ArtPourri

Painting Joins Exhibition—The recently recovered painting by Goya, Children with a Cart (1778), has rejoined the exhibition Spanish Painting from El Greco to Picasso:  Time, Truth and History at the Guggenheim in New York City.  At the closing on March 28, it will be returned to its home, the Toledo Museum of Art.  An FBI investigation continues into the theft of the painting.

Sculpture Park Opens—The nine-acre Seattle (WA) Art Museum Olympic Sculpture Park has opened on downtown Seattle’s waterfront.  It integrates architecture, landscape and urban design and enables residents and visitors to experience sculpture outdoors while enjoying magnificent views of the Olympic Mountains and Puget Sound.  On view are commissions by Louise Bourgeois, Teresita Fernandez and Mark Dion, as well as major works by Richard Serra, Alexander Calder and Mark di Suvero, among other leading contemporary artists.  The park is open daily and free of charge.

Fund Grows—Over $37 million in contributions has been committed so far so that Thomas Eakins’ masterpiece, Portrait of Dr. Samuel D. Gross (The Gross Clinic), may stay an icon of Philadelphia.  Jefferson Medical College decided to sell the painting and offered Philadelphia institutions the right to match the price and acquire the painting.  It will be jointly owned by and exhibited in alternation at the Philadelphia Museum of Art and the PA Academy of the Fine Arts.  Call the Fund for Eakins’ Masterpiece HOTLINE at 215.684.7762.

Auction News—Christie’s week of Impressionist and Modern Art and Post-War and Contemporary Art auctions in London realized the highest ever total for a week of art sales in Europe.  The top lot of the week was Study for Portrait II by Francis Bacon at over $27.5 million, with records established for 17 artists.—Sotheby’s Contemporary Art sale was the most successful contemporary sale ever staged in Europe with a spectacular $90.2 million.  Eleven new artist’s records were achieved, including for Peter Doig, Gerhard Richter and Jean Dubuffet, among others.

Memorial Honored—The American Institute of Architects has selected Maya Lin’s Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C., to receive the 2007 AIA 25-Year Award for architectural design that has stood the test of time for 25 years.  The popular two-acre memorial on the National Mall was dedicated in 1982.

NEA News—The FY 2008 Grants for the Arts Projects guidelines are available online at www.arts.gov/grants/apply/.    This is the NEA’s major support category for organizations and includes the Access to Artistic Excellence, Challenge America Reaching Every Community Fast Track Grants and Learning in the Arts for Children and Youth categories.—The Maine Arts Commission is the recipient of the 2006 National Accessibility Leadership Award/grant for their outstanding accessibility work.  This recognizes exceptional and effective initiatives or programs that make the arts accessible and inclusive.

Milestone—American abstract painter Jules Olitski has died at age 84.  Known for his color field paintings, in 1969 he became only the third living artist to have a solo show at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City.  Olitski’s paintings can be viewed in many major museums.

Exhibitions:

Chicago, IL – Art Institute of Chicago – Cezanne to Picasso:  Ambroise Vollard, Patron of the Avant-Garde draws upon the dealer’s archives to shed new light on Vollard’s business strategies as well as the heretofore unexplored story of his relationships with artists whose works he exhibited and sold, among them Bonnard, Matisse, Picasso and Vuillard.  Through  May 12.

Los Angeles, CA – The Getty Center – Made for Manufacture:  Drawings for Sculpture and the Decorative Arts comprises drawings for objects to be executed in a range of media, including metal, wood, glass, ceramics and stone.  Spanning the1400’s through the 1600’s, the exhibit explores how artists translated 2-diemensional designs into 3-dimensional objects.  Through May 20.

Philadelphia, PA – Philadelphia Museum of Art – Celebrating American Craft:  30 Years of the Philadelphia Museum of Art Craft Show features 33 masterworks from the craft collection that demonstrate the vitality of local craft movements and celebrate the important role of the annual Craft Show.  Through Fall 2007.

Copyright ARTtalk Vol. 17 No. 5 — March 2007