Hi,
I started this post yesterday in the early evening and the snowstorm had already started in New Jersey. I woke up this morning at 6:30 AM and it’s always hard to say how much snow had fallen, but it looked like a good six inches or so. It wasn’t snowing, but it started again soon thereafter and it’s coming down pretty steadily now. We will wind up with a lot before it plays out. All this snow doesn’t please me, but I confess I’m never pleased when snow starts falling. I had a dental appointment this morning, and I planned on visiting a gallery directly after. I was prepared to go in if the buses were running although I was a little concerned about getting in and not being able to get back home. But first my dentist wrote saying she didn’t think my traveling in a snowstorm was a good idea and told me she would reschedule. Then the Governor agreed and shut down the entire public transit system. So, it’s a stay-at-home day for me, much like all the others except I opted not to take my morning walk.
I wasn’t able to visit the friend I usually celebrate Xmas with due to being cautious with the pandemic; the first time in over 20 years we haven’t celebrated together, which puts me in company with many I suppose. This month we tried to get together twice, but the first time she wasn’t feeling well and the second, she called me from the Parkway to let me know her car had died. Disappointing news for both of us, but very bad news for her as her mechanic let her know it was time to put it out of its misery. It brought to mind an iconic cartoon by World War II cartoonist, Bill Mauldin, whose cartoon, Willie & Joe, appeared throughout the war. You can see it at this link.
https://tinyurl.com/y3zytn6k In anticipation of her visit, I baked and had a disaster. I have a new recipe for a sour cream pound cake that I wanted to try so I mixed it together and put it in the oven. It's a very large cake, 3 cups of flour, 2 3/4 cups of sugar, six eggs and 1/2 pound of butter. It went together nicely, and the instructions said to bake at 325 degrees for about an hour. I didn't want it to over bake so I went to check it after 45 minutes. I forgot how heavy it is and when I went to lift it with one hand, it tipped over into the oven. I wasn’t wearing the other mitt so I couldn’t grab it. It hadn’t completely set so a large amount of the batter fell on the bottom of the oven. I had to wait until the oven cooled a little, then pulled out the bottom panel and saw it had also gone below into the bottom of the stove, as well as on the side. It also stuck so I had to really fight to get it off. And when I relit the oven and brought it up to temperature for the cookies I was making, the smoke alarm went off. An exciting day. I had to throw the cake away although the edges were done enough for me to taste it. It would have been delicious. I made the cookies, but I just didn’t have the energy to make another cake. A local friend fell heir to the cookies.
I planned on taking my friend to Sotheby’s, but wound up going the next day alone, which I’ll discuss below.
I hadn’t been to Sotheby’s in over a year and it was nice to be back. There were a number of auctions in the Old Masters series and they were spread over three floors. I had to make an appointment, but the times were pretty wide open. I arrived at 10:40 AM for an 11 AM and was allowed right up. There were very few people and I seldom had someone by my side as I walked around. I saw pretty much everything although I almost missed the room with the Rembrandt, luckily realizing it just as I was leaving. There was a lot of school of, attributed to, circle of, etc., but there were also many quality pieces, which I’ll discuss below.
Here are a few articles discussing the results.
A Single Mystery Collector Went on a Buying Spree at Sotheby’s $114 Million Old Masters Auction, With Botticelli Just the Beginning
https://news.artnet.com/market/old-masters-2021-sothebys-report-1939728 Botticelli Portrait Goes for $92 M., Becoming Second-Most Expensive Old Masters Work Ever Auctioned
https://www.artnews.com/art-news/market/sandro-botticelli-portrait-sothebys-sale-record-1234582393/ And here are links to some of the things I saw and admired.
Alessandro di Mariano Filipepi, called Sandro Botticelli - Portrait of a young man holding a roundel – the star of the auction, it went for $92M.
https://www.sothebys.com/en/buy/auction/2021/master-paintings-sculpture-part-i/portrait-of-a-young-man-holding-a-roundel Pietro Bernini and Gian Lorenzo Bernini, Rome, circa 1615-1618 – Autumn – Another big-ticket item, this life size sculpture sold for the low end of its considerable estimate, $8M.
https://www.sothebys.com/en/buy/auction/2021/the-collection-of-hester-diamond-part-i/autumn Pieter Coecke van Aelst - A triptych: The Nativity, The Adoration of the Magi, The Presentation in the Temple – I saw this at the Met in 2014 where it was the centerpiece of the exhibition of his tapestries. The web image can’t do it justice as there really is a lot to see. The catalogue note on the auction site is extensive and goes into the details.
https://www.sothebys.com/en/buy/auction/2021/the-collection-of-hester-diamond-part-i/a-triptych-the-nativity-the-adoration-of-the-magi Rembrandt Harmensz. van Rijn - Abraham and the Angels – I had forgotten that I was able to see this painting at the Frick in 2017, accompanied by a number of his etchings. It was estimated to go for $20-$30M, but I see it was withdrawn prior to the auction.
https://www.sothebys.com/en/buy/auction/2021/master-paintings-sculpture-part-i/abraham-and-the-angels Joseph Wright of Derby, A.R.A. - A cottage on fire at night – Most of the paintings I’ve seen by Wright were portraits, so this landscape surprised me, but this brief excerpt from the website explains that while beginning as a portraitist he went on to fame for his landscapes. I love the moon peeking out over the mountain in the top left. “Despite beginning his career as a portraitist, working briefly in Liverpool before attempting to fill the void left by Gainsborough's exodus from Bath, many of Wright's best loved works are landscape and genre scenes, especially those which deal in particularly dramatic effects of light. It is in paintings such as the present Cottage on Fire that Wright was able to show off his mastery of landscape painting in combination with his keen sense of the sensational effects of a bright light shone into deep darkness.”
