Latest Art News

Discover the amazing life story of Daniel Cordier, a French Resistance fighter whose cover as an art dealer during World War 2 developed into a life-long passion for collecting. Featuring nearly 400 works from the post-war period by artists such as Jean Dubuffet, Simon Hantai and Jean Dewasne, Sotheby's upcoming sale Alias Daniel Cordier will take place in Paris on September 27 and online from September 24 to October 1.

Known for his satirical watercolors with biting social commentary, Thomas  Rowlandson’s popular works were widely circulated as prints in the Edwardian Era. The setting for the Rowlandson watercolor offered at auction by Bonhams of London on July 4, is Bath.

At their August 17th World and Ancient Coins Platinum Night, Heritage Auctions offered the legendary “First Dollar of the New World.” According to mint records, the coin is one of eight reales struck by assayer Francisco del Rincón for the Spanish in 1538. Of the eight recorded, only three known examples of the coin exist today. Minted in Mexico City, the coin sunk aboard the shipwreck of the "Golden Fleece" in 1550.

The U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs announced today that artist Martin Puryear to represent the US at the 2019 Venice Biennale. In its 58th year, the Biennale will run May 11 through Nov. 24, 2019. The Madison Square Park Conservancy will serve as this year’s curator of the United States Pavilion and will commision site-specific work from Puryear. Puryear follows 2017’s representative for the US, painter Mark Bradford.

A new set of tariffs proposed by President Trump could hit the art world this month. As part of continued efforts to reduce the US’s trade deficit with China, the list of items subject to import tariffs continues to grow. Set to go into effect as soon as late August, that list now includes categories covering paintings, sculpture, collage, ceramics, and antiques from China. The 25 percent import tariff would present a heavy burden to galleries, individual collectors, and museums in the US.

This week the Uffizi Gallery made a significant portion of its remarkable collection much more accessible. Through a partnership with Indiana University, scholars from both institutions have been working for two years to create 3D scans of the museum’s classical sculptures. Launching this week, the Uffizi Digitization Project website hosts over 300 digitized sculptures and fragments from the collection. The digital models offer views of the sculptures and fragments heretofore only available through in-person inspection.

Patriarchs of the Grove by William Wendt (1865-1946), leads Bonhams' California and Western Painting Auction, August 7th, in Los Angeles. Estimated at $250,000-350,000, Patriarchs of the Grove is one of Wendt’s most coveted canvases.

Andy Warhol would have been 90 years old on August, 6. Museums and art lovers the world over are celebrating. The pioneer of Pop Art died in 1987 at the age of 58, but 30 years later, his fifteen minutes of fame aren’t up and his art is still ubiquitous.

René Lalique was one of the iconic masters of the Art Nouveau period, capturing the fascination with winged creatures that often morphed into the female form typical of the period. In this piece, the citrine drop stands in for the female body, attracting the attention of the dragonflies.

Brooklyn polymath, Erik Zajaceskowski, has been making his imprint on the borough’s art and nightlife scenes for nearly two decades. Zajaceskowski and friends launched Mighty Robot, an illegal art and party loft, during Williamsburg’s cultural heydey in the late 1990s. During that time, he forged many connections that remain essential to his art making and curating. Mighty Robot eventually became Secret Project Robot, Zajaceskowski and Rachel Nelson’s acclaimed Bushwick performance space, music venue, and gallery.