For Love of Art

[dave jenkins]

I've been to the Brooklyn Museum once (on a school trip). That was probably 2009. I remember being really impressed with the floor that had all the old houses completely reassembled inside the museum. I would like to see that again.

[drinkanddestroy]

I've been to the Brooklyn Museum once (on a school trip). That was probably 2009. I remember being really impressed with the floor that had all the old houses completely reassembled inside the museum. I would like to see that again.

yes that was cool. I just wonder what was real and what wasn't. I don't think it was all original. As I recall, there were little signs saying some things that were real. I think some if it was just inspired by the old style.

There's plenty of shit there. Lotsa feminist shit, like The Dinner Party http://www.brooklynmuseum.org/exhibitions/dinner_party/
There was also some feminist photographer who decided to take a picture of a used tampon and call it art. I swear to God. The fact that certain things aren't discussed in public, like used tampons, irks the feminists. Next they'll be taking pictures of used toilet paper. There's also an "artwork" of a Tampon Wedding Cake - thank God these tampons are unused http://www.brooklynmuseum.org/eascfa/feminist_art_base/gallery/vadis_turner.php?i=2221

The museum also was involved in a major debate when Rudy Giuliani was mayor; they wanted to show an artwork with feces on the Virgin Mary, Giuliani wanted to pull city funding from the museum over that painting. Google it if you wanna read about it. Seriously, the gov't has no business spending tax dollars on museums, and this is one of many reasons why – cuz then gov't chooses what is offensive, and possibly violates the First Amendment – but that's another story for another time.

But despite some of their recent tendencies toward new crap, the Brooklyn Museum is big enough that it has plenty of great stuff to look at. I particularly love their collection of American paintings. As I detailed in a recent post, my only real criticisms have to do with the physical way they arrange their paintings, but overall, my one visit there was a very wonderful afternoon. I look forward to going there again; maybe you and I can visit it this summer.

[drinkanddestroy]

gonna copy a couple of art-related posts that SOMEHOW wound up in the Vertigo thread  

http://www.fistful-of-leone.com/forums/index.php?topic=11406.msg177470#msg177470
drinkanddestroy:
In other news, I was at the Met Museum today. (In addition to seeing their magnificent collection of American paintings), they were showing a shitload of French Impressionist stuff. A ton of Degas, some of his most famous ballerina pics, plus his nudes getting outta the bath which don't interest me; a shitload of Manets and Monets (including some Water Lilies, and his sunflowers), and all the other usual suspects - Van Gogh, Cezanne, Renoir, Serrat (I am sure I am mispelling his name), et al.
I am not sure how much (if at all?) is borrowed from other museums and how much is from the Met's personal collection.... I generally don't care much for Impressionism (except Degas) but I had fun with my beloved American paintings ... Anyway, if you can't get over to the Met, you'll have the next best thing - I'll try to post some pics I took in the art thread once my friend DropBoxes me the file of pics I took and I take the incredible amont of time to post it them one at a time through ImageShack or PhotoBucket ....
Btw, I saw the Hopper oils TABLES FOR LADIES and THE LIGHTHOUSE AT TWO LIGHTS (1929) and de Chirico's THE JEWISH ANGEL and ARIADNE (the latter being from his Italian town square series; you may remember that I mentioned previously how Frayling had said that Leone once owned that painting, and that I showed that the Met's own provenance page on its website never mentions Leone's name as having been an owner of that painting.)

Anyway, you'll see 'em once I get a chance to post 'em. Don't hold your breath  


n_l responds:

Nothing is more breathtaking (to me) in painting than good impressionism. It can be almost as cinematographic as Dutch painting or even Caravaggio. Of course Renoir is usually the most cinematographic. Don't waste too much time on minor ones such as Pissaro though but keep an eye on early works by Monet: the power that comes from some of his simplest compositions is incredible but you may be more interested in the way he painted light (that's kind of the go to guy when it comes to representing light). The main value of his late works (such as his Water Lilies) comes from what they started (abstract painting) rather than their own qualities (he was almost blind at the time anyway).
Van Gogh and Cezanne are borderline impressionists. VG, though one of the greatest thing that happened to art, had more to do with the Fauvist movement if you ak me. They're also the closest Europeans you'll find from the greatest american paintings.

