After the last diamond-encrusted bauble had been snatched up, the last item of Dior couture sold, the last Fendi handbag handed on to a new owner, the sale of Elizabeth Taylor’s vast collections netted $156.8 million. The four days of sales at Christie’s became the most valuable private jewelry sale in history ($137.2 million) and the most valuable private collection of fashion ever sold ($5.5 million). The first online-only Christie’s sale drew 57,000 bids and reaped $9.5 million. The complete collection sold out, a testament to both the star’s magnetism and the quality of the merchandise.
All the proceeds benefit the Elizabeth Taylor Trust, which manages the Taylor estate. Taylor was well-known in her later years for her fund-raising and activism for AIDS research. A portion of the profit generated by Christie’s sale of exhibition tickets (58,000 people saw the exhibit in its international travels), event sponsorship and the ongoing sales of “select publications,” will be donated to the Elizabeth Taylor AIDS Foundation. The auction house also raised $170,00 through the sale of a deluxe limited edition boxed set of the catalogs on the first evening of the auction, which will also go to the foundation.
Some highlights from the later sales: those Vuitton trunks, with the violet-colored tags reading “Mine!” sold for $245,500, the top figure for the accessories sale. The Andy Warhol lithograph signed and dedicated by the artist went for $662,000. A (quite hideous) beaded Versace bolero jacket featuring rhinestone images of Taylor in some of her famous roles fetched $128,500. Even rocks Taylor never actually wore went for big sums: a large gray “scholar’s rock” netted $386,500, more than 30 times its estimate of $8,000 to $12,000.
Christie’s will complete the dispersal of the Taylor collections in the new year with sales of her Old Master paintings (Jan. 25 in New York), including a Frans Hals portrait (not of Taylor), and her Impressionist and modern art collection (London, Feb. 7 and 8).
Chris Wilding, Taylor’s son and a trustee of the foundation, said, “My mother always acknowledged that she was merely the temporary custodian of the incredible things she owned. Today, I think she would be happy to know that her collections will continue to enrich the lives of those who have acquired pieces.”
2011年12月20日星期二
2011年12月19日星期一
Art sales: review of 2011
It has been an uneven year for the art market, starting like an express train, but finishing slightly out of puff. The auction houses will not produce their annual sales reports until next year, but figures on Sotheby’s website indicate that there has been a 12.2 per cent rise in its worldwide auction sales to $4.9 billion. However, while sales up to the end of July were generally meeting and sometimes exceeding expectations, since September, in Europe and the UK, they have consistently fallen below their estimates. Although there are exceptions, the trend suggests that the eurozone crisis has taken its toll.
In addition to auction sales, there will also be private sales, an increasingly popular part of the auctioneers’ business that takes place behind closed doors. Last year, private sales accounted for 10 per cent of business at Sotheby’s and Christie’s at $1 billion. During the first six months of this year, Christie’s increased its private sales by 57 per cent, and Sotheby’s by 114 per cent, as it recorded its best first six months ever. In spite of the private sale of four Matisse bronzes for an estimated $120 million in November, it is uncertain whether Sotheby’s will reach the record $6.2 billion for a year, achieved in 2007, but it will be close. The biggest money spinners, as ever, have been modern and contemporary art, but whereas blue-chip Impressionist and modern art dominated the recessionary period of 2009 and early 2010, the market this year has seen a swing back to post-war and contemporary art, especially in New York, where contemporary art sales have surged ahead.
A major feature of the modern market has been the strong prices for surrealist art. In February, a record 13.5 million was paid in London for Salvador Dali’s Portrait of Paul Eluard, as well as a record 2.5 million for a work on paper by Magritte. In New York in May, a Russian buyer paid a record $9 million for a painting by the Belgian Paul Delvaux, and in November a painting by Max Ernst sold for a record $16.3 million.
The biggest flop of the year for the Impressionists was the over-valued Degas sculpture Petit Danseuse de Quatorze Ans, which, estimated at $25 million to $35 million, was passed at Christie’s in New York in November without a bid.
Knowing quite when the new buyers from Asia, Russia or the Middle East would strike was the name of the game. While none fell for the Degas, an Asian buyer did claim the top Picasso, a portrait of his mistress, Marie-Thérèse Walther, at $21.4 million in New York’s May sales. Russian buyers claimed the top Francis Bacons of the year, including three small portraits of Lucian Freud, for 23 million in London, while competition between Russian and Asian buyers for abstract paintings by Gerhard Richter, such as can still be seen in the Richter exhibition at Tate Modern, drove prices to a record $21 million in November.
Two of the top 10 highest prices of the year were paid in London for Old Masters from old British collections. Francesco Guardi’s exceptionally large view of the Rialto Bridge in Venice will be going abroad unless funds can be found to match the 27 million paid for it, while George Stubbs’s sporting masterpiece, Gimcrack on Newmarket Heath, sold for 22.4 million, the third highest price ever for an Old Master. Meanwhile, a rediscovered Leonardo is on loan to an exhibition in the National Gallery with a mooted $200 million value attached to it.
The top prices at Sotheby’s and Christie’s were for American abstract expressionist and Pop art. The previously underrated Clyfford Still soared to a record $62 million, while a Roy Lichtenstein cartoon-style painting fetched $43 million. In a highly plausible account of the sales, The Economist has suggested that both paintings were guaranteed by the Qatari Royal Family, and then bought by them.
But the most expensive painting at auction was not in London, Paris or New York, but in Beijing. In May, a traditional ink and brush painting by China’s biggest selling artist, Qi Baishi, of an eagle standing on a pine tree flanked by calligraphic scrolls, sold for $65 million at China Guardian Auctions. The Chinese market may have cooled down of late, and may have less reliable standards of reporting concerning sales, but when the analysis is done, it will be shown how close China is to becoming the largest art and antiques market in the world.
