While the chair turned out to be a waste of time, Norsigian stumbled onto something else that changed his life and pocketbook when he found two antique glass negatives that according to an art appraiser from Beverly Hills were created by Ansel Adams.

In order to get the lot, Norsigian a painter and construction worker, bargained the lot down to a $45 value, however according to the appraiser his find may be worth over £129m.

Arnold Peter, his attorney, stated that a team of experts took a close look at the negatives and decided that there were 65 negatives that were from Adam’s early work taken between the time period of 1919 and the 1930s and were negatives that were rescued from a home fire in 1937.  Adams was said to be heartbroken after the fire occurred as it destroyed about a third of his photos.

Adams’ is known for his portraits of the American West in black and white photos that are now easily recognizable from many posters and US greeting cards.  His work helped place photography on the same pedestal as music and painting and also helped to drive the US national park movement.

Peter said that there is no direct authority that can determine the authenticity of photos so they decided to look at all the evidence they could from a scientific viewpoint and everything they have found proves the negatives are indeed those of Ansel Adams.

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Other artists that are under consideration include Londoner Brian Griffiths, Edinburgh Hew Locke, and Germans Mariele Neudecker and Katharina Fritsch. Mayor Boris Johnson will announce the winner at the beginning of 2011, with the work due for installation in 2012.

Currently Yinka Shonibare’s ‘Ship in a Bottle’ is the occupant of the space.  The work was unveiled last May and is a too scale replica of the HMS Victory that commemorates both the 50^th year of independence in Nigeria and the Battle of Trafalgar.

The ship took the place of a statue of WWII war hero Sir Keith Park and a project by Antony Gormley that allowed the public to talk to crowds from the plinth.

Scale models of each work to reach the shortlist will be on display at the church next to St. Martin in the Fields starting on August 19^th.

Ekow Eshun, the chair of the Fourth Plinth Commissioning Group stated that his colleagues were excited by the shortlist which includes many top artists from many different nations.

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The show was condemned by the Russian Orthodox Church and many others for artworks such as one that showed Jesus Christ depicted with a head of Mickey Mouse.  In another painting Jesus Christ was painted with a head that was the Order of Lenin medal.

Also within the exhibition was a spoof Coca-Cola ad that had the slogan ‘This is my blood’ painted within it that a visitor could see by looking through peep holes.

The two men, the former director of the museum, Samodurov, and Yerofeyev, an art expert, stated that they put together the exhibition in an effort to fight the art censorship that exists within Russia.

Prosecutors launched a formal investigation after a complaint was filed by an Orthodox group.

Samodurov received a fine of £4,300 and Yerofeyev received a fine of £3,200.

The trial started in April of 2009 and faced criticism not only from the Orthodox church but also those within the art community with 13 renowned Russian artists bonding together to write a letter to the Russian President Dimitry Medvedev asking him to halt the trial explaining a guilty verdict would rock the contemporary Russian art world.

Amnesty International also released a statement last week stating that a guilty verdict would hurt the status of freedom of expression within Russia.

However, the legal action was defended by the Council of People who issued the complaint that spurred the trial.

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Hever Castle and The Quilters’ Guild will be hosting their 19^th Annual Patchwork & Quilting Exhibition in the castle grounds from 3^rd to 5^th September.

Members of The Quilters’ Guild from across Kent, Surrey and Sussex will be showcasing their talent with a display of over 200 patchwork quilts and wall hangings.  Visitors will be treated to a vibrant array of designs from the traditional to the contemporary, including British and American styles, sampler quilts and wall hangings using innovative techniques in hand and machine work and appliqué.  This year Dinah Travis, Pat Salt and the Horsham Quilters have been specially invited to exhibit their work.

Throughout the weekend, members of The Quilters’ Guild will be presenting a full programme of demonstrations on patchwork and quilting techniques, from basic construction to intricate needlework.  Visitors will also be able to browse a selection of trade stalls selling designs, equipment, fabrics and haberdashery.

