ArtPourri

New Guide at NGA — The National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., has announced the latest in a series of visitors’ guides.  “The Great Picture Hunt” caters to younger guests, encouraging them to explore the Gallery’s permanent collection.  They will be introduced to Renaissance masterpieces by Raphael, Impressionist figure paintings and 19^th century sculpture.  The guide is color-coded with matching questions and answers that teach kids how to connect works of the same period and style.

New Orleans Receives Grants — The Getty Foundation has announced a third and final round of grants to support the ongoing recovery of New Orleans’ visual arts organizations.  To date, the Getty Fund for New Orleans has awarded 21 grants totaling $2.8 million to museums and arts organizations of all sizes, with the new round of grants totaling more than $1 million.

USPS News — The Art of Disney:  Imagination is the fifth and final in the “Art of Disney” series, the most popular stamp series of all time. Art director Terrence McCaffrey of Leesburg, VA, joined a design team that included artist Peter Emmerich of Yonkers, NY, and creative director Dave Pacheco of Burbank, CA, to create four stamps that feature Mickey Mouse as Steamboat Willie; Princess Aurora and her helpers Flora, Fauna and Merryweather from Sleeping Beauty; Pongo and one of his pups from 101 Dalmatians; and Mowgli and Baloo from The Jungle Book.
NEA News – The NEA has announced $100,000 in grants and additional resources to support Iowan and Midwestern arts communities affected by this year’s historic flooding. — And exhibitions drawn from U.S. collections are now eligible for indemnity coverage while on view in American museums through a new $5 billion Domestic Indemnity Program.  It is expected that the domestic component will meet with the same unqualified success as have the international exhibitions covered under the Arts and Artifacts Indemnity Program.

Auction News — Sotheby’s London has set a new record for any book illustration sold at auction.  Beatrix Potter’s watercolor illustration for the final scene from “The Rabbits’ Christmas Party” sequence has sold for a remarkable $539.4 million.

Drawing Acquired — The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, has acquired a drawing of the Archangel Gabriel announcing the birth of Christ by the Netherlandish master Lucas van Leyden (ca. 1494-1533).  Dating to the 1520’s, it is now the only drawing by the artist in America and will be included in the exhibition The Philippe de Montebello Years:  Curators Celebrate Three Decades of Acquisitions from Oct. 24 – Feb. 1, 2009.

Copyright ARTtalk Vol. 18 No. 11 — September 2008