In addition to auction sales, there will also be private sales, an increasingly popular part of the auctioneers’ business that takes place behind closed doors. Last year, private sales accounted for 10 per cent of business at Sotheby’s and Christie’s at $1 billion. During the first six months of this year, Christie’s increased its private sales by 57 per cent, and Sotheby’s by 114 per cent, as it recorded its best first six months ever. In spite of the private sale of four Matisse bronzes for an estimated $120 million in November, it is uncertain whether Sotheby’s will reach the record $6.2 billion for a year, achieved in 2007, but it will be close. The biggest money spinners, as ever, have been modern and contemporary art, but whereas blue-chip Impressionist and modern art dominated the recessionary period of 2009 and early 2010, the market this year has seen a swing back to post-war and contemporary art, especially in New York, where contemporary art sales have surged ahead.
A major feature of the modern market has been the strong prices for surrealist art. In February, a record 13.5 million was paid in London for Salvador Dali’s Portrait of Paul Eluard, as well as a record 2.5 million for a work on paper by Magritte. In New York in May, a Russian buyer paid a record $9 million for a painting by the Belgian Paul Delvaux, and in November a painting by Max Ernst sold for a record $16.3 million.
The biggest flop of the year for the Impressionists was the over-valued Degas sculpture Petit Danseuse de Quatorze Ans, which, estimated at $25 million to $35 million, was passed at Christie’s in New York in November without a bid.
Knowing quite when the new buyers from Asia, Russia or the Middle East would strike was the name of the game. While none fell for the Degas, an Asian buyer did claim the top Picasso, a portrait of his mistress, Marie-Thérèse Walther, at $21.4 million in New York’s May sales. Russian buyers claimed the top Francis Bacons of the year, including three small portraits of Lucian Freud, for 23 million in London, while competition between Russian and Asian buyers for abstract paintings by Gerhard Richter, such as can still be seen in the Richter exhibition at Tate Modern, drove prices to a record $21 million in November.
Two of the top 10 highest prices of the year were paid in London for Old Masters from old British collections. Francesco Guardi’s exceptionally large view of the Rialto Bridge in Venice will be going abroad unless funds can be found to match the 27 million paid for it, while George Stubbs’s sporting masterpiece, Gimcrack on Newmarket Heath, sold for 22.4 million, the third highest price ever for an Old Master. Meanwhile, a rediscovered Leonardo is on loan to an exhibition in the National Gallery with a mooted $200 million value attached to it.
The top prices at Sotheby’s and Christie’s were for American abstract expressionist and Pop art. The previously underrated Clyfford Still soared to a record $62 million, while a Roy Lichtenstein cartoon-style painting fetched $43 million. In a highly plausible account of the sales, The Economist has suggested that both paintings were guaranteed by the Qatari Royal Family, and then bought by them.
But the most expensive painting at auction was not in London, Paris or New York, but in Beijing. In May, a traditional ink and brush painting by China’s biggest selling artist, Qi Baishi, of an eagle standing on a pine tree flanked by calligraphic scrolls, sold for $65 million at China Guardian Auctions. The Chinese market may have cooled down of late, and may have less reliable standards of reporting concerning sales, but when the analysis is done, it will be shown how close China is to becoming the largest art and antiques market in the world.
2011年12月18日星期日
As markets plunge, Asia's wealthy flock to art
Despite giddy Chinese art prices showing some strain from global economic uncertainty, collectors like Lo think values will continue to rise due to limited supply and continued strong demand as Asian collectors become more affluent.
"As East and West get into more of a confluence in taste and in the market place, it will still go up," said Lo, a Cambridge-educated writer and jewellery designer, a slim, elegant woman famously known for wearing mis-matched designer shoes.
She is one of Hong Kong's leading art collectors -- her home is stacked with rare Chinese furniture, stone carvings and paintings, including an inkbrush panorama of the Grand Canyon by Chinese 20th century master Wu Guanzhong.
"These days art investment has entered into the mainstream of investment, especially for younger people. You cannot divorce love of the piece from what lies behind, the value of it."
Hong Kong has played a key role in Asia's art market boom. Its auction market turnover -- anchored by Sotheby's and Christie's -- skyrocketed 300 percent from 2009 to 2010, powered by a wave of Chinese millionaires buying art with avid fervor.
"Hong Kong has became the sales centre of the world," said Patti Wong, chairman of Sotheby's Asia, with revenue in the former British colony on par with New York and London.
Despite the art market's vulnerability to shocks, including the 2008 Lehman Brothers collapse, when unrealistic estimates left scores of unsold lots amid tepid bidding even in the red-hot Chinese ceramics market, Asia's rapid wealth accumulation will likely see more and more money flow into art and alternative investments such as wine.
Asia's wealth management and private banking industry remains a sparkling growth area for many struggling banks, with an estimated 3.3 million high net worth individuals worth more than $1 million, according to Capgemini and Merrill Lynch's latest annual World Wealth report.
With a combined wealth of $10.7 trillion, Asia's wealthy have even eclipsed the $10.2 trillion held by Europe's generational millionaires.
"The exponential growth in the number of emerging market (millionaires) ... is expanding the global market for investments of passion," the report said.
SAFE HAVEN?
While art often comes straddled with hefty commission, storage and insurance costs, it can serve as a fun portfolio diversifier, mixing decent returns with aesthetic pleasure.
Even as the euro zone debt crisis rages and buffets regional stock markets, the Mei Moses Global Art Index, a widely tracked art indicator, showed an 11.8 percent rise in 2011 to November.
"It may not be a good time for sellers but it's an excellent time for buyers. During late 2008 and 2009, I highly advised clients to buy," said Bobby Mohseni, director of MFA Asia, an art consultancy. "With Chinese contemporary art, some prices have gone exceptionally high and that's just over a decade ... so it's best to look at upcoming or mid-tier artists."
While stocks on the S&P 500 have outperformed Western art over the past 25 years, according to Mei Moses data, top Chinese and Asian art is still comparatively cheap compared with Western impressionists or American contemporary art. A Mei Moses index for traditional Chinese art showed a 24 percent jump in the first three quarters this year.
