ArtPourri

NEA News – The latest round of funding for fiscal year 2010 in the categories of Access to Artistic Excellence, Learning in the Arts, Arts on Radio and Television and Partnership Agreements (state and regional) has been announced.  The Arts Endowment will distribute $97,632,100 through 1,323 grants to nonprofit national, regional, state and local organizations nationwide.  Read more at http://www.nea.gov/news/news10/grant-announcement-april.html. - The NEA has created the Blue Star Museums program, whereby participating institutions provide free admission to active military and their families between Memorial Day and Labor Day this year.  For info:  202.682.5578.

Finalists Announced — The Tate Britain has announced finalists for this year’s Turner Prize.  Established in 1984, the prize is awarded each year to a British artist under 50 for an outstanding exhibition or other presentation of his/her work in the 12 months preceding.  And the finalists are:  Susan Philipsz (installation artist), Dexter Dalwood (painter), Angela de la Cruz (painter/sculptor), and the Otolith Group (documentary filmmakers Anjalika Sagar and Kodwo Eshun).  An exhibition of their works will open at the Tate on Oct. 4 and the winner will be announced in December.

Auction News – Sotheby’s evening sale of Impressionist and Modern Art brought a total of $195.6 million.  Artist records were set for Isamu Noguchi and Salvador Dali, while the evening’s top price was achieved by Matisse’s Bouquet pour le quatorze juillet at $28.6 million.  The Contemporary Art evening sale totaled $189.9 million, with Warhol’s Self Portrait setting a record for a self-portrait by the artist at auction at $32.6 million.  At Christie’s, Picasso’s Nude, Green Leaves, and Bust from the Brody Collection sold for $106.4 million, a new record for any work of art sold at auction.  The Michael Crichton collection sale was led by Jasper Johns’ Flag, which set a record price of $28.6 million.

New Galleries Open – New Galleries for Medieval and Renaissance Sculpture and Decorative Arts have opened at The Getty Center, Los Angeles, CA.  Sculpture, ceramics, metalwork, furniture and stained glass will be on view alongside paintings and illuminated manuscripts, all arranged by period and theme.

Postal News –The 2010 44-cent Love stamp, LOVE:  Pansies in a Basket, features a white woven basket brimming with deep and light purple pansies and green foliage.  The floral design is a detail from a watercolor created by the late Dorothy Maienschein, an employee of Hallmark Cards, Inc., who first introduced the design in 1939.

Art Theft Reported – Five master oil paintings on canvas, with an estimated value of more than $100 million, were stolen during an overnight burglary (May 19-20) at the Paris Museum of Modern Art.  The thief apparently took advantage of the fact that the Museum was awaiting spare parts to fix a broken alarm system in some rooms.  See the paintings by Georges Braque, Fernand Leger, Henri Matisse, Amedeo Modigliani and Pablo Picasso online at www.interpol.int.

Copyright ARTtalk Vol. 20 No. 8 — June 2010