[drinkanddestroy]

Nothing is more breathtaking (to me) in painting than good impressionism. It can be almost as cinematographic as Dutch painting or even Caravaggio. Of course Renoir is usually the most cinematographic. Don't waste too much time on minor ones such as Pissaro though but keep an eye on early works by Monet: the power that comes from some of his simplest compositions is incredible but you may be more interested in the way he painted light (that's kind of the go to guy when it comes to representing light). The main value of his late works (such as his Water Lilies) comes from what they started (abstract painting) rather than their own qualities (he was almost blind at the time anyway).
Van Gogh and Cezanne are borderline impressionists. VG, though one of the greatest thing that happened to art, had more to do with the Fauvist movement if you ak me. They're also the closest Europeans you'll find from the greatest american paintings.

truth is maybe I do like some Impressionism more than I realized.

What I first learned about it was in some dumb high school art class. Monet was the god and to me it looked like somebody scribbling on a paper. Throwing light on a scribble. Furthermore, the book we used had black-and-white photo reproductions so I didn't even see the color. Didn't like Monet much and that turned me off from a lot. Even now, the name "Monet" has some reverence which I am not sure is appropriate. He did have some great uses of light, but some of that water lilly shit is, let's face it, just that.

As I mentioned, I do like Degas a lot, specifically the ballet classes; I don't care for his nudes at all. But I'm not so sure that Degas really should be considered an Impressionist, even though I know he is. I do not like Van Gogh. Those same awful strokes on every painting. I can tell when it's a Van Gogh from a mile away and it's still shit every time.

btw, here is the Met's Degas collection, saw lots of this yesterday
http://www.metmuseum.org/collection/the-collection-online/search?ft=Degas

Probably my favorite of his ballerina pics is the one called The Dancing Class http://www.metmuseum.org/collection/the-collection-online/search/436141?rpp=30&pg=1&ft=Degas&pos=8
It is a TINY picture, oil on wood, 19.7 cm X 27 cm.

we all know that Degas's ballet paintings influenced the opening shot of young Deborah dancing in OUATIA, but I have often wondered if this pic didn't influence most of all. Somehow the color seems most muted here, kinda like sepia-toned, and also there is a mirror in back of the room as there is in that scene ...

[drinkanddestroy]

Here are the three Hoppers canvases I saw at The Met:

The Lighthouse at Two Lights (1929) http://goo.gl/L02YyV

Tables for Ladies (1930) http://goo.gl/G3Rhpp

From Williamsburg Bridge (1928) http://goo.gl/xumDo7

The last one is of particular significance for Leone fans, because (according to Frayling in the OUATIA chapter of STDWD), that painting was one of those that Leone used in creating the look of the main street of the Jewish neighborhood in OUATIA.

You see, the Met has a very nice website with good reproductions of its paintings, it WOULD be much easier for me to simply provide the links, rather than actually posting the pics I took one by one through Photobucket. But admit it, if I post a bunch of links, nobody will click on them; when I post the actual pics, people do look at them. So I GUESS I'll eventually have to get around to posting the pics when I get ahold of them. In the meantime, you'll have to do with some links  

The two de Chrico canvases I saw were:
 The Jewish Angel http://goo.gl/rPXpMq
Ariadne http://goo.gl/OmYkmp

As I discussed in this post http://www.fistful-of-leone.com/forums/index.php?topic=8921.msg164085#msg164085 Frayling has said that Leone owned Ariadne but (unless the Met's provenance listings are wrong!) Fraylng is wrong about that

-------------

Here are two mid-19th-century American paintings that I saw at the Met on Sunday which I'd never seen before – or even heard of the artists – but I absolutely fell in love with these paintings instantly:

Red School House (Country Scene) (1858) by George Henry Durrie http://goo.gl/blmfke
The Third Avenue Railroad Depot (1859-1860) William H. Schenck http://goo.gl/TJC2Xa

[drinkanddestroy]

I would never have thought that museum lighting could make such a difference. Well done, Drink!  

Yeah, it makes a big difference.
RE: this issue of museum lighting: I recently read Gail Levin's bio of Hopper called Edward Hopper: An Intimate Biography. On p. 255 (of the original 1995 first edition), Levin quotes from a letter written by Hopper's wife, Jo, to the head of a gallery that was having a Hopper exhibit:

Jo then gave a lengthy description of the ideal lighting for Hopper's work, insisting: "His gorgeous windswept blue skies turn grey on you under yellow electric bulbs. Please don't be too stubborn to use blue bulbs for blue skies."

[drinkanddestroy]

PS I would have cropped out the picture frames.

From pp. 321-322 of the same book mentioned in the previous post, here is another letter written by Hopper's wife, Jo, complaining about the frame chosen by a museum for one particular Hopper painting, Cape Cod Evening.