"The confidence in the Chinese contemporary art market remains high despite art market confidence dropping sharply in the U.S. and European contemporary market," Anders Petterson, head of art research consultancy ArtTactic, told Reuters.
Even for those with less purchasing muscle, experts say bargains can still be had in less spotlighted categories, including modern Filipino and Indonesian painters, as well as photography, and Chinese snuff bottles, to name a few.
"Collect what other people aren't collecting," said Tony Miller, a former top Hong Kong government official and long-standing collector of scholars' objects and Chinese art. "If you can't afford Qi Baishi paintings and they're going at HK$2 million a throw, well, go for prints."
Qi is one of the masters of inkbrush paintings and his pieces sell for millions of dollars.
Owners of Hong Kong's art galleries, many of them crammed along the winding Hollywood Road in the Central district, say timing is the key.
"If you get good works of art, then without any question it is (a safe haven) but it doesn't have the liquidity. That's the difficulty," said Sundaram Tagore, whose galleries in Hong Kong and the United States feature a stable of culture-bridging artists.
"If you're trying to sell at the wrong time it becomes part of the distressed market but if you're selling at the right time then you could make 100 times more, maybe more than property or any bonds can provide you."
The search by Asian investors for alternative assets has extended beyond art into wine, gems, watches, postage stamps and other memorabilia -- the rarer and more exclusive, the better.
With about two-thirds of the world's stamp collectors in Asia, the stamps and collectibles market has surged, says Geoff Anandappa of stamp and memorabilia retailer Stanley Gibbons.
Hong Kong-based InterAsia Auctions -- which specialises in Asian stamps -- broke world records for Chinese stamps in September, raking in $12.6 million over four days. A 1941 Dr Sun Yat-Sen inverted centre stamp fetched $221,000, up 66 percent from a similar sale a year ago.
Chinese and Asian buyers have cornered the fine wine market, with a Hong Kong Acker Merrall & Condit wine auction in December bringing in $9 million, including a single superlot of 55 Romanee Conti vintages that fetched a record-breaking $813,000.
Similarly, Asian buying is behind the boom for diamonds and gems. China is on course to become the world's top diamond buyer and retailers in Hong Kong report a rise in the number of men coming to buy loose diamonds for investments.
A Hong Kong jewellery retailer recently raised $2 billion in one of the city's biggest initial public offerings this year to fund expansion in the region.
"It's not the old days of 'safe as houses', put your money in the bank and that will sort you out," said Jon Reade of the Art Futures Group, a Hong Kong-based art investment firm.
"Those are the days probably of my parents' generation ... people are getting more creative with their money."
"As East and West get into more of a confluence in taste and in the market place, it will still go up," said Lo, a Cambridge-educated writer and jewellery designer, a slim, elegant woman famously known for wearing mis-matched designer shoes.
She is one of Hong Kong's leading art collectors -- her home is stacked with rare Chinese furniture, stone carvings and paintings, including an inkbrush panorama of the Grand Canyon by Chinese 20th century master Wu Guanzhong.
"These days art investment has entered into the mainstream of investment, especially for younger people. You cannot divorce love of the piece from what lies behind, the value of it."
Hong Kong has played a key role in Asia's art market boom. Its auction market turnover -- anchored by Sotheby's and Christie's -- skyrocketed 300 percent from 2009 to 2010, powered by a wave of Chinese millionaires buying art with avid fervor.
"Hong Kong has became the sales centre of the world," said Patti Wong, chairman of Sotheby's Asia, with revenue in the former British colony on par with New York and London.
Despite the art market's vulnerability to shocks, including the 2008 Lehman Brothers collapse, when unrealistic estimates left scores of unsold lots amid tepid bidding even in the red-hot Chinese ceramics market, Asia's rapid wealth accumulation will likely see more and more money flow into art and alternative investments such as wine.
Asia's wealth management and private banking industry remains a sparkling growth area for many struggling banks, with an estimated 3.3 million high net worth individuals worth more than $1 million, according to Capgemini and Merrill Lynch's latest annual World Wealth report.
With a combined wealth of $10.7 trillion, Asia's wealthy have even eclipsed the $10.2 trillion held by Europe's generational millionaires.
"The exponential growth in the number of emerging market (millionaires) ... is expanding the global market for investments of passion," the report said.
SAFE HAVEN?
While art often comes straddled with hefty commission, storage and insurance costs, it can serve as a fun portfolio diversifier, mixing decent returns with aesthetic pleasure.
Even as the euro zone debt crisis rages and buffets regional stock markets, the Mei Moses Global Art Index, a widely tracked art indicator, showed an 11.8 percent rise in 2011 to November.
"It may not be a good time for sellers but it's an excellent time for buyers. During late 2008 and 2009, I highly advised clients to buy," said Bobby Mohseni, director of MFA Asia, an art consultancy. "With Chinese contemporary art, some prices have gone exceptionally high and that's just over a decade ... so it's best to look at upcoming or mid-tier artists."
While stocks on the S&P 500 have outperformed Western art over the past 25 years, according to Mei Moses data, top Chinese and Asian art is still comparatively cheap compared with Western impressionists or American contemporary art. A Mei Moses index for traditional Chinese art showed a 24 percent jump in the first three quarters this year.
"The confidence in the Chinese contemporary art market remains high despite art market confidence dropping sharply in the U.S. and European contemporary market," Anders Petterson, head of art research consultancy ArtTactic, told Reuters.
Even for those with less purchasing muscle, experts say bargains can still be had in less spotlighted categories, including modern Filipino and Indonesian painters, as well as photography, and Chinese snuff bottles, to name a few.
"Collect what other people aren't collecting," said Tony Miller, a former top Hong Kong government official and long-standing collector of scholars' objects and Chinese art. "If you can't afford Qi Baishi paintings and they're going at HK$2 million a throw, well, go for prints."
Qi is one of the masters of inkbrush paintings and his pieces sell for millions of dollars.
Owners of Hong Kong's art galleries, many of them crammed along the winding Hollywood Road in the Central district, say timing is the key.
