In other art news

[andyg0404]

Hi Betty,

I picked up the article from an art blog, not directly from the source article, but I also just Googled the artist and it appears to be legitimate. The National Geographic did a piece on him back in 2017. I also just found a video the artist posted about himself. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=an_Qc0Q1MHE I confess I didn't really stop to think if it was legitimate or not, it just struck me as being very bizarre and still does.

Andy G.

[ace]

Hey Andy, I was intrigued by your Pinky reference so I searched.
Very pretty, though sad to read she died when she was 12 (the painting done 1 year earlier).

Ace

[Robyn Jodie]

I find it interesting that although Gainsborough is famous for his "Blue Boy" and "Pinky" paintings, his "pink boy" is scarcely ever mentioned:

[Betty]

I didn't really stop to think if it was legitimate or not, it just struck me as being very bizarre and still does.

Every time he would bump something above or ahead of his head, it would crack it out of his skull, risking brain damage. Even if it was real, it's a nonsense gimmick for attention, or maybe to sell his work, but is totally unnecessary. A simple small earpiece can do the same thing... no need to bolt it into his skull. A hand-held device or phone app can also tell you the color of something. The dizzy flake just loves the attention by having something sticking out of his head. That's is a flexible USB LED light. He attached it to a curved base that covers a bald spot on his head, glued in place with fake eyelash glue, or other body decoration glue. Think about it... shouldn't it have been mounted up front instead of in back? He's just covering his bald spot.

[andyg0404]

Hi,

I’ve been able to see some nice things in the last few weeks; I’ll write about my visit to Sotheby’s, and Debra Force Fine Art. I also want to mention an exhibit of drawings from the Hispanic Institute that was shown at the American Academy of Arts and Letters at 633 West 155th Street in upper Manhattan. It’s part of the multiple exhibition week that was written up in a long article in the Times last month.

This is a link to the article in the Times.

Drawing, a Cure for the January Blahs
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/20/arts/design/drawing-center-art-galleries-shear.html

It was the article that led me to this press release where I discovered the exhibit.  You can click on the link, and you’ll see the other exhibitors.

https://www.masterdrawingsnewyork.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/14/MDNY-2022-Map-and-Calendar.pdf

These were limited runs, and the Hispanic drawings were only going to be on display for three days, Friday, Saturday and Sunday, and only in the afternoon. I planned on going the Saturday which of course turned out to be the day we had our blizzard. Even if I was feeling adventurous I couldn’t have gone as the Port Authority closed, so there were no buses. I also discovered that the Academy was closed, and they extended the show to the following Monday and Wednesday. I didn’t want to go on a weekday as it would have meant traveling home in rush hour, a part of my life I’m not anxious to relive. I don’t usually go out on Sundays as it’s my day to stay in and read the Sunday papers, but I decided I would read the papers on the subway and go, as I definitely didn’t want to miss it.

I left the subway and using my normal absence of directional savvy immediately walked down to 154th Street, getting halfway before I could see the street sign telling me to turn around. I was also a little confused as my note said 633 East 155th Street and the sign clearly stated West. I was told it was between Broadway and Riverside Drive and I was on Broadway, so I assumed I was in the right place, but stopped and asked a cop anyway. He pointed out that if I wanted 633 East I had a very long walk, but we agreed that I had just made a mistake. In the email from the Academy, I was told 633 155th Street and my subconscious added the incorrect East.

The Hispanic Society has an enormous collection of art, and the brochure states they own 6500 drawings and watercolors. My brother had recommended it as a place to go a number of years ago, so I went and enjoyed the things on display, one of which was a full-length Goya portrait. But they never had much on display, and it was due to their old building.  In April 2015 the society announced the appointment of Philippe de Montebello, long time director of the Met,  to chair the society's Board of Overseers and spearhead a major effort to roughly double the museum's size. The museum closed in January 2017 and has only just recently partially opened. I’m hoping when it opens in full there will be significantly more art on display.

Unfortunately, the exhibit was a bit of a letdown. I have to say I think they could have made a better selection than the 27 examples on display. I was expecting a larger selection as well. I guess my complaint is a little like the old joke about two people discussing a restaurant. The food was bad, and the portions were so small. Among others, two Goya's, two Murillo's, two Sorolla's and one Ribera. Pleasant but not earthshaking. There was also an exhibit of Academy art which had a key that kept me very confused until I finally more or less was able to break the code.   From the permanent collection there was a rather nice charcoal portrait of Anna Bowman Blake Dodd, a 19th Century novelist by Sargent, and a self-portrait by Childe Hassam.

Having made the trip I can say that if the blizzard had caused me to miss it, it would have not been a great tragedy.