I am simply devastated over that frame. A very fine noble picture blotted out, absorbed by a wide heavy frame. A Beautiful frame – but deadly on that picture. Too overpowering, the 3 small scattered figured swallowed up. It's all nonsense this talk about the frame making no difference – & one not looking at the frame. The frame is part of the picture and is deciding as the light in which a picture is shown. Anyone knows what a hat will do to a woman – hat & all her clothes. They could all but destroy her, belie all her qualities. It is a great grief that [Edward] will not have me around when he orders his frames.

CJ, as Jo says, "The frame is part of the picture and is deciding as the light in which a picture is shown." Everyone who visits the museum and sees the painting sees it in the frame. I don't think it's necessary to crop frames. Besides, when I post photos of paintings, I am re-creating the experience of visiting the museum. If you just want to see the painting without the frame, I could provide you with the museum's link to each photo instead of posting the photos I took. Every one of these paintings has a web page on site of whatever museum owns it; the image on the website is generally much better than the one from my digital camera and doesn't have the frame. But when I post stuff here, I am trying to give sort of a subjective little taste of visiting the museum. 

[drinkanddestroy]

New record price for an artwork at auction: http://goo.gl/7YsNkB


Picasso Painting Sells for $179M; Giacometti Sculpture $141M


By DEEPTI HAJELA and ULA ILNYTZKY


NEW YORK (AP) -- A vibrant, multi-hued painting from Pablo Picasso set a world record for artwork at auction, selling for $179.4 million on Monday, and a sculpture by Alberto Giacometti set a record for most expensive sculpture, at $141.3 million.

Picasso's "Women of Algiers (Version O)" and Giacometti's life-size "Pointing Man" were among dozens of masterpieces from the 20th century Christie's offered in a curated sale titled "Looking Forward to the Past."

Christie's global president, Jussi Pylkkanen, who was the auctioneer, said the two pieces are outstanding works of art.

"I've never worked with two such beautiful objects," he said.

The Picasso price, $179,365,000, and the Giacometti price, $141,285,000, included the auction house's premium. The buyers elected to remain anonymous.

Overall, 34 of 35 lots sold for an auction total of $706 million.

Experts say the high sale prices were driven by artworks' investment value and by wealthy collectors seeking out the very best works.

"I don't really see an end to it, unless interest rates drop sharply, which I don't see happening in the near future," dealer Richard Feigen said.

Impressionist and modern artworks continue to corner the market because "they are beautiful, accessible and a proven value," added Sarah Lichtman, a professor of design history and curatorial studies at The New School.

"I think we will continue to see the financiers seeking these works out as they would a blue chip company that pays reliable dividends for years to come," she said.

"Women of Algiers," once owned by American collectors Victor and Sally Ganz, was inspired by Picasso's fascination with 19th-century French artist Eugene Delacroix. It's part of a 15-work series Picasso created in 1954-55 designated with the letters A through O. It has appeared in several major museum retrospectives of the Spanish artist.

The most expensive artwork sold at auction had been Francis Bacon's "Three Studies of Lucian Freud," which Christie's sold for $142.4 million in 2013.

"Pointing Man," depicting a skinny 5-foot-high bronze figure with extended arms, had been in the same private collection for 45 years. Giacometti made six casts of the work; four are in museums, and the others are in private hands and a foundation collection.

His "Walking Man I" had held the auction record for a sculpture: $104.3 million in 2010.

Other highlights at Christie's included Peter Doig's "Swamped," a 1990 painting of a canoe in a moonlit lagoon, which sold for almost $26 million, a record for the British artist. Claude Monet's "The Houses of Parliament, At Sunset," a lush painting of rich blues and magenta created in 1900-01, sold for $40.5 million.

Christie's also had a Mark Rothko for sale. "No. 36 (Black Stripe)," which had never appeared at auction, also sold for $40.5 million. The 1958 work was sold by German collector Frieder Burda, who exhibited it in his museum in Baden-Baden for several years.

[drinkanddestroy]

http://bigstory.ap.org/article/7efbdc11d14c4b96a73a7862e4822911/wyeth-paintings-owned-charlton-heston-be-auctioned

Wyeth paintings owned by Charlton Heston to be auctioned

By ULA ILNYTZKY
Sep. 24, 2015


NEW YORK (AP) — Three works by Andrew Wyeth owned by the painter's close friend and admirer, actor Charlton Heston, area headed for auction.

They are being offered for sale at Sotheby's New York on Nov. 18 by the estate of the Hollywood legend and his wife, Lydia.