"If you get good works of art, then without any question it is (a safe haven) but it doesn't have the liquidity. That's the difficulty," said Sundaram Tagore, whose galleries in Hong Kong and the United States feature a stable of culture-bridging artists.
"If you're trying to sell at the wrong time it becomes part of the distressed market but if you're selling at the right time then you could make 100 times more, maybe more than property or any bonds can provide you."
The search by Asian investors for alternative assets has extended beyond art into wine, gems, watches, postage stamps and other memorabilia -- the rarer and more exclusive, the better.
With about two-thirds of the world's stamp collectors in Asia, the stamps and collectibles market has surged, says Geoff Anandappa of stamp and memorabilia retailer Stanley Gibbons.
Hong Kong-based InterAsia Auctions -- which specialises in Asian stamps -- broke world records for Chinese stamps in September, raking in $12.6 million over four days. A 1941 Dr Sun Yat-Sen inverted centre stamp fetched $221,000, up 66 percent from a similar sale a year ago.
Chinese and Asian buyers have cornered the fine wine market, with a Hong Kong Acker Merrall & Condit wine auction in December bringing in $9 million, including a single superlot of 55 Romanee Conti vintages that fetched a record-breaking $813,000.
Similarly, Asian buying is behind the boom for diamonds and gems. China is on course to become the world's top diamond buyer and retailers in Hong Kong report a rise in the number of men coming to buy loose diamonds for investments.
A Hong Kong jewellery retailer recently raised $2 billion in one of the city's biggest initial public offerings this year to fund expansion in the region.
"It's not the old days of 'safe as houses', put your money in the bank and that will sort you out," said Jon Reade of the Art Futures Group, a Hong Kong-based art investment firm.
"Those are the days probably of my parents' generation ... people are getting more creative with their money."
2011年12月15日星期四
Art show revels in Narragansett Bay's revival
A soggy, gray December day turned for the better inside the Save The Bay Center at Fields Point, where hundreds of images in a range of media showcased the drama and personality of Rhode Island's signature landscape.
Visible just a few feet away, the water of Narragansett Bay rippled in the wind, pockmarked by rain, while on the walls and shelves of the Save The Bay Center it presented all of its moods and colors in photographs, paintings, sculptures, even jewelry, showcasing the beauty and diversity of the state's most precious resource. The show is haphazardly presented, but there is a sense of meandering joy in finding surprises amid seascape clichés. The bay is depicted in all seasons and times of day and night. Familiar landmarks, including many of the state's lighthouses and points, are commonly represented. (The Newport Bridge, in particular, seems to have emerged as Rhode Island's Motif No. 1, our artistic answer to Rockport's red fishing shack and San Francisco's Golden Gate Bridge.)
The show spotlights the usual suspects - osprey and geese, herons and stripers, the odd gull, the odd quahog. The horseshoe crab, one of the world's oldest creatures, possessed with a graphically distinctive armored shape, and observed more frequently in recent years as a sign of the bay's revitalized health, appears as one of the more popular characters in this year's show. There are waves rendered in all of their variety, boats of all kinds, surfers and solitary fishermen, sails and saltboxes, and images both familiar and enticing to the everyday Rhode Island beachcomber.
Mary Chatowsky Jameson, a native Rhode Islander who splits her time between Middletown and Jamaica Plain, Mass., contributes exquisite images of sea flora, the seaweeds and other plants strewn across Rhode Island shores, pressed and dried into pleasing designs of delicate shapes with subtle colors. Her Porphyra and Chordaria flagelliformis (back whip weed) are particularly striking. A hand-printed serigraph, titled "Seaweed," by Ashley Van Etten, offers a similarly engaging variant.
North Kingstown free diver and photographer Mike Laptew includes a stunning photograph of an osprey in flight, yellow-eyed, clutching a herring in its talons, depicting one of the daily dramas of the Rhode Island coast at the time of the osprey's return - and the herring's - each spring.
Evocative coastal scenes include "Winter Harbor," an oil by Saunderstown painter Jonathan McPhillips, reminding us how every New England season offers its own visual charm, and two appealing photographs by Wickford's Cindy Horovitz Wilson. One, "Red Pelican Reflections," is an abstract of rippling red streaking across the water, while the other, "Clear Reflections," is a tranquil harbor scene of early morning mist and mast.
Carl Peter Mayer's seemingly impossible balanced rock sculptures, made up of columns of large beach stones topped by heart-shaped rocks, which graced the sea wall near Narragansett Town Beach a couple of years ago until weather and physics took over, make a welcome return to the Save The Bay show.
While the exhibition overall captures the exuberance of the bay, and all who enjoy its company, one wishes for a bit more daring, a grittier edge. Most works take aim at scenery, or natural diversity, but few tackle the issue of bay preservation - the underlying theme of the show - in ways that are cognitively challenging or emotionally wrenching.
But, of course, the purpose of the annual Save The Bay art show is to sell images, to support the artists and the organization's marine science education program. So we are given more pretty scenes than provocative ones. Which is fine, especially on a day when parking lots turn to puddles, all of the color has been washed out of sea and sky, and the prevailing atmosphere is so raw, damp and cold that a squid might be tempted to volunteer for the calamari skillet. On days like these, there are advantages to enjoying the bay indoors.
Visible just a few feet away, the water of Narragansett Bay rippled in the wind, pockmarked by rain, while on the walls and shelves of the Save The Bay Center it presented all of its moods and colors in photographs, paintings, sculptures, even jewelry, showcasing the beauty and diversity of the state's most precious resource. The show is haphazardly presented, but there is a sense of meandering joy in finding surprises amid seascape clichés. The bay is depicted in all seasons and times of day and night. Familiar landmarks, including many of the state's lighthouses and points, are commonly represented. (The Newport Bridge, in particular, seems to have emerged as Rhode Island's Motif No. 1, our artistic answer to Rockport's red fishing shack and San Francisco's Golden Gate Bridge.)
