release that it had navigated the legal issue carefully. The General Services Administration, the release stated, “made a legal and policy decision that the federal government does not retain an ownership interest in site-specific works of art where the building in which the art was located is not federal property.”

Smith said the sculpture stills bears a WPA plaque that would serve as a warning to private collectors, but that the government allowed the private transactions.

In doing so, Smith said, “I think the government's perspective is that it was meant to be work for the public [to see], and happily, we've been able to fulfill that goal.”

Smith has been curator of the Huntington's American collection, which includes furniture by Frank Lloyd Wright, paintings by Edward Hopper, Mary Cassatt and more, for 10 years. She said she would rather see Johnson's piece recognized for its artistic merit and place in history than for its messy back story, but she is glad the public has tuned in. She noted gallery space for the American collection doubled in 2009 and will triple in 2014, when the Sargent Johnson piece will take a prominent place.

“One of my hopes is that by increasing the physical space devoted to the collection, we also increase public awareness of the collection,” she said.

Installation Artist Picked for Venice 2013

Sarah Sze, the installation artist known for creating site-specific environments out of everyday objects like toothpicks, sponges, light bulbs and plastic bottles, has been chosen to represent the United States at the 2013 Venice Biennale.

Ms. Sze，43, was selected by the State Department’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, which promotes cultural exchanges worldwide. Holly Block, director of the Bronx Museum of the Arts, and Carey Lovelace, a critic and independent curator, proposed Ms. Sze for the Biennale, and those two women will organize the exhibition together, with the Bronx Museum acting as the commissioning institution.

Ms. Sze’s work has been visible in New York for a while. A show of her works on paper is at the Asia Society through March 25. And those strolling the High Line can see her modern avian habitat — fake-wood-covered birdhouses with parallelogram sides built into grids of shiny metal rods that converge to single points.

“Her work is so sensitive to its surroundings I will be fascinated to see how she transforms the American pavilion without physically changing the architecture,” said Ms. Lovelace, who explained that she and Ms. Block have watched Ms. Sze’s work evolve for years.

Ms. Sze said she would create a sequence of environments inside the pavilion, a 1930s Palladian-style structure designed by Delano & Aldrich, and in the courtyard in front of it. The installation, called “Triple Point,” will be about “orientation and disorientation,” Ms. Sze said in a telephone interview.

“I plan to create a new commission in the courtyard that brings the inside out,” she added. “Wandering around Venice without a map, you find the most incredible things. And I’m hoping to create an immersive environment that deals with that abstract experience of discovery.”

Ms. Sze’s work has been shown at the Venice Biennale before. She showed in an exhibition there in 1998. This time around, she said, she will probably spend about two months in Venice, creating her installation with help from Italian university students. “My work is always a mix of stuff collected over time and all over the place,” she explained. Venice is an especially rich hunting ground, she said, adding that she expects to use local materials and local craftspeople.

Ms. Lovelace and Ms. Block said that the project would be documented as it unfolded, with live streaming on a Web site that would be accessible through the Bronx Museum.

Those sexy blondes Roy Lichtenstein depicted in the 1960s never seem to age. Whenever one of the paintings comes up for sale, a bevy of rich suitors tend to fight over it.

That’s what Sotheby’s is hoping will happen on May 9 when it auctions “Sleeping Girl,” one of Lichtenstein’s seminal comic-book images, which he painted in 1964. Because its owners, the Los Angeles collectors Beatrice and Phil Gersh, were said to have loved the painting so much they didn’t want to part with it, the couple only lent it once, to the Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles, in 1989-90.

Mr. Gersh, a philanthropist and founder of a talent agency, died in 2004, and his wife, Beatrice, a life trustee of the Museum of Contemporary Art and a noted collector, died in October. Now the painting, which the couple bought for $1,000 from the Ferus Gallery in Los Angeles the year it was made, is expected to sell for $30 million to $40 million.

“All of Lichtenstein’s other girls have been traded over the years,” said Tobias Meyer, director of Sotheby’s contemporary art department worldwide. “This is one of the last Pop icons that has remained in the same collection, and collectors have been waiting for it.”

The image of a classic American beauty with flowing blond hair, sensuous red lips, her eyes closed, is from one of Lichtenstein’s comic-book series, although experts are not sure of the exact source of this woman. “It has such a cinematic quality to it,” Mr. Meyer said, “that it looks like a film still.”

Whether “Sleeping Girl” will break the record price for the artist at auction is anyone’s guess. The sales price would have to top $43.2 million, the record set at Christie’s in November for “I Can See the Whole Room! ... and There’s Nobody in It!,” a black canvas from 1961 with a man’s face peering through a peephole.

Video- and audio-based artworks have been kicking around since the 1960s, which makes them virtually archaic to many of today’s young artists. But these relics are an important a part of art history. A new initiative at the Museum of Modern Art — which has been collecting and preserving these works since they were made — will eventually allow its holdings of more than 1,400 works by 400 artists to be available to the public.

This week the museum began the first phase of what it is calling its Media Lounge. Designed by the New York artist Renée Green, the space consists of flexible environments for individual or group viewings. The museum’s second floor has three viewing stations, where a selection of videos can be seen on the kind of monitors originally meant to show them. By May or June, MoMA officials said, they hope to add six more viewing structures and additional newer videos, including some intended for display on flat-screen monitors. There will also be listening stations for audio works. By August or September the museum hopes to expand the project to 14 viewing stations.

Town should be arts hub

Art in Melton continues to thrive and our ambition to make the town an arts and crafts hub for the East Midlands is being realised writes Richard Cragg.

This week I want to look at the many talented local artists who are currently taking advantage of the new Melton Arts Venue initiative to display their work for sale at an increasing number of locations in the town centre.

On Tuesdays at the Cattle Market you can catch original art and craftwork with Melton artist Carol Hardisty’s oil paintings at the Market Tavern; Dawn Crafts Originals have home designed cards and craftwork on their regular market stall, while Asfordby artist Carol Warren sells her watercolours of birds and animals.

Also on Tuesdays, at the King’s Head in Nottingham Street, Michael Hughes displays his latest range of superb paintings and will take commissions as well.

Opposite the pub is Caf Caf in The Mall where owner Theresa Phizacklea has joined forces with Carol Warren to offer one of Carol’s paintings as a prize in a raffle to be held for the Day trust fund. There is more of her work displayed inside the cafe, together with photographs for sale by Melton design photographer Emma Wenham.

Still in Nottingham Street, behind the Hollings Head Wine Bar is one of the town’s hidden gems – Classic Picture Frames, which incorporates Christopher Wren’s Gallery. Here are examples of fine art by national and local artists, such as the late David Weston, Brian Hollingshead, Neil Cawthorne and Twyford’s Paula Chapman.

Another Asfordby artist, David Mellor, is currently exhibiting some of his latest paintings at The Melton building society, who have allowed space in the foyer to local artists in return for a donation to Help for Heroes.

On Leicester Street you will find Foxy Lots and another cornucopia of art and craftwork on sale. Local artists include Gay Mayes, Ruth Harvey, Jenny Wing and Sue Bagshaw, and there is also pottery, jewellery, ceramics, cushions, soaps and handbags.

Melton artist Yvonne Rylatt, who has sold her work in several countries and is president of the Nottingham Society of Artists has some of her work on display at County Crafts in Windsor Street and plans are in place to hold a solo exhibition later this year there, in its first floor gallery.