The works are Wyeth's landscape "Flood Plain" from 1986, estimated at $2 million to $3 million; "Ice Pool," a watercolor of a winter scene created in 1969 that carries a pre-sale estimate of $150,000 to $250,000; and "Study for 'Flood Plain'" which the artist gave to Heston in 1991, estimated at $20,000 to $30,000.

Heston died in 2008; Wyeth passed away the following year.

The actor greatly admired the work of Wyeth and began a correspondence with him in the 1980s. It led to a long friendship and visits by Heston to the Wyeth homestead in Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania.

His first purchase was "Ice Pool," which he gave to his wife as an anniversary gift. In 1987, he narrated a documentary on Wyeth's "Helga" period, a series of over 200 paintings and drawings the artist created using his neighbor as a model.

The actor also wrote numerous articles on Wyeth, including for the National Review.

For Christmas in 1991, Heston received a package from Wyeth that contained the artist's study for "Flood Plain."

"I haven't been so excited about a Christmas gift since I was ten years old." Heston wrote the artist. "You've given our family not only a piece of your work ... but a part of the process ... a private part of your working insides."

In an introductory essay to the auction catalog, Heston's son, Fraser Heston, said his father considered Wyeth "a kindred spirit, having grown up in Michigan with long, frozen winters and long, lovely walks through the gloaming woods."

The three works are on view at Sotheby's Los Angeles galleries on Thursday and Friday.

[drinkanddestroy]

DJ and I visited the new Whitney Museum on Sunday.

I uploaded some pics to my Photo Bucket account; when I have the time to go through the process of resizing and posting them here one at a time, a real pain in the ass, I'll do it.

Good times. We saw one of Hopper's masterpieces, "Early Sunday Morning," which I've seen before; also one of his early paintings "Le Bistro" aka  "The Wine Shop" and some of his early nude sketches. Also saw two nice Hopper paintings that I've seen many times in books but this was the first time I was seeing them for real, in the canvas: "Seven A.M." and "Railroad Sunset."

Then, DJ and I had some Coronas at Hector's Diner. CJ would love that place - a shitty little diner that looks like it's straight out of a noir. And they have some movie posters also.

As we were leaving Hector's, we saw a couple sitting at a nearby outdoor cafe with a Siberian Husky, aka the most gorgeous dog that God ever created. I gave DJ my camera so he could snap some pics of me with the beaut. He (i.e., the dog, not DJ) even howled at me! How many of you suckers have been howled at by a Siberian Husky?  It was a little hard getting the dog to look DJ's way, but we got some good pics. You don't see Siberian Huskies in New York very often. Any day on which you get to pet a Siberian Husky is a damn good day 

Afterward, DJ and I passed a guy selling movie posters off a table on the street. Ya know, copies of old movie posters, mounted on cardboard in a plastic sleeve. I got a good deal: I bought 8 for $64: one from FOD, three from FAFDM, two from GBU, one from Casablanca and one from The Big Sleep.

Good times 

[drinkanddestroy]

so now I am getting notices by some of the pics I posted (a long time ago) via ImageShack that the image has "expired"? including my former profile pic? wtf?

Thank God most of these paintings I posted here were done via PhotoBucket, which hasn't expired on me (yet). I hope PhotoBucket's stuff doesn't expire.

Anyway ... is there any new, modern free photo-sharing service I can use? (on computer, not a smartphone app) I'd like to post pics of some paintings but PhotoBucket is a real pain in the neck. If anyone can suggest a better service through which I can post pics here, I'd appreciate it  

[cigar joe]

so now I am getting notices by some of the pics I posted (a long time ago) via ImageShack that the image has "expired"? including my former profile pic? wtf?

Thank God most of these paintings I posted here were done via PhotoBucket, which hasn't expired on me (yet). I hope PhotoBucket's stuff doesn't expire.

Anyway ... is there any new, modern free photo-sharing service I can use? (on computer, not a smartphone app) I'd like to post pics of some paintings but PhotoBucket is a real pain in the neck. If anyone can suggest a better service through which I can post pics here, I'd appreciate it  

Check your pics again Imageshack was having problems yesterday,most of them showed up again, but I still see a few were expired. I was able to save most of the pics to my computer I'll probably upload them to Photobucket then change the image links to that.