The show spotlights the usual suspects - osprey and geese, herons and stripers, the odd gull, the odd quahog. The horseshoe crab, one of the world's oldest creatures, possessed with a graphically distinctive armored shape, and observed more frequently in recent years as a sign of the bay's revitalized health, appears as one of the more popular characters in this year's show. There are waves rendered in all of their variety, boats of all kinds, surfers and solitary fishermen, sails and saltboxes, and images both familiar and enticing to the everyday Rhode Island beachcomber.
Mary Chatowsky Jameson, a native Rhode Islander who splits her time between Middletown and Jamaica Plain, Mass., contributes exquisite images of sea flora, the seaweeds and other plants strewn across Rhode Island shores, pressed and dried into pleasing designs of delicate shapes with subtle colors. Her Porphyra and Chordaria flagelliformis (back whip weed) are particularly striking. A hand-printed serigraph, titled "Seaweed," by Ashley Van Etten, offers a similarly engaging variant.
North Kingstown free diver and photographer Mike Laptew includes a stunning photograph of an osprey in flight, yellow-eyed, clutching a herring in its talons, depicting one of the daily dramas of the Rhode Island coast at the time of the osprey's return - and the herring's - each spring.
Evocative coastal scenes include "Winter Harbor," an oil by Saunderstown painter Jonathan McPhillips, reminding us how every New England season offers its own visual charm, and two appealing photographs by Wickford's Cindy Horovitz Wilson. One, "Red Pelican Reflections," is an abstract of rippling red streaking across the water, while the other, "Clear Reflections," is a tranquil harbor scene of early morning mist and mast.
Carl Peter Mayer's seemingly impossible balanced rock sculptures, made up of columns of large beach stones topped by heart-shaped rocks, which graced the sea wall near Narragansett Town Beach a couple of years ago until weather and physics took over, make a welcome return to the Save The Bay show.
While the exhibition overall captures the exuberance of the bay, and all who enjoy its company, one wishes for a bit more daring, a grittier edge. Most works take aim at scenery, or natural diversity, but few tackle the issue of bay preservation - the underlying theme of the show - in ways that are cognitively challenging or emotionally wrenching.
But, of course, the purpose of the annual Save The Bay art show is to sell images, to support the artists and the organization's marine science education program. So we are given more pretty scenes than provocative ones. Which is fine, especially on a day when parking lots turn to puddles, all of the color has been washed out of sea and sky, and the prevailing atmosphere is so raw, damp and cold that a squid might be tempted to volunteer for the calamari skillet. On days like these, there are advantages to enjoying the bay indoors.
2011年12月14日星期三
Doyle Street artists embrace variety of styles
Walking into the Doyle Street Art Fair, I’m surprised to see actor Brian Heighton sitting at the front desk.
Actually Heighton studied art before he "fell into acting," and he’s exhibiting with four other local artists in a "pop-up" art gallery in the former Italian Market building at 5413 Doyle St., Halifax.
Jeremy Akerman, also an actor, as well as a former politician and a painter, saw the space for rent and invited Heighton, as well as J. Vincent Walsh, Jacqueline Steudler, Mary Ann Archibald and Sarah Jane Conklin, to exhibit their works at the Doyle Street Art Fair until Dec. 21.
The paintings range from Heighton’s depiction of hockey sticks plunged into a snow bank after a backyard hockey game in Halifax’s North End to Steudler’s hot, hard-edged, semi-abstracts of flowers. There’s a bit of questionable sculpture in this show, but the painting is strong.
Heighton loves to paint the flat-roofed, colourful North End houses and hopes to do a series in acrylic "before they go."
He also exhibits a small landscape of the island at Dollar Lake, where he camped for the first time this summer and discovered the giant turtle that lives near the island. He captures the pine trees reflecting in the water.
Akerman hangs his work in a salon style with a crowd of landscapes and portraits in all sizes including a series of small, vivid portraits of politicians like Howard Epstein and G.I. Smith, as well as actors Michael Moriarty and Tom Selleck.
His landscapes include swooping misty highland landscapes and dancing Halifax paintings of city lights and the harbour.
Mary Ann Archibald is a sensitive portrait painter who captures a soul, and a story, as well as a likeness with a soft, gentle touch in her oil paintings. Her portrait of William Hall hangs in the Nova Scotia Legislature. Archibald also exhibits still lifes of flowers, demonstrating a gift for painting glass, and landscapes like Winter at Wolfville which perfectly captures the winter light and harsh blueness of the Minas Basin in winter.
Fall River artist Sarah Jane Conklin has a highly individual style of worked up oil on canvas surfaces which she beautifully describes as "deliberate entanglements of brushstrokes" and hot, contrasting colours with lots of oranges and greens in her rushing river series, which she exhibited as River Ballads at the Peter Lewis Gallery in Saint John, N.B., in May.
Conklin has a painting featured in CBC Radio Information Morning’s 2012 Sharing the View Calendar, now on sale at Sobeys as a Feed Nova Scotia fundraiser.
J. Vincent Walsh brings the beach into the gallery with the beautifully composed, subdued and lovely Beach Stone Composition #1, as well a closeup of a traditional buoy in Killick #1 and a stretch of beach at Martinique.
He demonstrates his range with still life and figurative work.Steudler, like Conklin, is defined by a unique colour palette in paintings ranging from abstracts of land or sea, horizon line and sky, the powerful patterned flowers and small splashy abstracts of jots of colour.
All the works at the Doyle Street Art Fair are for sale.
"It’s not like Walmart but yeah, they sell," says Heighton, who as an actor is in DMV Theatre Collective’s remount of The Ugly One in Calgary in January and is in a new DMV production in Halifax in February. "I think people are pleasantly surprised. They go, it’s great. It’s a sleepy street, they find it’s local artists and they think that’s great."
Actually Heighton studied art before he "fell into acting," and he’s exhibiting with four other local artists in a "pop-up" art gallery in the former Italian Market building at 5413 Doyle St., Halifax.