Art in cafes is increasing as proprietors recognise the benefit of displaying original artwork on their walls rather than prints.

In the Gallery at Wilton Road Coffee Shop, the present exhibition by illustrator and caricaturist Andrew Geeson of Gaddesby ends on Wednesday.

He will be succeeded by Melton artist Gladys Dinnacombe who will have her paintings and copies of her new book of poetry on display during March.

Brian Hodder may be Melton’s most prolific artist and you can enjoy his work in three of the town’s cafes – Manor Oven Cafe in Sherrard Street, Time Out Cafe in the Bell Centre and Deli Italia in Church Street.

Melton artist Sue Bagshaw continues her successful period as Artist in Residence at Deli Italia’s Upstairs Gallery. Sue has been joined by Twyford artist Elaine Underwood, selling her original paintings and ceramics, together with jewellery designer Becky Toughill.

Inaugural Palm Springs Fine Art Fair exceeds first-year expectations

The inaugural Palm Springs Fine Art Fair exceeded all first-year expectations, with a total Presidents Day Weekend attendance of 9,500 visitors and sales reaching into the millions of dollars during the February 16-19 event at the Palm Springs Convention Center. Beginning with an opening night gala that drew in art collectors and connoisseurs from across the United States-bolstered by a massive presence from the Los Angeles, Orange County and San Diego art scenes, and the generous support and unprecedented turnout from the local art community-to benefit the Palm Springs Art Museum, more than 1,500 attendees toasted the more than 2,000 significant works of post-war and contemporary art on exhibit and sale at the fair. Attendance was steady throughout the three day event-which was founded by the Hamptons Expo Group -and resulted in a first-year fair that boasts the attendance and sales results of an established veteran.

Reaction to the first-year event was understandably positive, with attendees and participants already anticipating an even more spectacular future:

Steven Biller, Editor-in-Chief at PalmSprings Life magazine, summed up the event's impact: "I thought the fair was a transformational event for Palm Springs. It demonstrated the power and sophistication of this market's art community. And it drew people from L.A., Orange County, San Diego, Phoenix/Scottsdale, and the Pacific Northwest. What better place than sunny Palm Springs in the dead of winter to come see art and decompress from the real world? The quality of the some work was world-class, and it was exciting to see red dots on works by blue-chip artists like Andrew Wyeth; L.A. artists like Peter Alexander; established and mid-career artists like Enrique Chagoya and William Betts; and Chicano artists, including Ricardo Ruiz, from the collection of Cheech Marin."
Like Biller, exhibitor Emmett Potter was impressedwith the level of work on display: "You'd have to go to LACMA to see art of this quality."

Kathleen Crain, Associate Director of Scott White Contemporary Art, said,"We have been very pleased with the PalmSprings Fine Art Fair. From the caliber of galleries who participated to the knowledgeable collectors visiting our booth, we feel the fair is off to a great start. We look forward to seeing the fair gain even more attention in the years to come."

Lorna York, owner of the Madison Gallery, counted the fair a success: "This was a fabulous fair for us. There was a lot of synergy here: great dealers, great artwork and a great body of collectors. I brought four artists to the fair and all four have sold, so yes, I'm very happy to have been a participant."

Sales at the fair were steady throughout the weekend, reaching into the millions of dollars. An early partial list of works sold includes blue chip alongside venerable mid-career and emerging artists: Slim Aarons, Lita Albuquerque, Peter Alexander, William Betts,
Stanley Boxer, William Theophilus Brown, Steve Burtch, Enrique Chagoya, Judy Chicago, Michael Childers, Lori Cozen-Geller, Ron Davis, Walter de Maria, Matt Devine, Richard Diebenkorn, Carol Donjuan, Robert Dunahay, Eric Fischl, Eric Forstmann, Sam Francis, Michael Glier and Jenny Holzer, Luis Gutierrez, Grace Hartigan, Scot Heywood, David Hockney, Tom Holland, Robert Irwin, Paul Jenkins, Craig Kauffman, Mary-Austin Klein, Jason Kowalski, Mayme Kratz, Jaehyo Lee, Joanne Lefrak, Roy Lichtenstein, Kim MacConnel, Carrie Marill, Richard Misrach, Henry Moore, Rodrigo Moya, Neil Nagy, Siegried Neuenhausen, George Platt Lynes, Ricardo Ruiz, Ed Ruscha, Stephen Salmieri, Steven Schaub, Alexis Smith, Doug and Mike Starn, Andrew Taylor, Wayne Thiebaud, Jeremy Thomas, James Turrell, James Verbicky, Robert Walker, Andy Warhol, James Weeks, Joel-Peter Wikin, Andrew Wyeth, and Scott Yeskel.

In addition to a weekend-long lecture series led by Steven Biller and art critic/curator Peter Frank, alongside a non-stop schedule of VIP parties hosted by fair Sponsors and Culture Partners, the Palm Springs Fine Art Fair was highlighted by a number of featured exhibitions and awards, including:

Judy Chicago: This legendary artist was honored on opening night with a Lifetime Achievement Award, for her pioneering work. The fair entrance featured Judy Chicago, Material Girl, a retrospective exhibition of her 50 year career, curated and produced by David Richard Contemporary.

Cheech Marin: The nation's foremost Chicano arts advocate received the Arts Patron of the Year Award for his continued support of Chicano art and artists. He also exhibited work, hosted a book signing and VIP party during the run of the fair.
The Big Picture, Paintings from Southern California, 1960 -1980: Art critic Peter Frankcurated an historic Pacific Standard Time-sanctioned exhibition of work culled from participating galleries at the fair.

Palm Springs Fine Art Fair Owner Rick Friedman sums up the reasons for the event's first year success: "We see this as a cultural highpoint of the season. We've now established that there is an art savvy and vibrant buying base up into the hundreds of thousands of dollars. Taking place during Palm Springs' annual Modernism Week, the Palm Springs Fine Art Fair rounds out a must-attend West Coast winter resort weekend for fine art and design."

Contemporary sales: still some things to smile about

A week of contemporary art sales that ended last Friday proved that, for the right artists, the market is remarkably stable, unaffected by global economic uncertainties. Nearly 186 million was spent in nine sales at four auction houses, comfortably within the pre-sale estimate of 142 to 214 million. This time last year, before the eurozone crisis and talk of a double dip, the equivalent sales made only about 1.5 million more.

Although Bonhams had a rough ride earlier in the week, that was because the company has yet to find its feet at the deep end of this market. Its top-selling lot was a rare drawing of a young Lucian Freud by his friend, Frank Auerbach, which sold for a healthy 481,250 to the London dealer Pilar Ordovas, bidding for a private collector.

What the sale was missing was a few pictures by Gerhard Richter. At the other three salerooms, there were 25, mostly colourful abstract paintings of the kind that had sold so well in New York in November, and all but two sold for 33.8 million, easily surpassing the minimum 20 million expected; that’s 18.4 percent of the series spent on just one artist. I can’t remember any other contemporary artist, apart from Andy Warhol, dominating to such an extent.

The highest Richter price was 9.9 million for the large abstract which was illustrated in this column two weeks ago. Although it is these colourful, squeegee-executed works that are most widely sought after, other, less obviously commercial works from his extensive repertoire are also performing well. A painting of a blank piece of paper, curled at the corner for turning, was one of a series of only 11 of this subject made in 1965. When it was last sold in 2002, it was bought by a British collector for 53,000. Last week, the collector sold it for 1.5 million.

