Art Auctions

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Labels: art auctions

The entire archive of New York photographer Diane Arbus -- known for her images of dwarfs, nudists and carnival performers -- has found a home at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

The estate of Arbus, who committed suicide in 1971, is giving her archives to the museum, which will turn it into a resource for scholars and the public, the Met said on Tuesday.

The museum has also purchased 20 of Arbus' photos from the Fraenkel Gallery in San Francisco for an undisclosed price.

Her archive includes negatives and contact prints of 7,500 rolls of film, along with hundreds of her early photos, personal papers, correspondence, her photo library and other books, photos by other artists and glassine print sleeves she personally annotated.

"It is rare in any field that one of its greatest practitioners should leave behind her entire output," Jeff Rosenheim, the museum's photo curator, said in a statement.

The Met said the archive was similar to that of photographer Walker Evans, which has been at the Met since 1994. "The Metropolitan will now have the opportunity to map the creativity of two great artists in the most complete way," Rosenheim said.

The Arbus photos bought by the Met include "Russian midget friends in a living room on 100th Street, N.Y.C." (1963) and "Woman with a veil on Fifth Avenue, N.Y.C." (1968).

A traveling exhibition of Arbus' work was presented at the Met in 2005. Nicole Kidman starred as Arbus in the 2006 movie "Fur: An Imaginary Portrait of Diane Arbus," which centers on a relationship between Arbus and a fictional character.

Reporting by Lewis Krauskopf, editing by Michelle Nichols and Todd Eastham, Reuters

Labels: art auctions

Founded as a mining camp in the Colorado Silver Boom and named because of the abundance of aspen trees in the area, the city is now a ski resort and cultural center.

Finding things to do in Aspen, Colorado during the day isn't difficult - get out on the slopes and ski or enjoy one of the other winter sports that you love.

At night, however, Aspen really comes to life with Aspen nightlife! No matter how old or young you are, there is something to do in Aspen twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week.

Read more Aspen Nightlife and Vacation at http://www.philippine-resorts.com/aspen-vacation/main.htm

Labels: art auctions

The modern stained glass windows sometimes come sandwiched between two pieces of tempered glass to protect them for years of use. The windows I bought at the art auction were framed in vinyl. Each of the stained glass windows was 30" X 30".

Stained glass art auctions always include lampshades. I went through a period of time where I purchased every stained glass lampshade I would find at an art auction.

Read more Stained Glass Art Auctions at http://www.philippine-resorts.com/art-auctions/stained-glass-art-auctions.htm

Labels: art auctions

A tiny and extremely rare 5,000-year-old white limestone sculpture from ancient Mesopotamia sold for 57.2 million dollars in New York on Wednesday, smashing records for both sculpture and antiquities.

The carved Guennol Lioness, measuring just over eight centimeters (3 1/4 inches) tall, was described by Sotheby's auction house as one of the last known masterworks from the dawn of civilization remaining in private hands.

"It was an honor for us to handle The Guennol Lioness, one of the greatest works of art of all time," Richard Keresey and Florent Heintz, the experts in charge of the sale, said in a joint statement.

"Before the sale, a great connoisseur of art commented to us that he always regarded the figure as the 'finest sculpture on earth' and it would appear that the market agreed with him," they said.

Five different bidders, three on the telephone and two in the room, competed for the sculpture. The successful buyer was identified only as an English buyer who wished to remain anonymous.

The sale easily broke the previous record for the highest price for a sculpture at auction, which had stood at 29.1 million dollars and was set just last month at Sotheby's in New York by Picasso's "Tete de Femme (Dora Maar)."

It also beat the 28.6 million dollars paid for "Artemis and the Stag," a 2,000-year-old bronze figure which sold also at Sotheby's in New York in June and held the record for the most expensive antiquity to be sold at auction.

Described by Sotheby's as diminutive in size, but monumental in conception, The Guennol Lioness was created around 5,000 years ago -- around the same time as the first known use of the wheel -- in the region of ancient Mesopotamia.

The piece was acquired by private collector Alastair Bradley Martin in 1948 and has been on display in New York's Brooklyn Museum of Art ever since.

Keresey described the work before the sale as "one of the oldest, rarest and most beautiful works of art from the ancient world."

"This storied figure, in its brilliant combination of an animal form and human pose, has captured the imagination of academics and the public since it was acquired by the Martins in the late 1940s," he added.

The figure depicts a standing lioness looking over her left shoulder, her paws clenched in front of her muscular chest.

Experts have speculated that the figure may have played a role in some ancient belief system or mythology in Mesopotamia, which today lies in parts of modern day Iraq, Syria, Turkey and Iran.

The proceeds of the auction are to go to a charitable trust formed by the Martin Family.

AFP, Dec. 5, 2007

Labels: art auctions

The first Faberge Egg was made in 1885. It was commissioned by Tsar Alexander III and was given to his wife as an Easter present.

The surprise inside the egg was a golden hen in a golden yolk. The hen was wearing a tiny crown with a ruby hanging inside.

Read more Unique Faberge Eggs at http://www.philippine-resorts.com/art-auctions/unique-faberge-eggs.htm

Labels: art auctions