The Handyman And The Stolen Picassos
Gallery owners in Paris are now on trial for trying to cover up their purchase of over 500 drawings by Pablo Picasso that a handyman stole. This trial has been over a decade in the making. Originally, a criminal complaint was filed … More…
Architecture In Art – Mark Lague’s Trinity Church Light
Today we’re going to learn about one of the oldest and most historically important churches in America – Trinity Church. It’s been featured in countless artworks, and is prominently the subject of Mark Lague’s Trinity Church Light. While the current … More…
Destruction When Request Is Denied
On October 5th, an American tourist requested a visit with the Pope while visiting the Vatican’s Chiaramonti Museum. Of course, it was denied, which sent him off the edge. His response was to knock over two of the approximately 1000 … More…
Ukraine: An Arts Update
It’s been a while since I’ve written about Ukraine. The last time I mentioned the conflict was in my coverage of a Christie sale in London back in July featuring a large Jeff Koons sculpture. The sculpture’s seller, the Ukrainian billionaire … More…
Burn, Frida, Burn
The destruction of art is never something to celebrate or look forward to. Whether it’s a militant organization destroying cultural heritage or some kid at a museum accidentally tripping and putting his hand through a Picasso canvas, it always makes … More…
Betty White’s White Glove Sale
Early in September, a fairly heavy box showed up at our house, and to our surprise, it contained three beautiful hardcover books titled The Life and Career of Betty White. They were the Betty White auction catalogs for a sale … More…
Bonhams 19th Century & British Impressionist Sale
On Wednesday, September 21, Bonhams’ New Bond Street location in London hosted their 19th Century and British Impressionist art sale, with a total of seventy-five lots crossing the block. While several impressive lots sold that day, the sale as a … More…
The William Paley Collection Coming To Sotheby’s
Besides being the president of CBS, William Paley was also known as an art collector, favoring works by the great nineteenth- and twentieth-century masters. His collection is currently owned by his namesake foundation, but much of it is on long-term … More…
Recovered de Kooning: The Good & The Bad News
In 1985 a couple walked into The University of Arizona Museum of Art in Tucson, Arizona, and quickly walked out with Willem de Kooning’s Woman-Ochre (1955). According to Olivia Miller, the museum’s curator, the thieves came in just as the museum was … More…
Phillips London Evening & Day Editions
On September 14th and 15th, Phillips London hosted their Evening and Day Edition sales. Over two sales spanning seven hours total, 233 lots crossed the block, resulting in exceptional results for Phillips. The Evening Edition sale on September 14th featured … More…
Phillips London David Hockney Sale
On Tuesday, September 13th, Phillips London held an entire sale consisting of the works of the British artist David Hockney. The seventy-eight available lots, mainly prints and digital works, did as well as one might expect for a collection by … More…
NEW AQUISITION: M.V. Administrator at Dar es Salaam, Tanzania by John Stobart
We recently acquired a new work by John Stobart, M.V. Administrator at Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. After completing his service in the Royal Air Force in the early 1950s, Stobart planned to return to school at the Royal Academy. By happenstance, a … More…
Mickey Mantle Card Hits All-Time Record, But…
Heritage’s recent Summer Platinum Night Sports auction was all over the news for just one lot. The Mickey Mantle 1952 Topps baseball card set an amazing new record for sports memorabilia, but what about the rest of the sale? Did … More…
New York City Streets Mourn The Queen
Until last week, most of us had not known a world without Queen Elizabeth II. Across the globe, people paid tribute to Britain’s longest-reigning monarch in all sorts of ways: flags throughout the world were lowered to half-mast, world leaders … More…
Stolen Some 50 Years Ago, And Still Missing
In 1972, three men broke into the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts and drove out with 39 small objects and 18 paintings. According to reports, it took the armed thieves about an hour and a half to enter the museum … More…
Bonhams New York Ernie Barnes Sale
On Friday, September 9th, Bonhams New York held a very special sale, particularly because it was a rather brief affair. There was only a single lot in the catalogue: Solid Rock Congregation by Ernie Barnes. Why Bonhams didn’t just put … More…
Vermeer’s Milkmaid Unveils New Secrets
Starting on February 10, 2023, the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam will open an exhibit featuring 27 of the 35 known paintings by the Dutch Golden Age master Johannes Vermeer. It will be the largest Vermeer exhibition to date, reuniting many of … More…
Princess Diana’s Ford Escort Sells At Auction
Even in the best condition, a Ford Escort from the mid-1980s wouldn’t be particularly valuable unless someone rather important owned it. And if royalty isn’t important, I don’t know what is. At the end of August, Silverstone Auto Auctions in … More…
China’s War On Dissident Art
It all sounds like something out of a spy thriller: A work by an artist exiled from his home country suddenly goes up in flames. Many brushed it off as just an accident, but the artist thinks there’s something more … More…
The New View – At Least For Now
The end of August has arrived, and with that, the end of our lease on 57th Street. In the late 1970s, the gallery moved from a space on Park Avenue South to one on East 63rd Street. We enjoyed our … More…
Bonhams New York American Art Sale
Last Wednesday, August 24th, the Bonhams New York showroom hosted its American Art sale, breaking a sort of lull and signaling the coming of larger sales for the rest of the year. It was a modest sale, with only sixty-seven … More…
The Best Is Yet To Come: The Paul Allen Collection
Christie’s announced recently that it had won the consignment for the art collection of Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen, who passed away in 2018. His collection is considered one of the most prominent in the world, with works from the Renaissance … More…
Western Art On Display In Iran
Having something incredible but not being able to show it off for whatever reason can be an agonizing feeling. It’s like having a secret that you desperately want to blurt out. So one can only imagine the experience of those … More…
Bonhams New Bond Street Modern & Impressionist Sale
On Wednesday, October 12th, Bonhams’ London location at New Bond Street held its Modern and Impressionist sale. The sixty-six available lots did about as well as the house specialists hoped for, with a few surprises thrown in for good measure. … More…