American art took a back seat – apart from a large stencil-style painting by hedge-fund favourite Christopher Wool of the word FOOL, which sold for a record 4.9 million, and a vibrant Orange Sports Figure by graffiti artist Jean-Michel Basquiat that sold for 4.1 million. The price for the Basquiat wasn’t huge by 2007 standards, but for the seller, who bought it in 1992, four years after the artist’s tragic suicide, for $66,000, it was a good return.

British art was led by a full-length portrait of Henrietta Moraes reclining on a bed by Francis Bacon, which took the top price of 21 million. It had been sent for sale by Sheldon Solow, the New York real estate developer and toast of Christie’s who had sold the record-breaking Henry Moore and Joan Miró a week earlier. Experts think Lucian Freud will be at the same level when one of his many masterpieces in private hands comes on to the market. Last week, though, it was Freud’s drawings appearing out of the woodwork because three made over 1 million for the first time last year.

At Sotheby’s, five drawings from the collection of his former dealer James Kirkman sold for 2.4 million – some to his last dealer, Acquavella Galleries in New York, and a fine late drawing of Lord Goodman to the Richard Green Gallery in London. Damien Hirst, though, was still struggling with the residue of his famous one-man Beautiful sale at Sotheby’s in 2008. A butterfly painting bought there for 253,250 could find no buyer last week at 100,000.

Photography has also been dragging its heels at auction, except, that is, for the two most expensive artists in this genre, Andreas Gursky and Cindy Sherman. In 2004, Sherman showed her latest photographs of herself – as a clown – in London, and they all sold priced from 35,000 to 50,000.

Last week, as she prepares for the opening of her major retrospective at the Museum of Modern Art in New York, two clown photographs came up for sale, and the most expensive was sold by Phillips for a hefty 433,250 – not a record for Sherman, but the highest price to date for one of her clown photographs.

In spite of the profit-taking, this was not a market out of control. The auction rooms had largely got their estimates right – not an easy task in what is perceived as a volatile market. Most artists in these sales experience a price spurt at some point, and then it calms down. Last week, two of the latest market phenomena, Jacob Kassay and Ged Quinn, saw their prices stabilise. Sooner or later, Richter’s abstracts will level off, too. But for the moment, the auctioneers are enjoying the ride.

Suspect Whiteleys case echoes earlier instance of art forgeries

PRESSURE is mounting for an investigation to be launched into three suspect paintings which appear to have been passed off as the work of the late and celebrated Australian artist Brett Whiteley. Two were sold for millions of dollars to unwitting buyers.

Despite long-standing suspicions about their authenticity, all three paintings remain in public circulation and have not been investigated by the police. Controversial Melbourne art dealer Peter Gant, who declared himself bankrupt last year, is linked to all three paintings.

One of the suspect paintings, titled Big Blue Lavender Bay, sold to a Sydney investment banker in late 2007 for $2.5 million, has recently become the subject of legal action in the Supreme Court of NSW.

Sydney banker Andrew Pridham is the latest to have questioned the suspect Whiteleys and he is suing the Melbourne art dealer who sold him the painting, Anita Archer, until recently head auctioneer with Deutscher and Hackett.

Ms Archer denies that Big Blue Lavender Bay is a forgery and also denies she verified the provenance, or history of sale, of the painting. In a statement to the court, she denies having an advisory contract with Pridham ''or alternatively, that the terms of the advisory contract are those terms alleged by the plaintiff''.

In his statement of claim, Mr Pridham alleges that Ms Archer acquired the painting from Mr Gant, ''an art dealer whose background, reputation and associations are not such as to allow any reasonable person to rely solely on his assertions''. In response, Ms Archer again denies having the advisory contract or that the contract terms are as alleged.

The NSW court case has the potential to become as important a test case as the legal action launched by the artists Charles Blackman and Robert Dickerson, who pursued Mr Gant in the Victorian Supreme Court for selling three forged artworks - one purportedly by Dickerson, the other two by Blackman.

In a landmark ruling in 2010, the Victorian Supreme Court found Mr Gant in breach of the Fair Trading Act for selling the three drawings and ordered the fakes to be destroyed. The court made no findings as to whether Mr Gant had intentionally sold the fakes, but stated that he had failed to take adequate steps to confirm their authenticity.

The NSW court case will yet again draw attention to the practices of the art market and to the need for accountability and due diligence from art dealers. The case might also expose the chain of production involved with the three suspect Whiteley works, all of which are listed on a consignment note dated June 28, 1988, and addressed to the late Chris Quintas, who was Whiteley's studio assistant.

It is understood that two of the listed paintings - Big Blue Lavender Bay and Orange Lavender Bay - have been examined by the Melbourne art forensic expert Robyn Sloggett and found to be ''problematic''. The third, titled Lavender Bay Through the Window, was given to a Melbourne restaurateur by Mr Gant as security for money owed. When the restaurateur discovered it too could be problematic, he took out a caveat on one of Mr Gant's properties.

The painting remains with Mr Gant's lawyers and the restaurateur's debts have yet to be paid.

Robert Dickerson's stepson Stephen Nall, who has long campaigned for a tougher approach to art fraud, is furious the three suspect Whiteley paintings are still in the public domain. ''I personally think that these three pictures need to be investigated forthwith,'' Mr Nall said.

''There ought to be some government legislation that deals with these types of matter so that the public doesn't lose confidence in the art market.''

Art fraud is one of the easiest crimes to get away with. It is not a crime to sell a forged art work, nor is it a crime to copy an artist's work - unless one does it with the intention to deceive and the intention to profit from the deception. But proving intention is an onerous task under current criminal law. More likely, alleged cases of art fraud will be pursued in the civil justice system.

Yet it takes deep pockets and the risk of losing money pursuing justice, as Blackman and Dickerson found. Mr Gant was ordered to pay their legal costs, but they have yet to receive a cent from him. Mr Gant did not return the Herald's calls.

A U.S. Flag Over London Art Sales

Global art collectors converged on London during the past two weeks for major auctions of Impressionist, modern and contemporary art. These sales are usually dominated by Europeans, but this time, the biggest players came from the U.S.

Confident American bidders lifted the sales to a combined $713 million, with Christie's $457 million total topping Sotheby's roughly $256 million. Overall, the results easily topped the houses' low estimates of $413 million.

New York real-estate developer Sheldon Solow was among the biggest sellers, getting $33.4 million at Christie's Tuesday for his Francis Bacon painting "Portrait of Henrietta Moraes" as well as $26.6 million at the same house on Feb. 7 for his Joan Mir "Painting-Poem."

During the contemporary-art sales at Christie's and Sotheby's earlier this week, American collectors bid on a majority of the priciest pieces on offer, largely over the telephone. Among their winnings: a $15.5 million "Abstract Painting" by Gerhard Richter, an $8.3 million Nicolas de Stael landscape, "Agrigente," and several squiggly lined abstracts by Cy Twombly. An American also took home Shanghai-based Zhang Huan's $228,304 "Ash Head No. 1" sculpture at Sotheby's on Wednesday.

American collectors feel like they're "farther down the road to economic recovery" than their Continental counterparts, said Christie's specialist Amy Cappellazzo. U.S. buyers also capitalized on the dollar's growing strength over most of the past year against the British pound to exert more purchasing power throughout these sales, she added.