https://www.sothebys.com/en/buy/auction/2021/master-paintings-sculpture-part-i/a-cottage-on-fire-at-night Giovanni Grubacs - A pair of nocturnal Venetian scenes on the Feast of the Redentore – I thought these two paintings were lovely, especially the first one with the moon. In going through my notes, I see the first time I came across Grubacs was in last year’s Old Masters Auction at Sotheby’s. His paintings are not high priced, these two were offered as a lot for an estimate between $40K and $60K, although unlike last year’s offering, which went for 50% over the estimate, this lot did not sell.
https://www.sothebys.com/en/buy/auction/2021/master-paintings-part-ii/a-pair-of-nocturnal-venetian-scenes-on-the-feast Joseph Mallord William Turner, R.A. - Lake Lucerne at Dusk – Two watercolors by Turner, both of which were a treat to see. This one went for well over the high estimate selling at almost $1.3M. Surprisingly the second one didn’t sell. I think I liked that one better, although I’d certainly be happy to own either.
https://www.sothebys.com/en/buy/auction/2021/old-master-drawings/lake-lucerne-at-duskJoseph Mallord William Turner, R.A. - The River Washburn, near Lindley Bridge, Yorkshire
https://www.sothebys.com/en/buy/auction/2021/old-master-drawings/the-river-washburn-near-lindley-bridge-yorkshire John Atkinson Grimshaw - Southwark Bridge by Moonlight – Grimshaw is someone I discovered some time ago on another auction visit and I really like his style. And this moon is for me irresistible.
https://www.sothebys.com/en/buy/auction/2021/master-paintings-part-ii/southwark-bridge-by-moonlight?locale=en These are links to all the completed listings for the Old Masters auctions. Lots of nice things here in addition to the ones I highlight below.
Master Paintings & Sculpture Part I
https://www.sothebys.com/en/buy/auction/2021/master-paintings-sculpture-part-i Master Paintings Part II
https://www.sothebys.com/en/buy/auction/2021/master-paintings-part-ii?locale=en From Taddeo to Tiepolo: The Dr. John O’Brien Collection of Old Master Drawings
https://www.sothebys.com/en/buy/auction/2021/from-taddeo-to-tiepolo-the-dr-john-obrien-collection-of-old-master-drawings Old Master Drawings
https://www.sothebys.com/en/buy/auction/2021/old-master-drawings?locale=en The Collection of Hester Diamond Part I
https://www.sothebys.com/en/buy/auction/2021/the-collection-of-hester-diamond-part-i Here are some articles and videos I’ve accumulated since my last email.
This is an in-depth article on Botticelli’s career, prompted by the current auction.
From Medicis to Mythologies: How Sandro Botticelli Became One of History’s Most Influential Artists
https://www.artnews.com/feature/sandro-botticelli-who-is-he-why-is-he-important-1234581919/Another Frick video, this is the final episode of Hidden Gems and it focuses on Joshua Reynold’s portrait of Selina, Lady Skipwith. I knew Reynolds was prolific, but in the video Amy Ng says he painted 2,000 portraits.
Hidden Gems of The Frick Collection: Episode 3, Aimee Ng
https://tinyurl.com/yyftnhfwHere’s another Cocktails with a Curator from the Frick. It discusses Manet’s Bullfight and also delves into Manet’s life and reputation. This painting has an interesting history as after it was criticized at the art salon, Manet cut it down and subsequently finished with two paintings, this one and Dead Toreador at the National Gallery in D.C.
Cocktails with a Curator: Manet's "Bullfight"
https://tinyurl.com/yx9opd2r Here are two articles on Paul Cezanne. The first is on his use of Mont Sainte-Victoire in multiple paintings. Many of the Impressionist artists were fond of Japanese woodblock cuts and the article states he was clearly influenced by them. There’s a magnificent Hokusai illustrated in the article. The second explores his life and his status in the artworld during his lifetime.
Cézanne Painted This Mountain Dozens of Times. Here Are 3 Things You May Not Know About His Obsession With the View
https://news.artnet.com/art-world/cezanne-mont-sainte-victoire-1937995 How Paul Cézanne Charted a New Path with His Boundary-Pushing Still Lifes and Landscapes
https://www.artnews.com/art-news/artists/paul-cezanne-who-is-he-famous-works-1234581314/This article from Christie’s is about a little-known artist from the 16th Century. He was a printmaker who copied Durer’s prints, down to his initials which angered Durer considerably. At the same time, he worked closely with Raphael creating prints from his paintings, something Raphael had neither the time for nor the capability. And he created pornography to boot. An interesting fellow.
Despised by Dürer and jailed by the Pope: Marcantonio Raimondi, master printmaker
https://tinyurl.com/y3odkkz2This article is about a black artist who is in the news currently because one of his paintings was presented to Biden for the White House. He’s a wonderful landscape artist similar to the Hudson river painters. His painting, which is illustrated in the article, Landscape with Rainbow is wonderful.
Robert S. Duncanson Charted New Paths for Black Artists in 19th-Century America
https://www.artnews.com/feature/robert-s-duncanson-landscape-painter-who-was-he-1234582541/This looks like a good spot for the Flickrs.
Hope everyone is home, safe and warm.
Andy G.
2020-06-11_12-31-24
https://www.flickr.com/photos/145477582@N05/49993249441/20200811_122450
https://www.flickr.com/photos/my_illusions/50224686493/cx305123_2
https://www.flickr.com/photos/124832568@N08/50255937406/Japanese Crossdress
https://www.flickr.com/photos/myu_hukase/50239091011/ 179H1L
https://www.flickr.com/photos/klarissakrass/50281081228/ 
Topic: In other art news (Read 21174 times)