This year, members of The Quilters’ Guild from across the British Isles have been invited to enter the Hever Challenge and take inspiration from the theme of ‘My Favourite Artist’.  Awards will be presented for the most outstanding entries and visitors are encouraged to vote for their favourite quilt from the entire exhibition to be awarded the accolade of ‘visitors’ favourite’.

Visitors can also take the opportunity to indulge themselves in the calm and elegant surroundings of the beautifully renovated Guthrie Pavilion Restaurant.  Situated in the Italian Gardens with delightful views across the lake, the resplendent Guthrie Pavilion now has a multi-vaulted ceiling letting in natural sunlight, stylish furnishings and an oak floor.  Outside, stone columns and an English oak pergola – using wood locally sourced from the castle’s estate – perfectly complement the sandstone-paved terrace.   Visitors can choose between light refreshments in the café area or enjoy a relaxed table service in the restaurant.

Event Details

Normal rates of admission apply.  No extra charge for this event.  Exhibition open 11am – 5pm

Gardens open at 10.30am; Castle opens at 12pm.  Last admission 5pm; final exit 6pm.

Admission:            Castle & Gardens – Adults £13.00; Seniors £11.00 Children £7.00; Family ticket £33.00

Gardens only – Adults £10.50; Seniors £9.00, Children £6.50; Family ticket £27.50

Telephone 01732 865224 or visit www.hevercastle.co.uk

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Called ‘Close Examination- Fakes, Mistakes, and Discoveries,’ the highlights techniques that are used to prevent and detect art fraud by conservators, scientists, and art historians.

One painting on display as a fraudulent purchase is ‘A Man with a Skull’ which when was purchased was thought to be painted by Hans Holbein.  The painting was purchased in mid 19^th century but tree ring dating showed that the painting was from after Holbein died.

The gallery also made a mistake when they purchased two Botticellis from the estate of Alexander Barker only to find that one of the paintings was in fact not a Botticelli.

Even though in the present day modern methods such as X-ray images and infrared imaging have helped identify paintings, fakery is still a large problem throughout the art world.

Marjorie Wieseman, exhibition co-curator, stated that it is now very hard to sell a fake because the art world is getting better at identifying forgers, but art is getting more expensive therefore the temptation and rewards for forgers is getting higher.

The art exhibition also shows how over time pieces of art are altered to fit the current standards of the time.

For example, ‘Woman at a Window,’ a painting from the 16^th century was first painted with blonde hair and a sultry appearance, but she was altered during the Victorian ages to meet the more restrained tastes.

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The gift is valued at £25m and will include some of the top highlights of his collection such as the Chapman brothers’ mannequins, Tracey Emin’s My Bed, and the installation of Richard Wilson titled 20:50.

The aim of Saatchi apparently is to leave a legacy behind him although the name will not be changed until 2012 and to create a museum that will live on according to the words of Rebecca Wilson the gallery director.

Given his name has always been a sensation, Saatchi is showing a lot of generosity by taking his name off of the marquee although most question if he can really explain the true meaning of contemporary art.

Also questionable is if MOCAL will be able to grow in a more formidable direction than the one that Saatchi founded or if the notable millionaire will continue to mandate the direction by his every whim and request.

While the contribution is quite generous, it is yet to be seen if it will be as ambitious of a donation as it seems at first.

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The current largest sale took place in June of 2008 and achieved £298m when a Monet water lily painting took in £41m.  After this record the slump followed, in which paintings were not sold and last June sales reached a low £96m.

However, the money was still there to purchase art if great works had appeared given that last year in Paris at the Yves Saint Laurent sale records were achieved for Brancusi, Matisse, and Mondrian paintings.  Also high sales were hundred million dollar sales of Picasso and Giacometti works.

The theory behind this is that the super rich across the globe are choosing to invest their money in art instead of investing it in the unstable stock market or the banking system.  This is due to the fact that art is not only a status symbol, but also a way to hedge inflation so long as it is the best art available.

The fair opening in London next week has been titled the Masterpiece fair and will feature works that are said to be the ‘best of the best’ in the categories of art, wine, classic cars, antiques, and jewellery.