Jeremy Akerman, also an actor, as well as a former politician and a painter, saw the space for rent and invited Heighton, as well as J. Vincent Walsh, Jacqueline Steudler, Mary Ann Archibald and Sarah Jane Conklin, to exhibit their works at the Doyle Street Art Fair until Dec. 21.
The paintings range from Heighton’s depiction of hockey sticks plunged into a snow bank after a backyard hockey game in Halifax’s North End to Steudler’s hot, hard-edged, semi-abstracts of flowers. There’s a bit of questionable sculpture in this show, but the painting is strong.
Heighton loves to paint the flat-roofed, colourful North End houses and hopes to do a series in acrylic "before they go."
He also exhibits a small landscape of the island at Dollar Lake, where he camped for the first time this summer and discovered the giant turtle that lives near the island. He captures the pine trees reflecting in the water.
Akerman hangs his work in a salon style with a crowd of landscapes and portraits in all sizes including a series of small, vivid portraits of politicians like Howard Epstein and G.I. Smith, as well as actors Michael Moriarty and Tom Selleck.
His landscapes include swooping misty highland landscapes and dancing Halifax paintings of city lights and the harbour.
Mary Ann Archibald is a sensitive portrait painter who captures a soul, and a story, as well as a likeness with a soft, gentle touch in her oil paintings. Her portrait of William Hall hangs in the Nova Scotia Legislature. Archibald also exhibits still lifes of flowers, demonstrating a gift for painting glass, and landscapes like Winter at Wolfville which perfectly captures the winter light and harsh blueness of the Minas Basin in winter.
Fall River artist Sarah Jane Conklin has a highly individual style of worked up oil on canvas surfaces which she beautifully describes as "deliberate entanglements of brushstrokes" and hot, contrasting colours with lots of oranges and greens in her rushing river series, which she exhibited as River Ballads at the Peter Lewis Gallery in Saint John, N.B., in May.
Conklin has a painting featured in CBC Radio Information Morning’s 2012 Sharing the View Calendar, now on sale at Sobeys as a Feed Nova Scotia fundraiser.
J. Vincent Walsh brings the beach into the gallery with the beautifully composed, subdued and lovely Beach Stone Composition #1, as well a closeup of a traditional buoy in Killick #1 and a stretch of beach at Martinique.
He demonstrates his range with still life and figurative work.Steudler, like Conklin, is defined by a unique colour palette in paintings ranging from abstracts of land or sea, horizon line and sky, the powerful patterned flowers and small splashy abstracts of jots of colour.
All the works at the Doyle Street Art Fair are for sale.
"It’s not like Walmart but yeah, they sell," says Heighton, who as an actor is in DMV Theatre Collective’s remount of The Ugly One in Calgary in January and is in a new DMV production in Halifax in February. "I think people are pleasantly surprised. They go, it’s great. It’s a sleepy street, they find it’s local artists and they think that’s great."
2011年12月13日星期二
Maritime artists contribute to Sail M.V.'s holiday art sale
There are boats, seascapes, fish, seabirds, and shells and there are…more boats. Not surprisingly, a good number of the artistic contributions to Sail Martha's Vineyard's Holiday Maritime Art Sale feature boats: sail, row, fishing, and of course, an icon of Island living, the ferry. However, given the number of artists contributing to the show, everywhere you look you'll see a different take on a seascape or a nautical scene.
The unique collection has been gathered for the fourth year now as a benefit for Sail M.V., the local organization founded in 1992 dedicated to offering youth programs for Island children in sailing, seamanship, and wooden boat building; to attracting historic vessels to the community; and to providing opportunities for all ages in maritime education, rowing, and sailing.
The show, which runs through December 23, includes painting, photography, sculpture, jewelry, and other gift items, and a couple of working boats. Taking up most of the westerly wall in the one-room show is a full size canoe by Rick Brown of Far Cry Boats, which has a price tag of $3,333. The catboat that graces the front of the historic building is also for sale for $4,444.
The rest of the collection is considerably less pricey and more living-room friendly. Approximately 25 artists are represented with prices ranging from $50 to $1,600 (there are also inexpensive cards and gift items). "The water and boats inspire everybody in so many dimensions," said Pam Flam, show coordinator. "There's something for everybody's price range and also for every taste."
Works by a handful of well-established artists are among the group show, including a black and white print by Allen Whiting called "Bequia Boat," which is a departure from his signature style and has an almost expressionist feel.
A large monochromatic work by John Holladay stands out. It's a study of lobster traps in greys and blacks with a few splotches of red. Two very attractive paintings of Squibnocket by Donna Straw dominate one of the rooms. They are done in muted blues and tans highlighted by bold outlines and sun streaks of metallic gold.
Marston Clough has the most paintings in the show with 10 works whose simplicity is very appealing, especially in ones whose rustic appeal is contrasted by painted gold frames. The works, many of which are quite small, in prices ranging from $50 to $350, would make great Christmas gifts, as would lovely little landscapes by up-and-coming local artist Dan VanLandingham, and some attractively priced paintings by Thaw Malin.
A large oil painting of Sail M.V.'s two pilot gigs — Cassie and Grace — is perhaps the most eye-catching piece in the show, and also the priciest painting at $1,600. Cassie, whose green and red color scheme has made her a very recognizable feature of the Vineyard Haven harbor, is also the subject of a number of other works in the show. A series of photos by David Dandridge feature Cassie, both in color and black and white. Mr. Dandridge is a skipper for the Steamship Authority who, according to Ms. Flam, always has his camera with him. "He gets shots of sights that mere mortals don't get a chance to see," she said.
Among Mr. Dandridge's contributions to the show are two wonderful photos with Cassie in the foreground and ghostly images in the misty background — one in color with the ferry and one in black and white with a barely visible schooner. These two are treasures that could easily be missed in a peremptory viewing of the show.
Other photographers whose work is represented are Alison Shaw, L.A. Brown, Jeff Serusa, Susan Safford, Dick Clark, Lisa Vanderhoop, Jhenn Watts, and Louisa Gould. Each has a distinctive style, from Ms. Vanderhoop's popping colors to Ms. Watts' emulsion lifts on glass, to Ms. Gould's popular action shots from sailing races. Mr. Clark has on display many photos at different price points, including some unframed prints for $30.