New Jersey art adviser Eddie Mishon said his American clients feel "safe" buying art this season. On Wednesday, he bid on several works at Sotheby's before winning a $624,398 untitled oil-on-paper by Willem de Kooning: "I was working it," Mr. Mishon joked of his willingness to compete.

Throughout these sales, collectors gravitated to artists with global fan bases and easy-to-recognize styles like Richter, the German painter best known for creating wildly colorful abstracts by scraping an oversize squeegee across his canvases. Ten Richters came up for sale during the houses' evening sales this week, and nine sold for a combined $45.2 million. Dealers said the artist is enjoying a profile boost this season, thanks to a retrospective on view in London and Berlin.

Collectors and dealers also flocked to Lucio Fontana, the Italian artist who gained international fame in the 1950s by slashing his monochrome canvases with a knife. Right now, his red versions seem to outsell those slashed in paler colors. Christie's got $3.2 million for Fontana's red "Spatial Concept, Expectations" from 1967. Andy Warhol collector Jose Mugrabi also paid $943,963 for a gray 1962 version by Fontana with the same title.

Elsewhere during the contemporary sales, Asian bidders appeared to be branching out. Not only did they pay $2.8 million and $1.6 million for a pair of paintings by Chinese abstract painter Zao Wou-ki, but an Asian telephone bidder also won Berlinde de Bruyckere's $510,643 sculpture of a life-size, stuffed horse crouching on a table, "K 36 (The Black Horse)," a new price record for the artist at auction. Asians also won a $577,250 Damien Hirst Spot painting and a $416,443 photo of Madrid's Prado Museum by Thomas Struth.

Europeans, for their part, fought hard for a new favorite: Christopher Wool, the Chicago-born post-Conceptual artist whose paintings of stenciled words have long been more coveted in the U.S. At Christie's Tuesday, an untitled painting, with black letters spelling out the word "fool," sold to a European for $7.7 million, a new auction record for the artist.

Sears gallery opens with paintings for sale

Dixie State College puts on one of the biggest art shows and sale in the state of Utah every year.

The annual Sears Dixie Invitational Art Show and Sale will be celebrating its 25th Anniversary. It will feature 170 unique, renowned artists around the United States with nearly 300 pieces of art to enjoy. Artists in the show will be there on Feb. 17 at 3 p.m. in the Eccles Fine Arts Center on the campus of DSC and everybody is welcome to come.

It will be conducted by 2011 Purchase Prize and Best Show winner "Bust of Light" an oil painting by Jerry Read Hancock. He was the first in the Invitational history to take home both awards.

"This show is perfect for anyone, it's free to attend, you can bring a date, you can gain so much knowledge from the art, and maybe even become a collector one day," said Kathy Cieslewicz, curator of the Sears Art Museum Gallery. "Art is something everybody should have in their life because it can open so many more opportunities."

The Sears Invitational is a great addition to St. George because of all the attraction it brings from people around America.

Cieslewicz said: "This is not some ordinary art show with ordinary artist; In fact this maybe one of the greatest art events around, and it takes place here at DSC."

The art gallery not only is a great event, but also helps the economy.

"The Sears art show truly helps the economy by filling restaurants, hotels and businesses. In simple terms, the more attraction at the gallery the more attraction for St. George." Cieslewicz said. "I want to lay down a foundation to help St. George become a buyer's art destination, which is why this is such an important art event."

Few people know that the Sears art show contains some of the most talented artists in the world. For example, Del Parson who has taught at DSC for the past 20 years. He has taught at other schools but has said he loves the great atmosphere and sprit here at Dixie.

"The sales and art in the Sears Invitational show cannot compare to other art shows in the state," Parson said. "I make a living with my paintings, and this show is a great place to sell them."

Parson has a few of his paintings in the show this year with one of them being a painting of Christ. This beautiful painting was actually done in his art class. He said he was making the students do their final projects, and he would do a final as well.

"These art shows are very important to people because art is a visual communication that expresses the things closet to you," Parson said.

The artists will be available, and the art sale will begin Feb. 17 at 3 p.m. A dinner after the viewing will be available for $75. The gallery will open to the public Saturday, Feb. 18, and will display through Sunday, March 25. The gallery will be open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Saturday, and on Sundays from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m.

Cieslewicz said: "People coming to the show for their first time will be surprised by the quality and range of all the artwork styles. There is a piece of art for everyone to enjoy."

Fine Art Auction House Goes to the Dogs

The art world can get pretty bitchy. This was even more the case than usual at Barkfest, a brunch this weekend at Bonhams auction house which served as a preview for "Dogs in Show & Field," an art sale taking place this Wednesday. Potential art buyers were encouraged to bring their various canines to not only see portraits of dogs on the wall, but also meet others of their species. The event benefited the American Kennel Club Humane Fund.

For the last several years, the sale and the party—offering mimosas, fruit and various carbohydrates (croissants, bagels, muffins) to people; water bowls and fresh dog treats for their pets—has coincided with the Westminster Dog Show, which finishes Tuesday at Madison Square Garden. In fact, a few of the dogs that showed up to Barkfest on Sunday would be competing in the Dog Show.

London, a Standard Poodle and the reigning AKC/Eukanuba National Champion stood on a card table, as two of his owners, Michelle Molnar and Jamie Danburg of Boca Raton, Fla., passed out Valentine's Day cookies and pins encouraging his win this week.

Why is London named London, you may ask? "Well, we're big Rolling Stones fans," said Chris Bailey, one of his breeders. "His father was Jagger, and there was a Mick somewhere in his line, too."

As London posed for photographs and greeted fans, Garth, a 3 1/2-year-old bloodhound, was enjoying his very first art exhibition. Karen Dewey, his owner, had brought him down from the Lake Sunapee area of New Hampshire, and he would be competing the next day, too. Being at an art show wasn't awkward with a 132-pound dog, said Ms. Dewey. "Not for him," she said. "He's well-trained and well-behaved and well-socialized."

Meanwhile, Roslyn and Craig Lauterbach, who own a commercial plumbing business in Flemington, N.J., were lugging around their two 150-pound Landseer Newfoundlands, Port and Starboard. They were pretty docile, though they did slobber a bit on the floor.

The Lauterbachs said they were used to have such huge puppies out and out about. "It is like when you have children," Ms. Lauterbach explained. "The only way they're going to learn to be social is if you bring them out."

"People always want to know about [if the dogs have] accidents," said Alan Fausel of Bonhams. "But for the most part, these are city dogs. They're well behaved around crowds and people. They're used to interiors and doing their business when they have to do their business."

There are 167 lots in the Bonhams show, including a sketch of a Scottish terrier in an armchair by Cecil Charles Windsor Aldin, an English Setter in a field by Reuben Ward Binks, an oil painting of several Cavalier King Charles Spaniels in a basket by James W. Brook and an English Bulldog and a cat at rest in a stable by Ralph Hedley. None of them would be out of place on a note card you might get from your aunt in Millbrook.

Mr. Fausel explained that the market for dog paintings is particularly up for field sports and "gun dogs," i.e. animals that go after pheasants, ducks and woodcocks, but softer in the fox hunt, "because that is been banned in England."

"We have people who want a certain type of terrier or pug or bulldog," Mr. Fausel went on. "They're breed or job specific. They want art of their own animal, rather than just having a nice painting of a dog on the wall." For the most part, Mr. Fausel explained, "these are end users, people who love things and want to buy them. They're more invested emotionally. They are going to put this up, rather than buy and resell."