The success of the fair however will lie in the interest of the public when it comes down to the top ten paintings up for auction that have been termed the masterpieces which include works by Matisse, Derain, Manet, Picasso, Chaim Soutine, and Monet.

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Co-curator of Martin Myrone, Cedar Lewis, sees the new exhibit as a source of enlightenment that defines the distinction between stand up comedies of fine art and tosses them aside.  Lewis stated that Tommy Cooper can be seen as a performance artist or Martin Kippinberger’s paintings seen as the work of a clown.

The curators at Tate Britain worked along with many of the best curators from around the world in order to create an exhibit that is a composite of comedy performers, satirists, and comic publishers creating a large body of comic art from around Britain dated from the 17^th century up until the modern day.

The exhibition is split into several thematic sections allowing each feature comic to have a distinct presence in the rooms such as the Scarfe room which shows political disgust down to Martin Rowson’s room which presents the policies of Tony Blair in regards to the Iraq war.

Also notable is Gillray’s room, which shows William Pitt as the top public enemy in the face of his nation and Hill’s room which is best described as a blend of provocations and puzzles.

Paul Sandby also has an image of an exploding bottom in order to present the Georgian obsession with ballooning as well as several objects pulled out of popular culture such as a flask that is made in the form of a potato.

Throughout the Tate Britain exhibit, the viewer is constantly reminded that British comic art is often grotesque but remains highly meaningful.

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With new fine art pieces starting to hit new selling records after a slump caused by the economic crisis, auction houses are once again firm in the belief that Russian arts, manuscripts, and paintings will continue to fetch high bids.

Director of the specialist Russian auction house MacDougall’s, William MacDougall, stated that they are expecting to see even more business now that the market is starting to improve and expects to see over 12m pounds of art sell during the next week.

During this time period, MacDougall’s will also be hosting a side sale of Russian works that were compiled in order to attract middle class bidders that are not able to afford major painting sales.

One of the highlights at the upcoming MacDougall show is “Arsenal Hill at Night” by Niko Pirosami from Georgia, which is valued to fetch between .9m -1.2m pounds.  For the past several years the piece of art has been in the Moscow apartment of Lily Brik whom was the muse of Vladmir Mayakovsjy the poet.

This week Sotheby’s will also hold three auctions, out of which it predicts to pull in about 19 million pounds which will be the same amount fetched during the end of 2009.

For Sotheby’s, the top sellers are expected to be “Portrait of Zinovil Grzhebin” by Yuri Annenkov and “The Dark Wood” by Ivan Shishkin.  The paintings are expected to fetch 1.2m pounds and 1.5m pounds respectfully.

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The Tate Modern exhibit that opened May 28^th offers a startling and thought-provoking perspective on the subject called ‘Exposed: Voyeurism, Surveillance and the Camera’.

In the U.K. alone, there are at least five million closed circuit television cameras (CCTV’s), which is one for every twelve citizens, so no matter who you are, where you are or what you’re doing, there’s a good chance that someone is watching.  ‘Exposed’ is geared more towards the concept of camera as voyeur rather than as a security measure, evidenced by such displays as shots taken through bordello windows and pictures of couples in a park in Japan, all taken without the knowledge of the subjects.

Tate’s new curator of photography, Simon Baker, said that the exhibition is meant to raise questions about the role of photographic technology in our lives, just who is looking and for what purpose.

The line between journalism and voyeurism is extremely hazy, especially when it comes to celebrities and ‘public figures’.  Witness the shot of Paris Hilton, in a police car and in tears, or for that matter the pictures of Jackie Kennedy during and after JKF’s assassination.

More than 250 photographs are featured in the ‘Exposed’ showing, and they range from the mildly amusing to the horribly graphic.  Genocide, suicide and just about every human condition from unposed innocence to vicious cruelty and depravity are included, with the common ingredient being the unwitting exposure provided by the camera.  The question might come down to morality:  who wants to watch, and why?

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