ArtPourri

Medals Presented – President and Mrs. Obama have presented the National Medal of Arts to ten recipients for their outstanding achievements and support of the arts.  (Two additional recipients weren’t able to attend.)  Included among others were graphic designer Milton Glaser, artist/designer Maya Lin, arts patron/design advocate Hon. Joseph P. Riley, Jr., and painter/sculptor Frank Stella.  Each year the NEA organizes and oversees the National Medal of Arts nomination process and notifies the artists of their selection to receive a medal, the nation’s highest honor for artistic excellence.

Galleries Reopen – After an eight-month hiatus, The Metropolitan Museum of Art (NYC) has reopened its Andre Mertens Galleries for Musical Instruments, showcasing more than 230 works of art drawn primarily from the Museum’s extensive holdings.  The new installation of Western musical instruments will focus attention on individual masterworks by exploring each within its musical and cultural context, by offering exciting comparisons of how individual makers realized the same concept and by introducing examples of the various instruments’ developments.

Auction News – Christie’s will offer an exceptionally important and highly celebrated masterpiece by Pablo Picasso in the evening auction of Impressionist and Modern Art in London on June 23.  Portrait of Angel Fernandez de Soto comes from the artist’s celebrated Blue Period and will be priced at 30-40 million pounds.  All proceeds will benefit The Andrew Lloyd Webber Foundation, which focuses on the promotion of arts, culture and heritage in Britain.  Christie’s is also honored to announce the sale (May 4) of one of the greatest private American collections of Modern Art to come to auction:  The Collection of Mrs. Sidney F. Brody.  Boasting a wealth of master works by the towering figures of the Modernist movement, the collection is valued at over $150 million.  — Sotheby’s recent sale of Contemporary Art realized $5.8 million, with top sellers by Andy Warhol, Robert Motherwell and Cindy Sherman more than doubling their low estimates.

Sculpture Garden Reopens – The Sydney and Walda Besthoff Sculpture Garden (New Orleans Museum of Art) has reopened to the public after a seven-month renovation.  Hours are seven days a week from 10a.m. to 5p.m.; Wednesdays the garden will be open until dusk to complement the Museum’s 8 p.m. closing.  Starting April 17 there will be yoga in the Sculpture Garden every Saturday morning at 8 a.m., with pre-registration required.  And Wednesdays are now FREE to all Museum visitors!

Film Released – A new documentary, The Art of the Steal (directed by Don Argott) follows the struggle for control of Dr. Albert C. Barnes’ $25 billion collection (Barnes Collection) of Modern and Post-Impressionist art.  Visit www.moviefone.com for a synopsis and to see where the film may be playing in your area.

New Stamps – The U.S. Postal Service is honoring the artistic innovations and achievements of a group of artists who moved the U.S. to the forefront of the international art scene with the release of the Abstract Expressionists commemorative postage stamps.  The vibrant stamps feature works by Hans Hoffmann, Mark Rothko, Clyfford Still, Barnett Newman, Robert Motherwell, Adolph Gottlieb, Arshile Gorky, Willem de Kooning, Jackson Pollock and Joan Mitchell.

Copyright ARTtalk Vol. 20 No. 6 — April 2010