Most people know Richard Attenborough as an entrepreneur, director, and actor, but it turns out he was also a collector, who over the years collected many pieces of British 20th century art.
For those interested in this time period, the news that 51 works from Attenborough’s collection will be sold at a Sotheby’s auction on November 11th may come as a nice surprise.
According to the Attenborough’s, the couple decided to sell the pieces because they do not have enough display space in their home for their entire collection. Some of the artists that are available for purchase are Graham Sutherland, Henry Moor, LS Lowry, Christopher Wood, and Barbara Hepworth.
Lord Attenborough spoke highly of the collection stating that some of the pieces have even inspired his work as a film director. This is not a small feat given that he has received three Golden Globes and two Academy Awards over his career.
Among the top pieces in the collection is the Lowry piece “Old Houses” which is a scene that shows men around a group of tired horses. Although the picture has a lot of motion in it, there is a general consensus that many of the men in the painting are unemployed.
Damien Hirst now has a new collection of his Old Master Painters hanging in the Wallace as part of the new Wallace Collection in addition to another gallery that features mainly his oil paintings.
The Wallace Collection is focused primarily on work from 18th century French, which allows Hirst to feature his work among some of the best pieces of art including pieces from Lucian Freud.
In true 18th century French style, Hirst’s work hangs along the walls of the Wallace in two galleries that have been wallpapered with striped blue silk, which was known to have a favourite choice of Marie Antoinette.
Throughout these two galleries there are 25 blue hued paintings on display that feature the rich tone of Prussian blue and white skulls.
Additional themes include the revolutions, death, lust, and love lost which coincidently is the part of the new exhibits official title, No Love Lost.
Among the many pieces in the gallery is a painting that pays tribute to Francis Bacon that features a ham painted in the same manner of Bacon that also features a water glass and ashtray in still life form.
Of course, the true art of Hirst lies in the fact that he is an intellectual painter whose viewpoints on life shine in each of his dark paintings.
Five artists have made the shortlist for their design ideas on the construction of a major structure that would be built in Stratford, to celebrate the 2012 Olympic Games.
The construction of the structure will be funded by the richest man in Britain, Lakshmi Mittal.
One competing design is of a structure that resembles a Native American totem pole and a cross according to reports.
Plans by Mittal suggest that the structure would be completely powered by solar panels, and light up during the night.
Among the five artists shortlisted for the design are Turner prize winners Antony Gormley and Anish Kapoor, who designed the Angel of the North.
Although the mayor of London stated that he will crack down on the presence of tall buildings in the London skyline, sources claim that if the project proceeds it will be a stunning addition to the skyline.
The arts sector of Northern Ireland is currently experiencing a financial boost due to the addition of several world class facilities that emphasize and truly highlight the importance of cultural art and local heritage throughout the region.
This week alone the Ulster Museum will reopen its doors to the public again with a new look and an enormous £150m overhaul that will drastically change the way most people think of the previously dilapidated building.
Along with the new face of the Ulster Museum, the Belfast City Hall also has undergone renovation work and the Lyric Theatre is in the process of being built on Ridgeway Street in the city of Belfast.
Additionally, there are plans for a renovation project that will extend the Central library in Belfast at a price tag of about £50m and plans to build a new Metropolitan Arts Centre to replace the old Museum Arts Centre that will cost in the ballpark of £14.2m.
Improvements are underway outside of Belfast as well with the opening of the new Braid Museum and Arts Centre opening last year in Ballymena and the £4m Irish language arts centre Culturlann Ui Chanain opening in Londonderry last month.
Arts Minister Nelson McCausland stated that in the past several years the arts have not been invested in throughout Northern Ireland but is proud that in the last several years his department has been able to help create a stronger cultural infrastructure in the country.
He added the new investments will help benefit the locals as well as help boost the amount of cultural offerings that are available for tourists.
The studio clearance auction by Peter Howson to help him solve personal financial problems brought in £155,000, for the sale of 220 pieces, which is an unprecedented total for an unprecedented event.
The sale brought in over 200 browsers and buyers at the auction location in Drumoyne, Glasgow. In fact, the sale brought in much more people than anticipated; causing the staff from McTear’s to take out chairs so that more people could fit into the bidding area. Additionally, many collectors made bids via the internet or telephone.
One reason for the high attendance may have been the lure of bidding on ‘no reserve’ items at the auctioneer’s discretion, although bids quickly went well over what most probably expected to see.
Among the highest selling pieces were the sketches of ‘Robert Burns (Rabbie)’ at £1750, ‘Three Faces of Robert Burns’ at £2500, and ‘Robert Burns: Inspired’ at £2300. The guide prices for these three pieces of work averaged between £100-£500.
The highest price that a Howson was ever sold for was at a Sotheby’s auction in May of 2008 when the ‘Three Faces of Eve’ fetched £300,000.
For sale at the auction were oil paintings, sketches, and prints.
As the market of contemporary art continues to recover, London auction houses completed a stellar weekend, with sales that are far better for a few of the most popular well known European artists.
Although spending has been curbed for the last several months, collectors competed over the weekend for works by Martin Kippenberger from Germany and metal sculptures by a handful of UK artists.
While colourful artworks and sculptures are “in” once again, bidders were still quiet on pieces of work that were over one million pounds and a selection of video art. The current bidding choices are expected to reflect the sales at the upcoming New York major art auctions in the later autumn months.
Still, Sotheby’s and Christie’s, two of the most prominent auction houses, sold £26.3m this past weekend in combined sales which beats the estimate of £18.7. However, compared to last October sales, the revenue is still down by 51%.