Sketch artist Tim Winchell also offers some unframed matted prints for under $50, as well as framed prints and originals. His charcoal sketches of Menemsha are masterfully executed and display his eye for detail. One print of the Menemsha wharf vista from above, with circling seagulls in the foreground, is a wonderful portrayal from an unusual perspective.
Metal sculptures by Charles Gibbs include a very attractive fish made from corrugated metal and other found objects. Woodworker J.P. Uranker has contributed a hand-carved boat hook and an oar to the collection. His wife, Fran Uranker, offers neat nautical gifts including rope-wrapped vases and decanters, sailor's knot-adorned stoppers, and monkey's fist necklaces.
There are two calendars — Catboats by catboat owner Jim O'Connor and Ms. Vanderhoop's popular Vineyard Seadogs. There is a small selection of jewelry including some lovely, simple modern pieces crafted by Kenneth Pillsworth from silver, titanium, and pearls, and there are hand-painted boxes by Lorraine Wells. A variety of artists have also contributed packaged cards.
The artists all keep 75 percent of the price with the remainder going towards Sail M.V. "This is great for the artists right now when they don't have a lot going on," said Hope Callen, Sail M.V. administrative director.
The unique collection has been gathered for the fourth year now as a benefit for Sail M.V., the local organization founded in 1992 dedicated to offering youth programs for Island children in sailing, seamanship, and wooden boat building; to attracting historic vessels to the community; and to providing opportunities for all ages in maritime education, rowing, and sailing.
The show, which runs through December 23, includes painting, photography, sculpture, jewelry, and other gift items, and a couple of working boats. Taking up most of the westerly wall in the one-room show is a full size canoe by Rick Brown of Far Cry Boats, which has a price tag of $3,333. The catboat that graces the front of the historic building is also for sale for $4,444.
The rest of the collection is considerably less pricey and more living-room friendly. Approximately 25 artists are represented with prices ranging from $50 to $1,600 (there are also inexpensive cards and gift items). "The water and boats inspire everybody in so many dimensions," said Pam Flam, show coordinator. "There's something for everybody's price range and also for every taste."
Works by a handful of well-established artists are among the group show, including a black and white print by Allen Whiting called "Bequia Boat," which is a departure from his signature style and has an almost expressionist feel.
A large monochromatic work by John Holladay stands out. It's a study of lobster traps in greys and blacks with a few splotches of red. Two very attractive paintings of Squibnocket by Donna Straw dominate one of the rooms. They are done in muted blues and tans highlighted by bold outlines and sun streaks of metallic gold.
Marston Clough has the most paintings in the show with 10 works whose simplicity is very appealing, especially in ones whose rustic appeal is contrasted by painted gold frames. The works, many of which are quite small, in prices ranging from $50 to $350, would make great Christmas gifts, as would lovely little landscapes by up-and-coming local artist Dan VanLandingham, and some attractively priced paintings by Thaw Malin.
A large oil painting of Sail M.V.'s two pilot gigs — Cassie and Grace — is perhaps the most eye-catching piece in the show, and also the priciest painting at $1,600. Cassie, whose green and red color scheme has made her a very recognizable feature of the Vineyard Haven harbor, is also the subject of a number of other works in the show. A series of photos by David Dandridge feature Cassie, both in color and black and white. Mr. Dandridge is a skipper for the Steamship Authority who, according to Ms. Flam, always has his camera with him. "He gets shots of sights that mere mortals don't get a chance to see," she said.
Among Mr. Dandridge's contributions to the show are two wonderful photos with Cassie in the foreground and ghostly images in the misty background — one in color with the ferry and one in black and white with a barely visible schooner. These two are treasures that could easily be missed in a peremptory viewing of the show.
Other photographers whose work is represented are Alison Shaw, L.A. Brown, Jeff Serusa, Susan Safford, Dick Clark, Lisa Vanderhoop, Jhenn Watts, and Louisa Gould. Each has a distinctive style, from Ms. Vanderhoop's popping colors to Ms. Watts' emulsion lifts on glass, to Ms. Gould's popular action shots from sailing races. Mr. Clark has on display many photos at different price points, including some unframed prints for $30.
Sketch artist Tim Winchell also offers some unframed matted prints for under $50, as well as framed prints and originals. His charcoal sketches of Menemsha are masterfully executed and display his eye for detail. One print of the Menemsha wharf vista from above, with circling seagulls in the foreground, is a wonderful portrayal from an unusual perspective.
Metal sculptures by Charles Gibbs include a very attractive fish made from corrugated metal and other found objects. Woodworker J.P. Uranker has contributed a hand-carved boat hook and an oar to the collection. His wife, Fran Uranker, offers neat nautical gifts including rope-wrapped vases and decanters, sailor's knot-adorned stoppers, and monkey's fist necklaces.
There are two calendars — Catboats by catboat owner Jim O'Connor and Ms. Vanderhoop's popular Vineyard Seadogs. There is a small selection of jewelry including some lovely, simple modern pieces crafted by Kenneth Pillsworth from silver, titanium, and pearls, and there are hand-painted boxes by Lorraine Wells. A variety of artists have also contributed packaged cards.
The artists all keep 75 percent of the price with the remainder going towards Sail M.V. "This is great for the artists right now when they don't have a lot going on," said Hope Callen, Sail M.V. administrative director.
2011年12月12日星期一
It’s misplaced triumph over sale of painting
I’m furious with my husband, Steve. He thought he was being so very clever but no, he’s only succeeded in making me angry.
You may wonder what on earth he has done. In fact, it is the most stupid thing imaginable to me. He has - and I pause to take a deep breath - sold an oil painting of a horse to an unknown woman who called at the door. He had the nerve to laugh as he told me, boasting it was so shrewd to get fifty pounds for it.