Now on to more successful ventures.

I visited Sotheby’s for their Old Masters auction preview and saw some very lovely things. It wasn’t crowded, the coat check was open, and they didn’t ask for any proof of anything, but everyone was masked. They had selections from the London auctions, several Monet’s, a wonderful Magritte, a lovely Boucher, and a Caillebotte. This is the link to the Sotheby’s page with the Monet and the Magritte.

https://tinyurl.com/yckjav2x

There were some fine things in this preview, Botticelli’s Man of Sorrows, Murillo’s, Virgin and Child, Correggio’s, Saint Mary Magdalene, Bellini’s Phillips Madonna and Van Mol’s Diogenes.

These are links to everything in the two Masters auction previews.

https://www.sothebys.com/en/buy/auction/2022/master-paintings-sculpture-part-i

https://www.sothebys.com/en/buy/auction/2022/master-paintings-sculpture-part-ii 

Below are some of the things I especially liked.

Gerard ter Borch - Portraits of a gentleman and a lady, three-quarter-length, each holding a glove, he in a black jacket and a black hat, she in a black dress with a white ruff collar and a head-dress – I’ve loved Ter Borch since I saw an exhibition devoted to him in the National Gallery in Washington some time ago.

https://tinyurl.com/bdfhh5ny

Jacob van Ruisdael - A ruined castle gateway, probably the archway of Huis Ter Kleef near Haarlem

https://tinyurl.com/32yzvf88

Adriaen Coorte - Still life of fraises-de-bois in a Wan-Li bowl upon a stone ledge – They look good enough to eat.

https://tinyurl.com/2p8caxf6

Artemisia Gentileschi - Portrait of a seated lady, three-quarter length, in an elaborate and gold-embroidered costume, possibly Caterina Savelli, Principessa di Albano – Artemisia is coming into her own.

https://tinyurl.com/kx5cdhpa

Andrea del Sarto - Portrait of a man (Ottaviano de' Medici?) wearing a large hat, with a box of wax seals resting on a ledge before him

https://tinyurl.com/34muz6cu

Hendrick Avercamp - Figures skating on a frozen lake with an elegant couple in the foreground

https://tinyurl.com/2p8tbvpn

Jean-Étienne Liotard - Portrait of Jacob Tronchin – I’ve mentioned the Frick exhibit of Liotard on numerous occasions.

https://tinyurl.com/38akkzh2

The day after my unsatisfactory visit to the Academy, I walked up to Debra Force Fine Art at 13 East 69th Street. I was asked for my vaccine passport. It was much more gratifying than the Academy show; a small selection of American art in two rooms. Lots of things I liked, Albert Bierstadt, a watercolor by Fitz Henry Lane, a seascape by Trost Richards and a pastel portrait by Robert Frederick Blum. I’ve copied some images below and this is a link to the website with a slideshow. Some of the paintings in the slideshow weren’t on display. The Homer and the Heade weren’t out which was a disappointment.

https://www.debraforce.com/exhibitions/celebrating-americana/selected-works?view=slider#1

Albert Bierstadt - South and North Moat Mountains, New Hampshire

https://tinyurl.com/3af6v836

Robert Frederick Blum - Japanese Girl

https://tinyurl.com/49uma33e

Samuel Colman - View of the Seaport, New York, 1869 

https://tinyurl.com/mr2d858b

John Henry Hill - A Quiet Afternoon of Fishing – I thought this was a charming watercolor.

https://tinyurl.com/444h6b49

Fitz Henry Lane - Shooting Seabirds – I haven’t seen many of his watercolors. I’ve written previously about my visit to the museum dedicated to his work in his hometown of Gloucester, Massachusetts. It was a wonderful experience.

https://tinyurl.com/3482hawc

William Trost Richards - Rocky Coast with Lighthouse

https://tinyurl.com/2p8tnwwn

And here are some Flickrs to make it all worthwhile.

Andy G.

Finishing Touches

https://www.flickr.com/photos/ilhuicamina/51165480872/

Pink/peach dress

https://www.flickr.com/photos/stephmar314/4156837250/

sweet oink sissy spread nicely..

https://www.flickr.com/photos/193604516@N07/51443732404/

Sissy maid - on cleaning duty.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/wandabra/51392645107/

FATHERS AND SONS

https://tinyurl.com/m6cbzsxa

[Betty]

I thought this one in the Masters Auction, "Dutch School, circa 1600-1650" was interesting. Isn't this a boy?

[andyg0404]

Hi Betty,

Below is the painting's provenance in which it indicates it's a boy based on another picture by Caspar Netscher. Girls probably wouldn't be painted with sports themes.

Andy G.

