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ArtfixDailytm News Feed
- Sunday, February 5 2012
 Stolen Pissarro Returns to France After Three Decades
Thirty years ago, back in 1981, Emile Guelton walked into the Faure Museum in Aix-les-Bains, France, only to stroll out with a Camille Pissarro monotype under his jacket.
The brazen criminal then managed to smuggle the image, entitled “Le Marché aux Poissons” to the United States where it was purchased in 1985 by...
 L.A. Contemporary Artist, Mike Kelley, Remembered
Known as a pioneering installation artist who put Los Angeles on the map as a contemporary art center in the 1980s, artist Mike Kelley has died at 57. Pending an autopsy, suicide is a ...
 Mona Lisa Double Reveals New Discoveries
A recent cleaning of a painting in Madrid's Prado has unveiled some of the mystery surrounding Leonardo da Vinci's Mona Lisa (ca. 1503-06).
Previously thought to be a later and inferior copy, the restored painting has been determined to be the earliest copy of da Vinci's masterpiece, and importantly, created by a key pupil at the same time as the original.
 Clock Runs Out on Trial of Antiquities Dealer
A three-judge panel in Rome threw out the trial of American antiquities dealer Robert Hecht, 92, ruling that the statue of limitations on the alleged crimes had run out.
Accused of receiving artifacts illegally looted from Italy and conspiring to deal in them, Hecht was on trial for six years, concurrently with Marion True...
 Old Masters with Staying Power Buoy Auction Series to $122 Million
Falling below expectations, the Old Masters auction sales in New York brought in a combined total of $122 million last week. About one-third of offered lots went unsold. Buyers were choosy and works with conservative estimates sold well, along with enduringly-popular...
 Gardner Museum Addition Dazzles Critics, Some of the Crowd
A glass box-like punctuation point to its original palazzo-style museum, the new Renzo Piano-designed addition of the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum opened January 19 to critical ...
 Americana Week Tops $47 Million in Auction Sales
Nearly $47 million was spent on American art and antiques at five auction houses during Americana Week in New York. About 2,000 lots were offered in sales from January 16 to 22 during the focused series of events that includes a host of related antiques fairs, gallery shows, and museum exhibitions. Five highlights from the sales:
 Westmoreland Museum of American Art Receives $8 Million Grant
The Westmoreland Museum of American Art, in Greensburg, Penn., has received the largest donation in its history, which will go towards its endowment and capital campaign.
An $8 million grant from...
 Animal Art Collection of Geraldine Rockefeller Dodge Offered in New York
A focused collection of artworks, once belonging to philanthropist and art patron Geraldine Rockefeller Dodge, has come up for sale to benefit an animal shelter.
The late Geraldine Rockefeller Dodge was known as the favorite niece of oil tycoon John Rockefeller, but she is perhaps even better known for...
 Luxembourg-based Art Fund Sets Its Sights on Abstract Expressionists
Wealthy investors and art connoisseurs may be lured into a new investment possibility. A group called the Art Collection Fund is ambitiously inviting investors to join in a plan to buy approximately $80 million worth of art with a potential annual return of 12%.
 Museum Shows $70 Million Holbein Painting Snapped Up by German Billionaire
Billionaire industrialist and art collector Reinhold Wuerth last year purchased a Hans Holbein painting for about $70 million, the highest amount ever paid for a work of art in Germany, ...
 American Folk Art Museum Rings in 2012 with New Exhibit, Major Donations
A recent $3.5 million in gifts is allowing the American Folk Art Museum to keep its doors open in Lincoln Square on New York's Upper West Side.
Last week, a new exhibit opened, "Jubilation/Rumination, Life: Real and Imagined," in the 5,000 square foot space. The 100-piece exhibit is drawn from the permanent collection and features works by...
 $1 Million Dollar Sampler, $3.5 Million Highboy Star at Sotheby's
A John Townsend high chest, inscribed Newport 1756, had it all: original finish, hardware, and finial; impeccable provenance; and style representing the pinnacle of colonial American craftsmanship. From a $2-3 million presale estimate, the piece soared to $3,554,500 at Sotheby's Important Americana sale.
 George Washington Wine Cooler Reaps $782,500 at Christie's
A wine cooler, which George Washington presented to Alexander Hamilton as a gift, far exceeded its expected sale price at auction, going for $782,500 on January 19th.
The cooler was designed according to specifications given by George Washington himself...
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