Upside-Down Anniversary
Last November, the State Collection of North Rhine-Westphalia in the German city of Düsseldorf received attention after it came to light that a work by the Dutch modernist Piet Mondrian had been hanging in their galleries upside-down for several decades. … More…
When Will This Stop? Probably Never!
Over the years, we’ve written numerous posts addressing the persisting issue of auction rooms and dealers selling fake artworks. Unfortunately, this problem shows no signs of abating. Almost every historical artist whose works we buy and sell has had inauthentic … More…
On-Again-Off-Again: Reattributing The Princeton Rubens
Humans are far from perfect, so the decisions we sometimes make aren’t as set in stone as we think. And the Princeton University Art Museum found this out recently. Its curators attributed a small oil-on-panel work to the Flemish Old … More…
Who Wants Theatre Tickets To A Show That Closed In 1865?
Who wants theatre tickets to a show that closed in 1865? At a recent auction, an anonymous buyer made a remarkable acquisition by securing a pair of tickets for the April 14, 1865 performance of ‘My American Cousin’ at Ford’s … More…
Ukrainian Soldiers Recreate Repin
The arts have assumed a prominent role in the Russian invasion of Ukraine. All over the world, the conflict has caused both individuals and institutions to recognize and help remedy some of the effects of Russian cultural hegemony over Eastern … More…
Pokémon Meets Post-Impressionism At The Van Gogh Museum
As part of its fiftieth anniversary, the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam is teaming up with Pokémon to stage a new series of exhibits. This partnership will bring the creatures from the popular Japanese video game franchise into the vibrant … More…
Munich Museum Thief Sentenced
A German court has sentenced a former museum employee for stealing paintings and then replacing them with forgeries. German privacy laws protect the man’s identity, but the former museum technician was convicted of illegally selling cultural property, for which he … More…
Manet/Degas: The Met’s Look at Modern Masters
On Sunday, September 24th, the Manet/Degas exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York opened to the public. I arrived twelve minutes after the museum opened, and already there was a line out the door extending nearly to 84th Street. … More…
Christie’s London Sam Josefowitz Collection
On Friday, October 13th, Christie’s London hosted a sale featuring selections from the Sam Josefowitz collection. Sam Josefowitz was a Lithuanian immigrant to the United States who, along with his brother David, founded the Concert Hall Society, a mail-order club … More…