This painting of a young child in an elaborate fur costume is a rare example from the Dutch Golden Age of a full-length child portrait holding a kolf club. What at first might appear to be a humble winter ensemble is, upon closer inspection, a quite lavish fur costume with matching hat, shoulder cape, and bodice. Together with the textured and beautifully stippled fur of the costume, the embroidered skirt and red silk lace shoes lend further emphasis to the extremely refined quality of the painting. It has been suggested that this highly specific costume may originate from Poland, based on comparison with a full-length portrait of a young boy in so-called "Polish dress" by Caspar Netscher in the Czartoryski Museum, Krakow.1


The game of kolf, in which a club was used to hit a stuffed leather ball, was a popular game in the provinces of Holland in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, regularly appearing in paintings and drawings from the period. The image of a child holding a kolf club and wearing formal dress became a particularly popular format in children's’ portraiture, though to find an example on such a small scale and with no landscape adornment is a true rarity. 


The likely painter of this small panel has thus far eluded scholars, but it does seem to have been executed during the first half of the seventeenth century and possibly in Amsterdam by an artist in the close circle of Thomas de Keyser, Dirck Dircksz. Santvoort, or Gerard ter Borch. De Keyser, in particular, was highly influential in developing the full-length children's portrait, though his work in this sub-genre often include elaborate interiors. The present panel, with its intimate scale, simple background, and highly specific fur costume suggest a work of an extremely personal nature, possibly not intended for the open market.

1. M.E. Wieseman, Caspar Netscher and late seventeenth-century Dutch painting, Doornspijk 2002, cat. no. 120.

[andyg0404]

Hi,

It’s auction time again; I spent a day at Christie’s and Sotheby’s and saw some wonderful things which I will describe below. I was also able to get to the Met for the Winslow Homer exhibition, which was a real treat, especially his watercolors. This is a video that describes it.

Winslow Homer: Crosscurrents Virtual Opening

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g2UtGDMKyxA

My trip to Sotheby’s did not have an auspicious beginning as the bus broke down en route. I guess I was lucky as it only took about 10-15 minutes before another bus came and rescued us. The auction previews had an enormous amount of art on the walls, one of the auctions had close to 350 lots. Contemporary now includes the Impressionists so I was able to ignore much of the other stuff and concentrate on that. Three of the paintings that are stars of the auction are from the Toledo Museum of Art which has deaccessioned them for sale with the profits to be used to purchase more diverse works. They are by Renoir, Cezanne and Matisse and are all great paintings. It’s hard to fathom the rationale behind it and I agree with Christopher Knight in this article from the LA Times that it’s unconscionable.

Commentary: An Ohio museum is holding the biggest sale of museum art yet. It’s unconscionable

https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/story/2022-05-06/toledo-museum-deaccession-sotheby

The three paintings are in the article, but I’ll link to each of them below.

Among the things I saw that I thought special were paintings by, Gauguin, Modigliani, Monet, Pissarro, a Hopper drawing, and a lovely Thomas Moran, all of which I’ve linked to below. I was initially surprised I couldn’t find the Gauguin until I realized I was searching the Christie’s database.

And speaking of Christie’s, on a morning when the weather wasn’t especially nice, I visited their Contemporary Art preview. Once I got through the 21st Century there were a lot of nice things. At the very entrance to the gallery, to the immediate right, was the Michelangelo which was in very good condition. This drawing hadn’t been thought to be by Michelangelo until a 2019 appraisal. This is from the website.

“This is a new addition to the small group of copies drawn during the 1490s by Michelangelo after works by Florentine masters of earlier generations. "For several months he made drawings in Carmine after the frescoes of Masaccio" wrote Giorgio Vasari in his life of Michelangelo published in 1568, referring to the frescoes executed by the painter Masaccio (1401-1428) in the church of Santa Maria del Carmine in the Oltrarno district of Florence, continuing: "These surveys were made so judiciously that they were admired by practitioners, tradesmen, and jealousy grew along with his fame. Vasari's assertion is confirmed by two other studies – of a similar monumental format – after frescoes by Masaccio preserved in this church.”

MICHELANGELO BUONARROTI - A nude man (after Masaccio) and two figures behind him

https://www.christies.com/lot/lot-6370203

The Bass collection, which was a coup acquisition for Christies, was at the end of the first floor, all together in two rooms with the three Monet’s in a low light room, flanked outside the entrance by two Rothko’s, one of which my brother thinks is brilliant, but he is unmoved by the other. Needless to say, I don’t get either. You can see everything from the Bass estate in this article.  I’ve also listed separate links for the three Monet’s below.

https://en.thevalue.com/articles/christies-new-york-anne-bass-collection-rothko-auction

The Monet’s are spectacular, all with estimates in the $50M range. They are quality paintings. My brother also said that whoever buys them won’t be able to light them as well as they’re lit in the gallery. The three of them are in their own room, one on the middle wall with the other two on either side and it’s a little like a shrine we’ve made a pilgrimage to. The other items are in the adjoining room. Who wouldn’t want to own a Degas bronze dancer, just like the one in the Met? Leaving that room, I came across a Van Gogh which I found luminous, it’s another of his paintings that glows, at least it did for me. Also, a lovely Monet; there are a bunch of Monets scattered around which are nice.