[drinkanddestroy]

Degas sketch at the Louvre returned to daughter of the artwork's Jewish owner from whom the Nazis stole it in 1940 http://goo.gl/NbILdO

[drinkanddestroy]

Monet and Picasso among artworks to go on sale tonight at Christie's http://goo.gl/GbFbfH

[drinkanddestroy]

Budget problems at The Met, MoMA, and Brooklyn Museums

http://www.wsj.com/articles/more-than-50-met-museum-employees-take-buyouts-1468601529


Employees at Three New York Museums Take Buyouts

By Jennifer Smith
July 15, 2016

A chill wind blew through New York’s temples of high culture this week, as three top museums announced results of their voluntary-buyout programs.

At the Metropolitan Museum of Art, about 56 staffers have accepted early-retirement packages—about 35% of those eligible, said Daniel Weiss, the Met’s president. Spokeswomen for the Museum of Modern Art and Brooklyn Museum said 42 and 24 people, respectively, took buyouts at their institutions.

More cuts are likely at the Met. It may ultimately shed more than 100 of its 2,300 staff positions—through a combination of buyouts and layoffs—as part of a broader financial overhaul intended to reverse deepening deficits.

Officials have said the museum is facing a projected $9 million to $10 million budget shortfall that could swell to as much as $40 million if no action is taken.

Layoff decisions are expected to come in the fall. At this point, Mr. Weiss said, “nobody is ruled out.”

The museum is looking to cut administrative costs by 15% to 20%, he said, and trim programmatic expenses by 5%.

Other cultural institutions are making cuts of their own. At the Brooklyn Museum, which is facing a projected $3 million deficit, a spokeswoman said that, in addition to buyouts, the museum is working to trim spending and boost fundraising and revenue from its retail and restaurant operations.

The Museum of Modern Art, which is undergoing a multimillion-dollar expansion, offered buyouts to employees aged 55 and older who worked a minimum of nine years; some vacated positions will be refilled. The museum closed its fiscal year on June 30 with a balanced budget, a spokeswoman said, and has no further plans for staff reductions.

The Met, the largest of the three institutions, has in recent years seen its expenses—most prominently, the rising costs of salaries and benefits—outpace its revenue.

The museum draws more than 6 million visitors each year, but while those numbers have been growing, Mr. Weiss said, ticket revenue hasn’t kept pace. The museum has a pay-what-you-wish policy, and not everyone offers the suggested $25 adult admission.

The Met has a $2.85 billion endowment and receives significant operating support from New York City. But its operating deficit more than doubled over the past two years, from $3.5 million in fiscal 2014 to $7.7 million in fiscal 2015, according to S&P Global Ratings.

In March S&P affirmed its AAA rating on the Met’s 2015 bonds.

“The question isn’t whether or not we have financial challenges, it’s how we manage them,” Mr. Weiss said.

This year’s goal: to reduce the deficit by $30 million, or about 10% of the Met’s roughly $300 million operating budget.

To that end, the museum is scaling back operating costs and restructuring departments for greater efficiency. Last month three executives who were hired in 2013 resigned, including two listed on the Met’s most recent tax filing as among its 22 top-paid employees. It is also seeking to boost performance in areas such as its retail business.

“Once we have done all those, we do have to turn to involuntary staff reductions,” Mr. Weiss said. “That work will begin in the fall.”

It isn’t yet clear how much money the buyouts will save.

The Met offered voluntary retirement to 159 people who were 55 or older and had 15 or more years of service. A handful of curators and conservators are taking packages, though Mr. Weiss said many would stay involved with the museum in emeritus roles. The rest were spread across other departments.

Mr. Weiss said between 40% to 50% of the vacated positions would likely be refilled “because they’re essential.”

The Met’s cost-reduction targets are intended to be proportional to the museum’s mission, with the 5% goal applying to programmatic departments “that actually produce exhibitions, publications, concerts and lectures.”

Administrative departments will see deeper cuts of 15% to 20%.

The museum may also prune departments that experienced significant growth in recent years. Mr. Weiss declined to specify which.

Over the past four years the Met’s director, Thomas P. Campbell, has embarked on an ambitious expansion of its modern and contemporary art program. The museum hired Sheena Wagstaff, the former chief curator of London’s Tate Modern, to head the department and also began planning a $600 million renovation of the southwest wing for modern and contemporary art.

In March the Museum opened a third location known as the Met Breuer at the former home of the Whitney Museum of American Art. That enterprise costs the Met about $17 million a year in direct costs, though museum officials say those are funded philanthropically and don’t immediately affect the bottom line.

Design work on the southwest wing project will pause in September, though fundraising will continue.

“What we are doing is not noticeable to the public,” Mr. Weiss said. “Overall the Met is every bit the extraordinary institution it has always been.”