“It was two ponies for a horse,” he grinned. Giggling, like a schoolboy, he continued: “I found it, covered in dust, in the garage. I noticed it again the other day when I was putting the patio pots away. The paper around it was a bit torn, with the frame showing through. I couldn’t think what painting it was at first, but then I remembered we’ve got some of Papa’s things stored here. I did explain to the woman that it was Papa’s student copy but she said that didn’t matter. A stroke of luck really, that she should be interested in taking the old painting off our hands.”
I want to scream at this disaster. The true value of the painting reverberates inside my head. One hundred thousand pounds!
My father is Pierre Moureau. Now 90 years old, he retired some 30 years ago from his long career as an art historian. Sadly he is in nursing care, with some physical disabilities and mild dementia.
Despite his medical problems, he continues to lead a contented life. We visit him every other day and bring him home from time to time. It was Papa who painted a copy of the horse painting and that copy is, to this day, in The Burrell Art Collection in Glasgow.
The original, an oil sketch entitled Prancing Grey Horse was painted by Theodore Gericault and has led a less auspicious life, being wrapped in brown paper and hidden from view at the back of various family garages for over 60 years.
Papa, as a young art student, worked for Sir William Burrell. With all the daring of an impetuous young man, having toiled for many days to imitate every fine detail of the grey horse, carefully capturing its prancing stance, he swapped his painting for the original.
When the ruse went undiscovered he was elated, seeing this as proof of his artistic talent. Unfortunately, he was not to know that enhanced security measures were being introduced to protect Sir William’s art treasures. Horrified, Papa realised some sort of early-day alarm system had been installed and it was too late to swap the paintings back without detection.
The only solution he could see was to tell no one, fearing there was a risk of imprisonment if he confessed. In those days, he doubted anyone in authority would see the deception as the childish prank it was. Unhappily, Papa’s heavy conscience destroyed his artistic talent and he despondently abandoned his work. Later, wishing to remain a part of the world he loved, he pursued art history studies instead and progressed to become a noted expert. Ironically, he was often called upon for his opinion on the authenticity of contested works of art.
I suspect all this would have remained secret had I not chosen to follow a similar career. The sight of me examining Prancing Grey Horse with a magnifying glass was too much for Papa. It unnerved him greatly and he felt compelled to tell me the story. I was in deep shock as he described how wretched he had felt carrying the burden of this secret for so many years. I, without hesitation, promised to tell no one either. Steve continues to think the long forgotten painting he pulled out of the garage is Papa’s copy.
I screw up my face and hiss meanly: “The painting wasn’t yours to sell.”
Steve continues, unperturbed by my unexplained hostility. “Come on, you know Papa doesn’t want it in the nursing home. He’s never asked for it. The old devil would rather send out his carers to spend his pocket money on Calvados. Everyone knows his excuse is he needs it to recall his childhood in Normandy, as he craftily makes out it is the same as non-alcoholic apple juice.”
You may wonder what on earth he has done. In fact, it is the most stupid thing imaginable to me. He has - and I pause to take a deep breath - sold an oil painting of a horse to an unknown woman who called at the door. He had the nerve to laugh as he told me, boasting it was so shrewd to get fifty pounds for it.
“It was two ponies for a horse,” he grinned. Giggling, like a schoolboy, he continued: “I found it, covered in dust, in the garage. I noticed it again the other day when I was putting the patio pots away. The paper around it was a bit torn, with the frame showing through. I couldn’t think what painting it was at first, but then I remembered we’ve got some of Papa’s things stored here. I did explain to the woman that it was Papa’s student copy but she said that didn’t matter. A stroke of luck really, that she should be interested in taking the old painting off our hands.”
I want to scream at this disaster. The true value of the painting reverberates inside my head. One hundred thousand pounds!
My father is Pierre Moureau. Now 90 years old, he retired some 30 years ago from his long career as an art historian. Sadly he is in nursing care, with some physical disabilities and mild dementia.
Despite his medical problems, he continues to lead a contented life. We visit him every other day and bring him home from time to time. It was Papa who painted a copy of the horse painting and that copy is, to this day, in The Burrell Art Collection in Glasgow.
The original, an oil sketch entitled Prancing Grey Horse was painted by Theodore Gericault and has led a less auspicious life, being wrapped in brown paper and hidden from view at the back of various family garages for over 60 years.
Papa, as a young art student, worked for Sir William Burrell. With all the daring of an impetuous young man, having toiled for many days to imitate every fine detail of the grey horse, carefully capturing its prancing stance, he swapped his painting for the original.
When the ruse went undiscovered he was elated, seeing this as proof of his artistic talent. Unfortunately, he was not to know that enhanced security measures were being introduced to protect Sir William’s art treasures. Horrified, Papa realised some sort of early-day alarm system had been installed and it was too late to swap the paintings back without detection.
The only solution he could see was to tell no one, fearing there was a risk of imprisonment if he confessed. In those days, he doubted anyone in authority would see the deception as the childish prank it was. Unhappily, Papa’s heavy conscience destroyed his artistic talent and he despondently abandoned his work. Later, wishing to remain a part of the world he loved, he pursued art history studies instead and progressed to become a noted expert. Ironically, he was often called upon for his opinion on the authenticity of contested works of art.
I suspect all this would have remained secret had I not chosen to follow a similar career. The sight of me examining Prancing Grey Horse with a magnifying glass was too much for Papa. It unnerved him greatly and he felt compelled to tell me the story. I was in deep shock as he described how wretched he had felt carrying the burden of this secret for so many years. I, without hesitation, promised to tell no one either. Steve continues to think the long forgotten painting he pulled out of the garage is Papa’s copy.
I screw up my face and hiss meanly: “The painting wasn’t yours to sell.”
Steve continues, unperturbed by my unexplained hostility. “Come on, you know Papa doesn’t want it in the nursing home. He’s never asked for it. The old devil would rather send out his carers to spend his pocket money on Calvados. Everyone knows his excuse is he needs it to recall his childhood in Normandy, as he craftily makes out it is the same as non-alcoholic apple juice.”
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