Contemporary Front page
> TELEPHONE US 212.355.5710
Menu
Monet’s London
A Monet painting of the Parliament in London sit by sunlight through fog

Monet’s London

Though a French cultural icon, Claude Monet has a long and interesting relationship with London. His trips to the British capital greatly impacted his artistic development. He and other French artists like Camille Pissarro escaped Paris in 1870 to avoid … More…

Kapoor At The Cathedral
Liverpool Cathedral

Kapoor At The Cathedral

When you think of Liverpool’s culture, you may first consider the area’s musical tradition and unintelligible accent. Architecture might not be the most immediate thing that comes to mind, but Anish Kapoor is planning on drawing attention to one of … More…

Gérôme & Muenier: A French Village’s Painters’ Trail
an image of the sign that was created

Gérôme & Muenier: A French Village’s Painters’ Trail

In a significant addition to the area’s cultural landscape, the eastern French village of Coulevon has inaugurated a new painters’ trail to honor some of the area’s most esteemed artists. The trail consists of ten panels scattered around the village … More…

Fake Modigliani Confiscated
A sketch of a nude woman with her arms raised

Fake Modigliani Confiscated

Italian authorities have confiscated a fake Modigliani drawing after its owner applied for an export license to sell it abroad. An untitled drawing, supposedly created in 1913 by Amadeo Modigliani, was seized by the Carabinieri’s Cultural Heritage Protection Unit in … More…

Géricault’s Horses Stirs Up Controversy
A painting of a grayish white horse.

Géricault’s Horses Stirs Up Controversy

Why is a French museum sparking controversy with its ongoing exhibition of horse paintings by the Romantic master Théodore Géricault? The Musée de la Vie Romantique is one of Paris’s many small museums. Located at the base of the hill … More…

The Pre-Raphaelites: Victorian Counterculture
Proserpine by Dante Gabriel Rossetti (detail)

The Pre-Raphaelites: Victorian Counterculture

When we think of the counterculture of the 1960s and 1970s, a very specific image often comes to mind: a beautiful woman with long hair in a flowing, formless dress surrounded by flowers. There are also the central ideas that … More…

Dutch Museum Attempting Van Gogh Acquisition
A nineteenth-century portrait of a Dutch peasant woman with a white bonnet

Dutch Museum Attempting Van Gogh Acquisition

A regional Dutch museum is trying to acquire a Van Gogh painting with local significance but is failing to raise the necessary funds. The Noordbrabants Museum in the city of ‘s-Hertogenbosch houses an impressive collection of Dutch and Flemish art … More…

Star Wars Boba Fett Figure Shatters Record
Kenner Toy figure of star Wars character Boba Fett from 1979

Star Wars Boba Fett Figure Shatters Record

A few years ago, I covered the sale of a rare Boba Fett Star Wars action figure that fetched a jaw-dropping $236,000. Recently, another elusive Boba Fett figure has emerged at auction and shattered that previous record, becoming the most … More…

Christie’s Paris Old Masters Sale
An 18th century still-life painting of a sliced melon on a table surrounded by various other objects.

Christie’s Paris Old Masters Sale

Normally, there wouldn’t be much to write about for the Old Masters sale at Christie’s in Paris on Wednesday, June 12th. However, when looking at all the numbers, something might seem a bit confusing. Nearly 40% of the lots went … More…

Van Gogh Painting Returns Home
A post-Impressionist night scene showing stars shining over a river.

Van Gogh Painting Returns Home

There are two paintings by Vincent van Gogh popularly known as The Starry Night. Van Gogh created the more famous of the two in 1889 in Saint-Rémy-de-Provence. For over 80 years, it has been part of the permanent collection of … More…

This Past Week In Art World Lawsuits
An abstract, grafitti-like portrait showing a crowned head against a black background on a piece of cardboard

This Past Week In Art World Lawsuits

These past few days, the art world has been abuzz with lawsuits, with those involved ranging from museums, auction houses, art schools, and proper criminals. OMA Responds to Former Director’s Countersuit On Monday, June 3rd, the Orlando Museum of Art … More…

Christie’s Controversy Over Renault Auction
An abstract painting of white, black, red, and blue lines on an irregularly shaped board.

Christie’s Controversy Over Renault Auction

On Thursday, June 6th, Christie’s Paris hosted a small sale featuring a collection of twentieth-century artworks owned by the French auto manufacturer Renault. The company began building its collection in 1967, reaching out to artists to buy and commission pieces … More…

Houston Museum Keeps Nazi Loot
a village town scene

Houston Museum Keeps Nazi Loot

One of the first stories I ever covered back in 2021 was about an eighteenth-century cityscape central to a heated restitution dispute. Marketplace at Pirna by the Venetian painter Bernardo Bellotto is currently housed at the Museum of Fine Arts … More…

Embracing the Tranquility of Spring: Andrew Orr’s “Softly Falls the Light of Day”
A serene spring evening in Vermont, depicted in a 9x12 inch oil painting on panel by Andrew Orr. The sun sets between the mountains, casting a golden glow on the trees and grass. The sky transitions from yellow to orange, pink to purple, with shadows dancing on the green landscape.

Embracing the Tranquility of Spring: Andrew Orr’s “Softly Falls the Light of Day”

As the vibrant hues of spring infuse the world with renewed vitality, there emerges an artwork that encapsulates the serene beauty of nature’s awakening. Softly Falls the Light of Day, a captivating painting by artist Andrew Orr, beckons viewers on … More…

Rediscovered Degas Worth $13 Million?
A pastel drawing of a red-headed woman powdering her face.

Rediscovered Degas Worth $13 Million?

In an extraordinary find, a drawing bought online for about $1,000 has been identified as an original drawing by the great Impressionist master Edgar Degas. In a remarkable turn of events, an anonymous buyer browsing the Spanish online auction site … More…

Gustave Courbet’s Revolutionary Life (In 5 Paintings)
A painting of two men, one young and the other old, breaking rocks with hammers at the side of a country road.

Gustave Courbet’s Revolutionary Life (In 5 Paintings)

How did Gustave Courbet, a bohemian, revolutionary communard, lay some of the groundwork for modern art? I’ve written several times about the origins of modern art. Specifically, I enjoy looking into the lives of modernism’s progenitors, those artists who helped … More…