Laura Brightsen, who works in venture capital, and her Yorkshire terrier Sofie, had come with their friends Meridith Skodnik, who works in financial technology sales, and her miniature Golden Doodle Lola. "It is fun to do something with your dog in New York," said Ms. Skodnik. "Otherwise we just go to Bergdorf."

With so much stimuli and an allergic reaction coming on, it was hard to focus on the paintings up for sale. Apparently, Ms. Brightsen was having difficulty getting Sofie to respond to any of the artwork, too. "But she's responding to the dog biscuits," Ms. Brightsen said.

Art sale helps a family

Watching art enthusiasts out-do each other with the on-line bidding for Summer Jamieson's latest acrylic painting has been exciting for the Waihopai Valley artist.

The Last Muster, a 1.5 metre-long work, sold for $4550 when the Trade Me auction closed at 8pm on Sunday.

It was Jamieson's contribution to the Walker Family Appeal which started after Brendon Edward Walker, 39, was electrocuted on the farm he managed at Quail Downs near Kaikoura on January 28. He left behind wife Sarah, a 7-year-old son and a 9-year-old daughter.

"I hadn't met the family but I read about it in the newspaper and I was gutted for them [after the accident]," Jamieson said last week.

Her sons are a similar age to the Walker children, who had to call emergency services when they found their father dead in a paddock after he was hit by a power line and their mother was seriously burned trying to help him.

Jamieson is also friends with Mrs Walker's best friend Amanda Henderson, who started the appeal.

When Ms Henderson phoned and asked Jamieson to sell a painting that could be auctioned for the appeal, the artist refused.

"But I was happy to paint something specially for her."

Most of her paintings show hunting and wildlife scenes but a musterer seemed a more fitting tribute for Mr Walker, who loved his work in the high-country. "Mustering, that's what Brendon loved to do. Unfortunately, his life was cut short."

The Last Muster is a Jamieson original but she searched the web for ideas before starting it.

Special inspiration came from a Marlborough Express photographer who had followed a late-autumn muster in the Awatere in 2010. In one of the pictures he took, farm hand Sean Dobbs and his dogs became silhouette figures on the crest of a hill against the sky.

After painting her version of the scene, Jamieson learned Mr Dobbs had shifted to a property beside the one Mr Walker managed at Quail Flat and was friends with the Walker family.

"He was stoked the photo was used [for the painting]."

Photographer Ben Curran is pleased, too.

"You can look at the painting and see it's similar to the photograph; but it's a good rendition of it and it's a really nice painting," he said.

Knowing an image he captured through a camera lens had been recreated on canvas to help a family in need also felt good, Curran said.

The Last Muster auction closed on Sunday but the Walker Family Appeal continues until the end of the month.

Local Citizens Band Together To Draft Prescott Art Policy

"The first artisans to arrive in Prescott were the men and women that built the Governor's mansion and the Territorial Legislative Assembly meeting place with hand tools and the materials that they found locally. These works of art, completed in the Fall of 1864 stand today on the grounds of the Sharlot Hall Museum, which has been financially supported by the City of Prescott since the original founding agreements in 1927.

"With the first Governor's party, musical instruments were brought so that the children could celebrate Christmas in 1864 with music, dancing and gifts.

"Their work was preceded by the creation of the Citizen's Cemetery with the earliest interment in 1864. Soon after elaborate and ornate tombstones started to appear, and then native stone wall in the 1930's.

"Throughout the early years in Prescott, performances were created, costumed and acted by the townspeople and families stationed at the Army Post in Fort Whipple. Opera houses and small theatres built by entrepreneurs popped up over the years, until through a popular subscription campaign the Elks Opera House came into existence.

"Artists of all genres have made Prescott their hometown over the years. Actors brought writers, followed by painters, sculptors, choral and musicians.

"In 1964, when this building was constructed, Paul Coze, then the Honorary Consul to Arizona from France, was asked to paint this mural in Council chambers. Also within the Council chambers are two paintings by "Artist of Arizona" Kate T. Cory-the 1880's Courthouse and the first school in the territory-now the Washington traditional school on East Gurley.

"Clearly, Prescott enjoys remarkable assets, both natural and man made. From the original design of the townsite, to street embellishments, historic buildings, magnificent sculptures and murals. The only missing element is for the City of Prescott to adopt policy and procedures in the form of an ordinance to call out the specifics of a public arts policy to provide the appropriate guidance for the elected and appointed officials, and especially for the citizens.

"Prescott Area Arts and Humanities Council was formed as a non-profit in 1974 to seek out funds to bring arts and culture to the City of Prescott. Its very first endeavor was to bring "ARTRAIN" to the Santa Fe Depot for five days, so that children from throughout the county could see displays of art from around the world. Five cars were filled with the very best art for children to experience and enjoy. This gathering was the largest gathering of people in Prescott until our recent BEST FEST. Prescott Area Arts and Humanities Council was involved with Best Fest from the very start, and put together the best of artists from across the State for that celebration, and will be doing that again this upcoming weekend in Phoenix.

"PAAHC mission is to support, promote and advocate for the arts. In cooperation with the City of Prescott, we have accomplished this for the past several years by administering the City's art grants funding. These funds have been utilized over the years for organizations offering wonderful public art events like: The Phippen Museum's Western Art Show and Sale, Mountain Artist's Guild Mother's Day Show, The Smoki Museum's Southwest Indian Arts Festival, Blue Grass Festival, Tsunami on the Square, Chalk It Up!, Prescott Center for the Arts "Ghost Talk" and many, many others. The City's Department of Tourism recognizes the importance of art in our community ... Don Prince, Director of Tourism has stated that "Art is a major tourism destination driver." And just yesterday, Prescott's Arts and Culture video went live on the Tourism website featuring some of the very best in art that Prescott has to offer.

"A small group of individuals, citizen volunteers, have come together to DRAFT an Arts and Culture Policy for the City of Prescott. I would like to recognize these individuals now: Elisabeth Ruffner, Historian and Founder of PAAHC Gregg Payne-can't be here today. Former Commissioner for the Arts in Chico, CA and a founding member of that Commission ... and a public artist Elynn Colaianni, Art Teacher at Northpointe High School Debra Owen, Arts Activist and Community Organizer Cindy Gresser, Executive Director Smoki Museum.

Inmate art breaks out for annual display, sale

Inmate No. 83399 took second and third place for his intricate pencil drawings of an infant and a lighthouse at the Riverfront Community Center last week.

A drawing of a fish, by another U.S. Disciplinary Barrack inmate, took first place. The artwork is judged each year by the Leavenworth County Artists’ Association, then sold. Proceeds go back to the inmates, with 20 percent supporting the River City Community Players, a local theater group. If the item doesn’t sell, it goes back to the inmate. The inmates choose which pieces they would like to sell and set the price, with a limit of $300.
The “Hidden Art Locked Away” sale takes place each February in Leavenworth, with two-dimensional art contributions from the USDB and the U.S. Penitentiary.

Gene Young, founder of the Young Sign Company, and Everett Ward, former Multimedia and Visual Information Services employee, judged this year’s contest. Both are active in the Leavenworth County Artists Association and the Carnegie Arts Center in Leavenworth.

Both men agreed that the drawing of the fish, with detailed sketching, was a good piece of artwork.

