13th Edition of Paris Photo Takes Over the Carrousel du Louvre

PARIS.- Held at the Carrousel du Louvre through November 22 Paris Photo, the world’s leading fair for 19th Century, modern and contemporary photography features 102 exhibitors including 89 galleries and 13 publishers. With 75% of selected participants coming from 23 countries, the 2009 edition is remarkable in terms of its geographical diversity. With 11 galleries Germany is first among the foreign participants, followed by the United States with 10 galleries, the United Kingdom (7), the Netherlands (6), Japan and Spain (5 galleries each), Italy (3), two each from South Africa, Denmark the United Arab Emirates, Finland, Tunisia, and finally one for Austria, Belgium, China, South Korea, Hungary, Portugal, Russia, Lebanon and Morocco. France is represented by 21 galleries, among which several newcomers make their debut such as La B.A.N.K, Patricia Dorfman, Dominique Fiat, Fran�oise Paviot and la Galerie RX. With 31 first-ti

Dr. Paul LeClerc to Retire as President of The New York Public Library

NEW YORK, NY.- Dr. Paul LeClerc, the French literature scholar who has guided The New York Public Library into the digital age—one of the most dramatic transitions in its history—has announced that he will retire from his position as President in the summer of 2011. At a meeting of its Board of Trustees today, Dr. LeClerc said he is “both astonished and pleased at how much our library system has changed” in his 16 years at the helm. Today the Library is open at its 89 sites more hours than at any time in the last 35 years. Dr. LeClerc has overseen the merging of the branch and research library systems, over $500 million in capital projects, the creation

Artist Jeanne-Claude Dies; Co-Created 'The Gates' with Husband Christo

NEW YORK, NY (AP).- Artist Jeanne-Claude, who created the 2005 Central Park installation "The Gates" and other large scale "wrapping" projects around the globe with her husband Christo, has died. She was 74. Jeanne-Claude died Wednesday night at a New York hospital from complications of a brain aneurysm, her family said in an e-mail statement. Mayor Michael Bloomberg said he spoke with Christo on Thursday morning and offered condolences on behalf of all New Yorkers.

Still Life by Emil Filla Sets New World Auction Record at Bonhams

LOS ANGELES, CA.- Seasoned collectors and new bidders from across the United States and around the globe vied for Modern, Contemporary and Latin American works of art at Bonhams & Butterfields on November 17, 2009 in Los Angeles. Simulcast to the firm's San Francisco auction rooms, the more than 200-lot auction attracted strong buyer interest for a variety of high quality works by well-known artists. Highlights from the well rounded fall auction included pieces by Emil Filla, Maurice Utrillo, Pedro Coronel, Alexander Archipenko, Raymond Duchamp-Villon,

Israel Museum Receives $1 Million to Support New Photography Prize

JERUSALEM.- The Israel Museum, Jerusalem, today announced that it has established the Shpilman International Prize for Excellence in Photography, which provides photographers and scholars with the support needed to pursue new ideas and work in the medium. The first of its kind, the prize is awarded for the creation of new rather than the recognition of previously completed work. It will be presented every two years to an artist or scholar who aims to expand the boundaries of the medium. Recipients will receive a cash prize of €30,000 ($45,000) to support the realization of new work, which will subsequently

Marlborough Chelsea Presents the New York Debut of Alejandro Corujeira

NEW YORK, NY.- Marlborough Gallery presents the New York debut of Alejandro Corujeira, a painter who resides in Madrid and has exhibited widely both in Spain and internationally. Characterized by elliptical forms, sinuous lines that navigate the surface, and layers of transparency, Corujeira’s paintings are beautifully meditative works that invite close inspection. A past resident of the Josef and Annie Albers Foundation, Corujeira has work in the collections of Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sof�a, Madrid and the Institut Valenci� d’Art Modern, Valencia, which held a solo exhibition of his work in 2006.

Crux Vaticana-Golden Cross in Vatican's Collection Gets New Look

VATICAN CITY (AP).- One of the gems of the Vatican's priceless religious art collection — a 6th century reliquary containing what is revered as fragments of the cross on which Jesus was crucified — has been restored to its Byzantine-era glory. The Vatican on Thursday unveiled the restored Crux Vaticana, a foot-high (40-centimeter-high) jewel-encrusted golden cross containing what tradition holds are shards of Jesus' cross inside. The Associated Press was given an early look at the piece, and Byzantine art experts said the restoration rendered the cross much closer

Christie's to Sell Extraordinary Peony Lamp from the Storied Gluck Collection

NEW YORK, NY.- Christie’s announced the auction Magnificent Tiffany featuring Property from the Gluck Collection will be held as part of its 20th-Century Decorative Art & Design sales on December 8, 2009. On February 17, 1979, Christie's held the landmark sale Magnificent Tiffany Featuring The Gluck Collection, the first major Tiffany offering at auction. The sale was an unparalleled success. It was the first time a Tiffany lamp commanded