CLAUDE MONET - Le Parlement, soleil couchant

https://www.christies.com/lot/lot-6367902

CLAUDE MONET - Peupliers au bord de l’Epte, automne

https://www.christies.com/en/lot/lot-6367903

CLAUDE MONET – Nymphéas

https://www.christies.com/en/lot/lot-6367904

CLAUDE MONET - Soleil couchant, temps brumeux, Pourville - This one looks much better on the wall than in this image, but I liked it a lot.

https://www.christies.com/lot/lot-6369589

VINCENT VAN GOGH - Champs près des Alpilles

https://www.christies.com/lot/lot-6368787

Wandering through the Contemporary I came across a Duane Hanson sculpture of a Cowboy. Hanson sculpted life size realistic statues that were so realistic they could be mistaken for someone living. They’re really startling pieces; in one exhibit he set up an information clerk statue at a desk and people stopped and queried it wondering why they didn’t get a response. 

DUANE HANSON – Cowboy

https://www.christies.com/lot/lot-6370068

On the third floor, there are items from the upcoming June Old Masters which were an unexpected treat.  Clara Peeters and Brueghel the Younger for two.

https://www.christies.com/en/auction/old-masters-20550-nyr/

Also on the third floor are two Winslow Homer watercolors that are lovely. They’re in a room dedicated to private sales. I couldn’t find them on the Christie’s website, but I located them on another website.

Winslow Homer- Bananas for the Attorney General, 1885 – Christie’s

https://www.collisart.com/gallery/artists/winslow-homer/artworks/bananas-for-the-attorney-general

Winslow Homer - Orange trees and gate – Christie’s

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Winslow_Homer_-_Orange_trees_and_gate.jpg

Pierre-Auguste Renoir - Nu s'essuyant – From Toledo Museum.

https://www.sothebys.com/en/buy/auction/2022/modern-evening-auction/nu-sessuyant-2

Paul Cézanne - Clairière (The Glade) - From Toledo Museum

https://www.sothebys.com/en/buy/auction/2022/modern-evening-auction/clairiere-the-glade-2

Henri Matisse - Fleurs ou Fleurs devant un portrait - From Toledo Museum

https://www.sothebys.com/en/buy/auction/2022/modern-evening-auction/fleurs-ou-fleurs-devant-un-portrait-2

Paul Gauguin - Tahiti, scène de rivière

https://www.sothebys.com/en/buy/auction/2022/modern-evening-auction/tahiti-scene-de-riviere

Amedeo Modigliani - Madame Dorival

https://www.sothebys.com/en/buy/auction/2022/modern-evening-auction/madame-dorival

Claude Monet - Le Grand Canal et Santa Maria della Salute

https://www.sothebys.com/en/buy/auction/2022/modern-evening-auction/le-grand-canal-et-santa-maria-della-salute-2

Camille Pissarro - Vue de Zevekote, Knokke

https://www.sothebys.com/en/buy/auction/2022/modern-evening-auction/vue-de-zevekote-knokke

Edward Hopper - House and Field

https://www.sothebys.com/en/buy/auction/2022/modern-day-auction/house-and-field

Thomas Moran - Grand Canyon

https://www.sothebys.com/en/buy/auction/2022/the-american-scene-including-important-photographs-from-the-helene-wurlitzer-foundation/grand-canyon

Lots of wonderful art at these auctions. If you click on any of the links you’ll see another link at the top of the screen to the left which will take you back to the full listing of the items being auctioned. Or you can arrow left or right to see preceding and succeeding lots.

Now, how about a few Flickrs for old times’ sake.

Andy G.

Lady smile

https://www.flickr.com/photos/paulasatijn/51424344358/

One of Sierra's dresses

https://www.flickr.com/photos/99227123@N04/51395805048/

844 I hate vacuuming!!

https://www.flickr.com/photos/93088436@N05/50923449762/

sissy maid on deck

https://www.flickr.com/photos/sissymaid/29928421442/

Goth Crossdresser in Sexy Skirt

https://www.flickr.com/photos/195510540@N02/52038206623/

[Betty]

The Winslow Homer's historical American paintings were fascinating.