One of the reasons may have been a lack of items to auction, with Christie’s only putting up 25 pieces on the market, which is only half of what the typical giant auction house would have included in its bidding catalogue.
At least however, the weekend sales show that serious art collectors are ready to pick up the bidding paddle again.
For those who were shocked by the condition of the art world last year when Damien Hirst was name top of the Power 100 list in the Art Review magazine this year brings a little bit of respite as the artist famous for covering dead animals in formaldehyde has now dropped to 48th place.
Although in the current recession it is no secret that artists are not ranked high on the list of professional millionaires, it is a little relieving at least to hear that this year professionals in the art world, were voted the most powerful.
The top placement went to Hans Ulrich Obrist who is the co-director of Exhibitions in the Kensington Serpentine Galley. Additionally, Obrit has been responsible for being curator of around 90 other European exhibitions over the course of his career.
In second place is Glenn D. Lowery who is the director of the New York Museum of Art, and is featured in the top three without even making an appearance on the list in previous years.
Rounding out the top three is Sir Nicolas Serota also a director at the Tate museum which proves that this year the power does not belong to the artists, but instead those who take charge of deciding which artists are featured in museums.
Editor of Art Review magazine stated that the top ten list reflects the fact that the art world demands a new level of flexibility and change which curators are able to deal with appropriately compared to artists.
A fingerprint may have revealed a hidden Leonardo da Vinci portrait of a young girl, entitled, Young Girl in Profile. The painting was sold for only £12,000 at an art auction at Christie’s in 1998, as the work of an unnamed artist, but now experts believe that the work belongs to da Vinci escalating its value up to almost £100m.
The painting was discovered as a possible da Vinci by a laboratory in Paris, which found a fingerprint on it that bears a close similarity to ones on the work of other da Vinci work that is housed in the Vatican.
The fingerprint was found in the top left corner of the painting and is thought to be either his middle finger or index finger.
The print looks similar to one found on the St. Jerome by da Vinci at the Vatican.
Also, there are many stylistic similarities between the painting ‘Portrait of a Woman in Profile’ which was painted by da Vinci, and is housed in Windsor Castle and the new found painting.
It is believed that the young girl in the new piece of work may be Bianca Sforza who was the daughter of the Duke of Milan in the 15th century, and his mistress, according the Emeritus Professor of the History of Art at Oxford University, Martin Kemp who is also a known da Vinci scholar.
Although this would be the first painting discovered in which da Vinci painted the young girl, paintings of his are in existence of two other mistresses of the Duke.
London is quickly becoming the place for the world’s richest film stars, celebrities, and largest art names to gather after the Frieze Art Fair opened this past Thursday.
One unique attribute of the London Art Fair is that it only includes the work of living artists, otherwise known as contemporary art, which has led many in the art world to consider it to be one-sided.
The Frieze Art Fair has only been in existence for the last six years, but during this short time span it quickly has become the place to be, for those involved in the international art scene.
There are over 150 stalls at the fair that feature the full glitz and glamorous works of artists such as Takashi Murakami, Tracey Emin, and Jeff Koons.
New to the fair this year, will be the Pavilion of Art and Design in Berkeley Square which opens on Wednesday to the public and will include work that is available for purchase.
Over the last few decades the walls that make up the White House have undergone a few dramatic makeovers to their present rich bold colours followed by abstract shapes.
The new theme of the artwork’s for the White House has just been revealed, and now works by artists Mark Rothko and Jasper Johns adorn the walls of the house, alongside a few Degas sculptures, and many Native American and African American artworks that are obscure in their origins.
The abstract feel to the White House extends past paintings in the outer areas, and into the Oval Office, where patent models for a steamboat and gear cutter reside.
The president’s wife, Michelle Obama, was in charge of all of the redecoration efforts, and decided to borrow 45 pieces of art from Washington museums to decorate the West and East Wing, public and private areas.
Although William Allman the White House curator noted that other president’s wives have used artwork for decoration previously such as Hillary Clinton and Jacqueline Kennedy, he added that the Obamas by far, have chosen the largest number of items.
Many of the pieces were borrowed from the National Gallery in Washington, where the only criteria was that artwork was not be removed from public display, thus they can only be used in the “public areas of the White House.
Most people know Richard Attenborough as an entrepreneur, director, and actor, but it turns out he was also a collector, who over the years collected many pieces of British 20th century art.
Damien Hirst now has a new collection of his Old Master Painters hanging in the Wallace as part of the new 
Five artists have made the shortlist for their design ideas on the construction of a major structure that would be built in Stratford, to celebrate the 2012 Olympic Games. 
The arts sector of Northern Ireland is currently experiencing a financial boost due to the addition of several world class facilities that emphasize and truly highlight the importance of cultural art and local heritage throughout the region.
The studio clearance auction by Peter Howson to help him solve personal financial problems brought in £155,000, for the sale of 220 pieces, which is an unprecedented total for an unprecedented event.
As the market of contemporary art continues to recover, London auction houses completed a stellar weekend, with sales that are far better for a few of the most popular well known European artists.
A fingerprint may have revealed a hidden Leonardo da Vinci portrait of a young girl, entitled, Young Girl in Profile. The painting was sold for only £12,000 at an art auction at 
London is quickly becoming the place for the world’s richest film stars, celebrities, and largest art names to gather after the 
Over the last few decades the walls that make up the White House have undergone a few dramatic makeovers to their present rich bold colours followed by abstract shapes.