New Exhibition to Show How the British Public Adapted to Food Shortages

LONDON.- Seventy years ago the wartime government announced the introduction of food rationing - a control that was to remain in force for the next fourteen years. To mark this event Imperial War Museum London is opening "The Ministry of Food", a major new exhibition to show how the British public adapted to a world of food shortages by "Lending a Hand on the Land", "Digging for Victory", taking up the "War on Waste", and being both frugal and inventive on the "Kitchen Front". Visitors will discover that growing your own food

Gordon Knox Named New Arizona State University Art Museum Director

TEMPE, AZ.- The ASU Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts announced the appointment of Gordon Knox as the new director for the ASU Art Museum. Knox, currently a core collaborator for the Stanford Humanities Lab (SHL) at Stanford University, will begin his duties as museum director on a part-time basis on Jan. 11, 2010, assuming the position full-time July 1. “Gordon Knox will be a visionary leader for the ASU Art Museum, bringing unique perspectives to the work of redefining the role and purpose of a university art

Art Institute Examines the Psychological Effects of Architecture through Exhibition

CHICAGO, IL.- Italian born, Berlin-based artist Monica Bonvicini (b. 1965) creates videos, sculptures, installations, and drawings that explore the physical and psychological effects of institutional, particularly museum, architecture. The first focus contemporary art exhibition presented in the Art Institute of Chicago's Modern Wing, "Monica Bonvicini: Light Me Black"--on view November 20, 2009 through January 24, 2010--directly engages with the Renzo Piano-designed building. Bringing together an early iconic work entitled "Plastered", 1998-present

Bloch Collection of Lin Fengmian Paintings Goes Under the Hammer

LONDON.- Bonhams will offer the Mary and George Bloch Collection of Lin Fengmian paintings at its 2009 Autumn Auction. A foremost collector of fine arts in Hong Kong, George Bloch (12 October 1920 - 27 April 2009) was born into a prominent industrial family in Vienna. He went to school in England, but his life changed radically in the mid-1930s when his father died and the Nazis nationalized the family business. In 1938 he moved to Shanghai, arriving with only twenty pounds in cash, and knowing almost

Getty Museum Opens Exhibition Featuring J. Paul Getty's Antiquities

LOS ANGELES, CA.- Celebrating 70 years of collecting, "Collector’s Choice: J. Paul Getty and His Antiquities", on view from November 18, 2009–February 8, 2010, at the J. Paul Getty Museum at the Getty Villa, presents seldom-seen works of art that captured J. Paul Getty’s eye and inspired the creation of a museum modeled on an ancient Roman villa. Favored objects and personal memorabilia illuminate Mr. Getty's taste, his engagement with noted connoisseurs, and his profound love of the classical Mediterranean world.

Artist Carmen Einfinger Wins International Competition to Design Outdoor Gallery

NEW YORK, NY.- New York-based painter Carmen Einfinger has won an international competition to transform Dolna Square in Gdansk, Poland, into a vibrant outdoor gallery. The only U.S.-based artist selected to participate in the competition, now in its third year, Einfinger’s proposal ranked above those of seven architects and designers from several European countries. Einfinger’s design—“the Scent of Color”—will revitalize the green space, a terminus for one of the city’s public buses in the neglected Lower City District, making it a bright, welcoming, gathering point. The project is slated for completion in 2011. “There will be a feeling of harmony beauty and playfulness, which is central to my desire to create art. At first glance, the park may evoke graffiti, but upon closer inspection it will reveal a more orderly and primal way of scribbling and coloring to create a fanciful dream-like world, an imaginary city where diversity is a

Julia Meech First Winner of Frick's Biennial $25,000 Book Prize

NEW YORK, NY.- The Frick’s Center for the History of Collecting in America announces that Julia Meech has been named the first winner of its Sotheby’s Book Prize for her critically acclaimed monograph "Frank Lloyd Wright and the Art of Japan: The Architect’s Other Passion" (Harry N. Abrams). Comments Frick Director Anne Poulet, “The goal of the Center is to stimulate awareness and study of art collecting in this country, to foster research, and to encourage scholarly discourse. The newly created prize (formally known as the Sotheby’s Prize for a Distinguished Publication on the History of Collecting in America) is a critical element toward these efforts. It also represents the summation of a wide range of activities undertaken in a very short time by the Center, which was established only two years ago at the Frick Art Reference Library. Indeed, the Center’s fellowships and research tools avail schola

Brooklyn Museum Opens Special Exhibition of Body Part Fragments of Egyptian Sculpture