“The way it’s drawn, the way that the scales are done, it has almost a mechanical look,” Ward said.

Peter Grande, chief of staff of the Military Corrections Complex on Fort Leavenworth, said the arts and crafts program on post is open only to the all-male, long-term inmates at the USDB. The USP, as a nonmilitary program, is a separate facility. It is on federal property adjacent to Fort Leavenworth.

Grande said the art show can be beneficial for the inmates.

“I think it’s a good outlet for them to be able to show their talents outside the facility,” Grande said. “Secondly, it gives them an outlet to express themselves. Guys that don’t want to participate in sports can have another outlet to occupy their time.”

Grande said art instructors have visited the USDB in the past to lend expertise in showing the inmates how to draw or paint. The program is also a benefit for inmates who display good behavior.

“It’s their extracurricular activity,” Grande said. “They do it during their off time from their work detail.”
Inmates can purchase their own materials, procured by the Military Corrections Complex staff. The materials must be on an approved list.

“We have some pretty talented guys here,” Grande said.

A market in need of supervision

The most striking thing about the art market—especially as it has grown from the small, passionate community of the early 1990s to a $50bn industry today—is that it largely functions along self-regulating lines. Prices, authenticity, standards and practices are all arrived at among the art world itself, without much reference or recourse to government—it feels like a libertarian’s dream of a free and unfettered market. But, the recent scandal engulfing the 165-year-old Knoedler Gallery, with the authenticity of works attributed rs including Robert Motherwell and Jackson Pollock coming under scrutiny to US painte, suggests that more adult supervision is required.

“Over the years, we have hoped that there would be some sort of investigation” into the circulation of allegedly fake works, said Richard Grant, the executive director of the Diebenkorn Foundation in an interview with the New York Times last December. A federal investigation has now been launched into the alleged forgeries, but questions over market regulation have dogged the industry for years. William Cohan, a New York Times writer, published a scathing attack on the trade in August 2010. “The art market is utterly unregulated. There are few rules, other than the basic ones of commerce and ethics. There is no Federal Reserve Board or Securities and Exchange Commission,” he wrote, referring to issues surrounding bronzes cast from rediscovered plaster moulds that were sold as genuine works by Degas.

Cohan’s proposed solution was not to create an agency to govern the art market but to shoehorn the trade under the newly created Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. However, Cohan made no effort to show how the oversight might work.

Indeed, there would be practical problems with art market regulation: works of art are not fungible, and value is impossible to calculate against any independent measure. Moreover, it is not the lack of laws that bedevils the art market but a see-no-evil, ask-no-questions attitude among many in the trade. It is worth bearing in mind that aggressive attributions, fudged provenance and too-good-to-be-true discoveries are nothing new. For more than 25 years, beginning in 1912, the American art historian Bernard Berenson helped the English art dealer Joseph Duveen to sell masterpieces to US plutocrats, famously embellishing attribution on occasion to justify the price.

Since then, however, the market has grown exponentially, which means that there are more people involved. For example, in the recent case brought against Knoedler and its former director Ann Freedman by the London-based collector Pierre Lagrange last December over an allegedly fake $17m Pollock, the number of intermediaries only added to the confusion. At least four individual entities stood between the seller and buyer: the dealers Jaime Frankfurt and Timothy Taylor acted as unwitting agents and liaised with Knoedler gallery and its then director, Freedman, on Lagrange’s behalf. The gallery and Freedman in turn dealt with Long Island art dealer Glafira Rosales, who was herself allegedly representing the mysterious Mexican seller.

While intermediaries are not necessarily a sign of trouble, the chain of people involved in the Lagrange case seems to have created a diffusion of responsibility. The situation is not atypical. “There used to be clear pipelines that art would go into, but now there is a complex matrix,” says David Houston, the director of the curatorial department at the Crystal Bridges Museum. The institution has made no secret of its desire to buy a major Pollock, but is navigating busy waters. “We see a lot more middlemen in the market today than we did ten years ago—people who are part-adviser, part-dealer and part-picker,” he says.

Nevertheless, many in the trade say that Pollock’s massive prices (notably Mural, 1943, which is owned by the University of Iowa Museum of Art and is valued at $140m), and the fact that his output was limited, mean that the whereabouts of his works are relatively well known. Any buyer seriously looking for a work at the highest price level should “know exactly which works are out there, who owns them and whether they’re ready to part with them”, says the art adviser Todd Levin of the Levin Art Group.

Middleman or no, Lagrange’s confidence in the authenticity of the $17m Pollock was no doubt enhanced by Knoedler’s role in the deal. The gallery’s ties to the New York School painters, including the recently deceased Helen Frankenthaler, and its long-established reputation lent authority to its opinions. The gallery’s sudden decision to close on 30 November shocked many in the trade. There is a parallel with the events of the banking crisis in 2008 when long-standing firms like Bear Stearns and Lehman Brothers collapsed. “This may have warned people that even a solid source like a 165-year-old gallery can go out of business,” says the art dealer Richard Feigen, who opened his first gallery more than 50 years ago, selling works ranging from Old Masters to surrealists and contemporary artists. He recently demonstrated the importance of professional integrity when he stood behind the sale of a putative Max Ernst painting that turned out be one of the 62 acknowledged forgeries produced by the Wolfgang Beltracchi ring in Germany, a scam that was exposed last year . When the fraud was revealed, Feigen immediately reimbursed his client, and was in turn paid back by the seller.

New York bills of sale require a warranty of authenticity for a work of art (though this expires four years from the date of sale and may not be extended), which should be sufficient oversight of the market. Galleries and auction houses with plenty of financial reserves are able to stand behind works they sell, and so are essential in ensuring the viability of the current art market. Without them, the system cannot function—which may be one reason that the auction houses have been able to expand their private sales dramatically through the credit crisis and that brand galleries including Gagosian, Pace, David Zwirner and Hauser & Wirth increasingly dominate the commercial scene.

Art Collector Dean Valentine Pays

In a development that could shake the art world, trend-setting collector Dean Valentine has agreed to pay famed painter Mark Grotjahn to end a lawsuit over enforcement of the California "resale royalty" law.

According to the terms of the settlement, Valentine will fork over 5 percent of his proceeds for selling Grotjahn artwork on three occassions, plus he will pay some of the artist's attorney fees. The deal comes a few weeks before a jury trial was scheduled to begin in this closely-watched case and as other big-name artists fight for the right to collect royalties from art collectors and auction houses.

The idea that artists who become famous deserve the right to share in the spoils of resold art has been around since at least 19th century Europe, when artists were given a "droit de suite" to collect a fee from art sellers. But U.S. copyright law provides no such provision for American artists. Starting in the 1970s, artist Robert Rauschenberg started agitating for such a right upon word that one of his paintings, originally sold for $900, had gone for $85,000 at a Sotheby's auction.

In 1976, California granted Rauschenberg's wish and became the only state in the U.S. to have a law that entitled artists to claim 5 percent of resale royalties on any work sold for more than $1,000, so long as the artist resides or the transaction happens in California. For more than three decades, however, few artists paid much attention to the California Resale Royalty Act.

Last year, many big artists including Chuck Close, Laddie John Dill and the estate of the sculptor Robert Graham joined together in a major class action lawsuit against Sotheby's, Christie's and online auction giant eBay, alleging they were owed significant money under the California Resale Royalty Act.

