ArtPourri

Laureates Announced—Winners of the 23rd Praemium Imperiale, the international prize for outstanding achievement in the arts established by the Japan Art Association in 1988, have been announced.  Included among the five laureates are Bill Viola (USA) for Painting, Anish Kapoor (UK) for Sculpture and Ricardo Legorreta (Mexico) for Architecture.  Each will receive approximately $182,000, a diploma and a medal in recognition of his achievements, for the impact he has had internationally on the arts and for his role in enriching the global community.

Auction News – Swann Galleries - So far in 2011, new auction records across all departments have been set:  prints, autographs, books, printed and manuscript Americana/African-Americana, maps, photos, posters, American Art and African-American Fine Art.  See http://swanngalleriesinc.blogspot.com/.  Sotheby’s—A recent four-week major summer sale series in London totaled in excess of $589 million.  Forty-nine artist records were set, and 95 works sold for over $1 million.  Francis Bacon’s Crouching Nude (1961) sold for $13.3 million and a cityscape (1914) by Egon Schiele sold for $40 million.  Highlights of Christie’s London sales include a 1939 painting by Picasso of Dora Maar at $29.1 million, Francis Bacon’s Study for a Portrait (1953) at $28.6 million and George Stubbs’ Gimcrack on Newmarket Heath… at $35.9 million.

Rockwell at the White House –The Norman Rockwell Museum has loaned the iconic painting The Problem We All Live With to The White House, where it will be exhibited through Oct. 31^st.  The loan was requested in commemoration of the 50^th anniversary of Ruby Bridges’ history-changing walk integrating the William Franz Public School in New Orleans as part of a court-ordered integration in 1960.

Prize Awarded – The Baltimore Office of Promotion & The Arts has announced that Matthew Porterfield is the winner of the 2011 Janet & Walter Sondheim Artscape Prize and will receive $25,000.  Works of art by the prizewinner and four other finalists are on view at the Baltimore Museum of Art through Aug. 7.

Collaboration Preserves Works – IBM and The Metropolitan Museum of Art (NYC) have announced the successful installation of a new wireless environmental sensor network at the Museum called Low-Power Mote that will help preserve the works of art in its world-renowned encyclopedic collection.  In the initial phase, 100 sensors have been deployed in strategic locations that allow for high-def monitoring of the environment.

NEA News – A new class of NEA Lifetime Honors recipients has been announced.  The NEA is awarding $450,000 to this group of 18 remarkable artists, recognizing their artistic achievements and supporting their ongoing work as performers, crafts people, teachers, mentors, scholars and/or advocates.—And the NEA has announced the inaugural round of “Our Town” funding, totaling $6.575 million in grants to 51 communities in 34 states that have created public-private partnerships to strengthen the arts, while shaping the social, physical and economic characters of their neighborhoods, towns, etc.

Milestone – The Gagosian Gallery has announced that Cy Twombly, celebrated American painter, has died in Rome at age 83.  He is best known for his abstract works combining painting and drawing techniques, repetitive lines and the use of graffiti, letters and words.  However, Twombly also dedicated himself to making sculptures throughout his 60-year career.  Current Exhibitions:  Cy Twombly:  Sculpture is on view at MoMA, NYC, through Oct. 3; and Cy Twombly:  Sculpture Selections, 1948-1995 is ongoing at The Art Institute of Chicago.

Copyright ARTtalk Vol. 21, No. 10 — August 2011