BROOKLYN, NY.- "Body Parts: Ancient Egyptian Fragments and Amulets" features thirty-five representations of individual body parts from the Brooklyn Museum’s ancient Egyptian collection, many of which will be displayed for the first time. This special exhibition will be on view at the Brooklyn Museum from November 19, 2009, through October 2, 2011. This exhibition uses objects created as distinct body parts, as well as fragments of sculpture, to highlight the realistic portrayal of individual body parts in canonical Egyptian sculpture. The ancient Egyptians carefully depicted each part of the human body, respecting the significance of every element. When viewed individually these sculptures and fragments reveal the ancient notions of body and pose, as well as details of workmanship frequently unnoticed in more complete sculptures. To better explain each of these elements, the exhibition will make connections to specif

Boxing Champion to Loan Objects for Display in City's New Museum

LIVERPOOL.- In preparation for the opening of the new Museum of Liverpool in 2011, curators are continuing to make exciting additions to the galleries, devoted to telling the story of the city and its global significance through its geography, history and culture. The latest objects to go into the Creative City gallery of the museum, was presented on loan to curators by their owner, former World Champion boxer, Liverpool’s John Conteh. Conteh, who won Middleweight Gold at the British Commonwealth Games in 1970 and went on to win WBC Light Heavyweight crown and successfully defend the title three times, has kindly agreed to the loan of several priceless additions to the Creative City gallery, achieved at the pinnacles of his career. Born 27 May 1951, Conteh started boxing aged 11 at Kirkby Amateur Boxing Club, going on to become one of Britain’s most successful boxing champions, retiring in 1980 after 39 Pr

Alex Webb Wins the "Premio Internacional de Fotografia Alcobendas"

ALCOBENDAS.- Alex Webb started his education in photography at the Carpenter Center for the Visual Arts at Harvard University, completing his academic degree with History studies at the same university. His professional career began as a reporter. For many years, he worked for prestigious magazines such as 'Life', 'Geo' and 'New York Times Magazine', and in 1976 he joined the prestigious agency Magnum Photos as an associate member, becoming a full member in 1979. He was elected President of the agency this past summer. The Council of Alcobendas has awarded a prize for Alex Webb’s work, recognizing the highly humanistic and technical quality of his photographs, which show a "lyric and realistic" sense of childhood and an overall sense of being human. The winning photograph is "Mexico. Oaxaca state. Tehuantepec. 1985. Children Playing in a Courtyard." The Premio

Ex-First Lady Laura Bush Unveils Bush Library Plan

DALLAS (AP).- The George W. Bush Presidential Center will be a modern brick and limestone building set amid a Texas-inspired landscape including wildflowers and prairies. Former first lady Laura Bush unveiled the design Wednesday in Dallas. She said both she and the former president wanted the building to be approachable. The three-story center will be about 227,000 square-foot and will house an archive, a museum and a policy institute. It will be at Southern Methodist University in Dallas. The groundbreaking is expected a year from now and the center is expected to be completed by spring 2013.

Cinematic Greats and Legends of the Silver Screen Arrive at Christie's

LONDON.- This November the movies are coming to Christie’s South Kensington as a diverse selection of Vintage Film Posters and Film Memorabilia is offered encompassing all genres of cinema history from cult horror and sci-fi films to the icons of the silver screen. Including an extensive collection of vintage film posters, props, costumes, photographs and letters this sale is a must for all film buffs looking to pay homage to the greats of cinematic history. An exceptionally rare artifact of stop-motion animation headlines the sale. Over seventy-five years on from the 1933 creation Christie’s South Kensington invites you to journey back and share in the spectacle that was King Kong as it presents the giant ape himself. This unique relic, the 22-inch armature (metal skeleton) (estimate: �100,000-150,000), was used to allow the animated ape to scale the dizzying heights of the Empire State Building in the films poignan

Rocco Landesman Announces Indiana Arts Commission as Recipient of 2009 National Accessibility Leadership Award

WASHINGTON, DC.- Rocco Landesman, Chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts, announced today the Indiana Arts Commission is the recipient of the 2009 National Accessibility Leadership Award/grant for their outstanding accessibility work. Sponsored by the National Endowment for the Arts and the National Assembly of State Arts Agencies (NASAA), the award recognizes exceptional initiatives or programs that make the arts accessible and inclusive for older adults and individuals with disabilities. The award is presented to the Indiana Arts Commission in acknowledgement of its leadership and highly effective work to make the arts fully inclusive throughout its organization, programming, and state. Among the accomplishments of the Indiana Arts Commission: As a result of discussion round-tables and surveys from the 2004 Statewide Forum on Careers in the Arts for People with Disabilities, the Indiana Arts Commission, in partnership

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