As the defendants in this ongoing class action now raise objections over the constitutionality of California's law, attention has turned to Grotjahn's lawsuit against Valentine, which was expected to bring an early test of the viability of artists' claims.

Grotjahn's lawsuit was first filed in state court, and then removed to the federal level, where a judge rejected Valentine's own constitutional arguments. The California Resale Royalty Act, wrote the judge, "does not infringe on the exclusive rights delineated in the Copyright Act."

Sent back to LA Superior Court, Valentine's attorneys made a new attempt to dismiss the case by arguing that the work was sold by an "agent" who resided outside of California. Grotjahn's lawyers were aghast at this argument, saying it would "gut" California's law, which they argued was "never intended to be so easily circumvented."

Last month, judge Michael Solner held a hearing about the issue and dismissed Valentine's arguments without any written analysis or discussion. The development became the final straw in this battle between famed collector and famed artist. Later that afternoon, the parties gathered for a court-ordered mediation session. Valentine was prepared to end his defense.

"My client just decided to settle after doing the math and deciding it was simpler to pay," says Valentine's attorney, Joshua Kaufman at Venable LLP.

Kaufman added that Valentine was most concerned about excessive legal fees being demanded by Grotjahn's side, and that when the artist proposed a more reasonable legal fee figure, Valentine decided to take it. Since the judge had already foreclosed the "agency" argument, there were few legal weapons at the collector's disposal besides re-opening the "constitutionality" defense before a state judge, and then making an appeal.

To do so would have been expensive, with tolling legal fees, so Valentine decided to finally give in on the 5 percent royalty. The parties haven't revealed the precise figure in the settlement yet, but reportedly, the biggest sale in dispute was Grotjahn's untitled oil on linen painting from 2005 known as "Blue Face Grotjahn," which Valentine sold for $1.2 million.

Grotjahn's attorney, Lonnie Blanchard, says that this is a great day for artists hoping to get their fair share of resold artwork. "We believe in this law," he says. "Artists struggle just like recording artists, actors and so many creative people. These mechanisms have been created to reward their efforts, so you got to believe in it. That’s what my client and law firm did. We think we did some good."

Blanchard also believes that the outcome of this lawsuit could foreshadow what's going to happen in the big class action brought by major names in the art world. In January, Sotheby's, Christie's and eBay made an argument that California's Royalties Resale Act violates the U.S. Constitution by attempting to regulate interstate commerce.

Blanchard notes that U.S. District Court Judge Jacqueline H. Nguyen is the same one who presided over his case when it was briefly at the federal circuit. "To the extent that it is in front of same judge, I think it would be strange if the judge didn’t rule the same way," says Blanchard.

Record purchase causes seismic shift in art world

It is a painting of startling simplicity. Two farm labourers contemplate their cards above an empty table, their expressions as blank as the austere background against which they are posed, little more than objects in a human still life created by the artist Paul Cezanne.

Yet in the crazy 21st-century world of billionaire plutocrats and sovereign wealth funds fighting over the world's few remaining true masterpieces, this stripped-down image - measuring little more than a metre square - has nearly doubled the previous record for the highest price paid for an art work.

It has emerged that The Card Players has been bought for 158 million ($300 million) by the Qatari royal family.

The sale, from the collection of the late Greek shipping magnate George Embiricos, heralds the arrival of the tiny oil-rich Gulf state as the pre-eminent force in the international art market.

As details of the purchase leaked out in Vanity Fair, experts hailed it as a watershed moment in a market which found itself uncharacteristically subdued last year as the Western economy faltered in the grip of the eurozone crisis and new buyers from Asia, Russia and the Middle East preferred to do deals in private.

Fine-art appraiser Victor Wiener said the art world had been watching and waiting for news of the Cezanne since the death of its previous owner last year. "For months, its sale has been rumoured. Now, everyone will use this price as a point of departure: it changes the whole art-market structure," he said.

The Card Players is the last of five studies painted by Cezanne between 1890 and 1895 in and around the family estate in Provence which paved the way for the Cubist revolution on their first public showing after the artist's death. The others are in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, the Musee d'Orsay in Paris, the Courtauld Institute in London and the Barnes Foundation in Pennsylvania.

The amount paid by the Qatari royals dwarfs that of the world's previous most expensive artwork. Jackson Pollock's No 5, 1948 was sold to an unknown buyer for 88.7 million in 2006 at the peak of the pre-recession art-buying boom.

Under its previous ownership The Card Players was rarely lent out; however, speculation is mounting that it could take pride of place on permanent display at the Qatar National Museum, which is due to reopen in 2014.

There it will hang alongside a treasure-trove of works snapped up in recent years including pieces by Damien Hirst, Mark Rothko and Andy Warhol.

One of the driving forces behind the desert kingdom's expansion in the international art market is Sheikha Al-Mayassa bint Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani, the daughter of Qatar's Emir.

The 28-year-old began her career as intern for the Tribeca Film Festival but now heads the Qatar Museums Authority. She has helped to lure some of the brightest stars in the art world to Doha.

According to research carried out by the Art Newspaper, cultural exports from the United States to Qatar between 2005 and 2011 totalled 270 million, including the purchase of the "Rockefeller Rothko", White Center (Yellow, Pink and Lavender on Rose), for 46 million. In the same period, the country imported 128 million of paintings and antiques from Britain including Damien Hirst's Lullaby Spring, 2002, for which it paid 9.2 million in 2007.

"The small but energy-rich Gulf state of Qatar is the world's biggest buyer in the art market - by value, at any rate - and is behind most of the major modern and contemporary art deals over the past six years," the newspaper said.

‘Art for the Heart’ show supports University of Ottawa Heart Institute

February is Heart and Stroke month in Canada, the perfect time to organize an art show with a portion of the proceeds going to the University of Ottawa Heart Institute.

The second annual Art for the Heart show will be held on Sunday, Feb. 12, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. at the Barrhaven Legion Hall, 3500 Fallowfield Rd.

The show was the brainchild of local artist Sylvia Summers-Martyn. After chatting with several artists and Legion members, it became apparent how many people she knew who have been affected by heart disease.

One of the Legion’s own member’s life was saved in 2010 because the Legion had a defibrillator on the premises. So she decided to organize the first Art for the Heart show in 2011. Last year’s show was a success and as Summers-Martyn says: “and the beat goes on!!!”

This year there will be 12 local artists: Jill Alexander, Margaret Chwialkowska, Terry Cowan, Lianne Gour, Ann Gruchy, Linda Loder, Judi Miller, Fortunee Shugar, Sue Shuker, Sylvia Summers-Martyn, Donna Wiegand, and Sandy Woods. The artworks range from small to large, from abstract to realism, created in a wide variety of media: oil, acrylic, mixed media, photography, encaustic, watercolour, textile art and more.

It is thanks to volunteers and sponsors that this show is possible. This years sponsors are: The UPS Store, Barrhaven Mall; Ross’ Independent Grocer; Mill Street Florist; the Royal Canadian Legion 641, Barrhaven; EMC Community Newspaper; and Patrick Creppin, Creppin Realty Group.

The University of Ottawa Heart Institute will have a table at the show distributing educational material about heart and stroke disease.

The support received from the Heart Institute has been an integral component for the show’s popularity.

The organizers and sponsors are hoping that the public will come out once again to support the Heart Institute and to see the amazing art created by talented local artists. This unique show promises to deliver a memorable experience to all of those who visit.

Admission and parking are free and delicious refreshments will be served. What better way to enjoy a Sunday outing.

Surrealism's Startling Appeal

Surrealism is set to fire the imagination at auctions in London next week.

On Tuesday, Christie's will follow its major Impressionist and modern art sale with one devoted to "The Art of the Surreal." On Wednesday, Sotheby's will include a range of striking Surrealist works in its main Impressionist and modern art auction. "We prefer to show Surrealism in the whole context of modern art," says Sotheby's specialist Samuel Valette.

Surrealism was a revolutionary movement of writers and artists that rose between the two world wars and ended with the death in 1966 of its founder, the French poet Andre Breton.

Stressing the subconscious and dreams, the movement's artists created startling images filled with hidden meanings, strange combinations of everyday objects and unforgettable erotic figures. They were also experimental in using all techniques at hand, including the new effects opened by photography. Later stars of the art world that were influenced by the European Surrealists include America's Jackson Pollock and American-French grande dame of the global art world Louise Bourgeois.

Many Surrealists were undervalued at the start of the 21st century, despite their great influence on subsequent generations of artists, says Olivier Camu, Christie's Impressionist and Modern Art deputy chairman. To raise awareness, the auction house started dedicated Surrealist sales in 2001. It was a slow start, he notes, but now many previously undervalued artists have taken off, such as Max Ernst. Others, he says, still have a way to go, such as Francis Picabia, who is represented in next week's sales. "Surrealists have hit a nerve of our times," Mr. Camu says. "We are living in an age of psychology and eroticism."

Both Christie's and Sotheby's will offer monumental and rare works by Joan Miro. At Christie's, there will be one of his famous "Painting-Poem" canvases from 1925, in which the artist creates an hallucinatory atmosphere mixing Abstraction, free-flowing forms and text . At Sotheby's, "Peinture" comes from another group of iconic Miro paintings from 1933 . The painting is full of energy, pouring out from free forms in red, white, yellow and blue, seen against a delicate brown and green background. Standing before this picture, I was stunned by its combination of power and subtlety. I could only agree with Mr. Valette when he said, "It doesn't get better than this."

Rene Magritte is always a top Surrealist attraction, combining mystery, beauty and humor. A work at Christie's that deals with the hidden side of life will be "La Parade," a painting from 1940, the year the Nazis invaded his homeland of Belgium. This seemingly simple image shows a leafless tree before a red curtain, hiding a desert landscape. I don't pretend to understand it, but there is an enormous impact there in its hidden meanings . At Sotheby's, a dreamy, blue painting of a large petrified apple under a distant moon is pure poetry, designed to give plenty of contemplative moments .

For eroticism, it's hard to beat Paul Delvaux, who specialized in naked beauties in totally strange backgrounds, such as "The Nude and the Mannequin" . The painting at Christie's depicts a white Venus figure stretched on a couch in a railway station, with a black tailor's dummy at her side . A gentler side of Surrealist eroticism is represented by Picabia's transparencies, paintings where the artist transposes the images of beautiful women upon each other. "Hero"  at Christies, in which women's heads float against a backdrop of a nude, creates a sensual vision as in a dream .

Garage Sale Slave or Gallerist?

A building on Art Walk-friendly A Street was filled with antique tables and hand-woven carpets from around the world. But Pastiche: A Gallery of Art, as it was called, had no future. Owners Rick and Joanne Soued opened it temporarily last year with the hope to close it down as soon as possible.

That's because instead of holding garage sales at their home off Highway 66, the Soueds became provisional gallerists in a downtown rental.

They took out a three-month lease on a 1920s cottage and created a pop-up gallery to get, they hoped, the most exposure and the highest price for a $650 antique caned office chair, $22 silk Thai oil paintings and other sentimental objets d'art.

Although most people trying to divest of their home furnishings still turn to makeshift yard sales, poster-pointing garage sales or well-advertised estate sales, homeowners who think they can get more money are becoming short-time retailers. Many turn to the growing number of consignment shops and antique malls to display their goods.

Until November, Bonnie McCormick and Dolly Rapp were buyers, not sellers. But when McCormick's husband, Branson, asked her politely to get a keepsake Toledo wood cook stove out of the dining room, she and her sister Dolly dreamed up the idea of selling it at a place they like to shop: the Ashland Artisan Emporium.

They rented a 6-foot-by-8-foot space for about $80 a month. They filled it with once-loved furnishings, knickknacks and family heirlooms from each of their long-lived-in homes.

Like most of the other stalls at the Ashland Artisan Emporium, the sisters' offerings are eclectic, from new slippers to vintage fruit jars. An unwrinkled 1948 Baby Care Manual, protected inside a plastic sleeve with a homemade price tag marked at $5, rests on top of the Toledo stove, which is tagged at $600.

"We live too far from anyone to have a garage sale," says McCormick. "And this place is fun to browse, especially during the cold winter months and the hot summer months."

The sisters don't have to watch their merchandise; the antique mall's staff considers that part of the service to earn its 15 percent commission. Still, the sisters show up often to restock their booth, decorate for a holiday — they have ceramic chick dishes to unload for Easter — and try to avoid seeing anything in the other 200 booths and wall spaces that they need to buy. "Not bringing anything home is my goal," says McCormick.

Owner Michelle Christian says when she opened the emporium in late 2010 in the Ashland Street Cinemas shopping center, most of the vendors were artists and crafters selling new, handmade work. But then more people wanting to downsize showed up with cars full of stuff, and now the store is half new, half previously owned.

After they closed their experimental gallery on A Street, the Soueds moved remaining pieces — lithographs, fabrics, even an inlaid door from Morocco — to the emporium. They are now long-distance sellers; they sold their house here and moved to Arizona.

"The gallery took a ton of effort to put together and maintain," says Rick Soued. "The Ashland Artisan Emporium is a godsend for people to show and sell some very nice things that would otherwise not be possible if conventional rentals and overhead needed to be paid."

On the other side of the town, Kathy Buffington of Ashland Recycle Furniture also has seen her clientele shift since she bought the store 11 years ago. Consignment sales have more than doubled to represent 95 percent of her inventory, and most of it sells in a month.

"Individuals from all income levels and as far away as 300 miles bring in usable items like an overstuffed Pottery Barn-style chair or a rustic farm dining table," says Buffington. "A lot of people are simplifying, downsizing, moving, and some just want to change it up a bit in their décor. It's always fascinating to see what's coming in the door."

Retailer Ken Silverman, who has owned Nimbus near the Plaza for about 30 years, is trying something new, too: He has hung artwork by pastel master Virgil Sova that was owned by Silverman's late mother on walls in his popular gallery.

Visitors wandering through the expansive shop during the Art Walk this Friday will pass by new contemporary blown glass, Frank Philipps ceramics and tabletop art. Then, in a 400-square-foot section that is as highly curated as the rest of the space, they will see eight pieces of art that once adorned Silverman's mother's home.

"The display is a tribute to her," says Silverman. "She personally knew Virgil Sova and she valued these pieces. At the same time, I'm in charge of her estate and I'm the only one of her four sons with a gallery, so we decided that rather than send them off to an auction in Portland or San Francisco, I could put them up here for a while and see what response we get."

The paintings, signed prints and lithographs will be sold at the price she paid for them over the decades, from $250 to several thousand dollars, and in their original frames. Collectors sometimes prefer to buy art and furnishings as they were displayed in a home, believing it adds to the story and value.