museum

University Plans To Loan Museum Art To Raise Funds

Filed under: Art

Last year Brandeis University in Waltham, Massachusetts caused an uproar when it announced plans to close its Rose Art Museum and possibly sell off the art. Now the university has a different plan, one that carries its own controversy. The Boston Globe reports that the university plans to hire Sotheby's auction house to act as a broker to loan out selected works from the Rose's well-regarded collection. Usually art loans take place between museums and don't usually bring in revenue but in some cases some museums have paid millions to borrow key works for certain shows. Some people have expressed concern that works could be loaned out to prviate collectors or corporations who don't have conservationists on staff and might not adequately care for the works.

In just under 50 years the Rose has amassed a collection of 7,500 objects that is said to be worth as much as $350 million. The Rose Art Museum collects American art of the 1960s and 1970s and has pieces by Willem de Kooning, Jasper Johns, Roy Lichtenstein and Andy Warhol. Although the museum is in better financial shape than it was a year ago and it still faces an annual structural deficit of between $10 million and $15 million. The university expects to sign a contract with Sotheby's sometime next month and could begin entertaining art loan proposals this fall.

Tags: art loan, Brandeis, brandeis university, BrandeisUniversity, museum, museums, rose art museum

Mark Memorial Day in a Different Way at the Rubin Art Museum

by Alison Wellner (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Events, Art

Memorial Day is the only national US holiday that focuses squarely on death -- remembering fallen members of the armed forces, to be exact, and many people will visit cemeteries and memorials this weekend in their honor.

If that's not quite your brand of vodka, might I suggest that you mark the holiday by visiting the Rubin Museum of Art in New York City? The museum is running a provocative exhibit called Remember that You Will Die, which upon reflection seems just right for such a holiday.

The RMA focuses on Himalayan art, and it's one of the city's newer museums -- it opened its doors in Chelsea in 2004. Remember that You Will Die exhibits 84 works of art and artifacts on the theme of death and the afterlife, gathering works from the East (Tibet) and the West, medieval and early Renaissance Europe along with one contemporary work, a video by American artist Bill Viola. I visited yesterday found a Tibetan apron made of bone and an English physician's walking stick topped with a skull pommel from circa 18th century to be particularly compelling.

Tags: art, death, memorial day, museum, museums, RubinArtMuseum, tibet

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Katharine Hepburn's Legacy Celebrated With Stamp, Museum Exhibit

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Apparel

Legendary actress and fashion icon Katharine Hepburn has gotten her own stamp. The United States Postal Service's newly-issued commemorative stamp on Katharine Hepburn went on sale last week. The stamp portrait is a publicity photograph from Woman of the Year (MGM, 1942), the comedy that first put Hepburn together with her on and off-screen love interest, Spencer Tracy.

The stamp sets the stage for a renewed focus on Hepburn's legacy. At Kent State University this fall, the KSU Museum will be showcasing an exhibition: "Katharine Hepburn: Dressed for Stage and Screen," which opens October 2, 2010 and ends September 4, 2011. The exhibit will display many of the costumes designed for Hepburn in her movies and Broadway shows (including her turn as Coco Chanel). The museum has over 1,000 pieces of her belongings including the performance clothes and spans Hepburn's long career. The exhibit may later tour other museums.

As a video on the project (after the jump) reveals, finding mannequins to wear the clothes was no easy task. In her early years the actress had a waist of just 20 inches and some mannequins had to be carved down to fit the clothing.

[via NY Post]

Tags: exhibits, Katharine Hepburn, museum, museum exhibit, museum exhibition

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Historical Timepieces of the Swiss Watch and Clock Museum

by Annie Scott (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Timepieces / Watches, Art

Having always been fascinated by clockwork, on my recent trip to Zürich, I made certain to visit the Watch and Clock Museum Beyer Zürich. The museum, located in the basement of the exclusive Beyer watch shop, has approximately 500 timepieces, each more fascinating than the last. Some date back as far as 1400 B.C., while others are more modern -- and often quite strange. Ever tried to tell the time by checking which direction a couple of birds are facing (above right)? I hadn't before, but it's just the kind of thing I get excited about.

In the Watch and Clock Museum, you'll find rare and precious chronometry items like shadow sticks, intricate sundials, water clocks, oil-lamp clocks, grandfather clocks and marine navigation instruments. Some of the more fragile and complicated pieces which are too old to run all the time have adjacent video screens showing their mechanical capabilities.

The basement museum itself is somewhat unceremonious, with only the historical Beyer pieces carefully lit and resting on velvet, but the staff was warm and welcoming, and they provided me with all the English information they had available. Unfortunately, it wasn't much, so brush up either your German or your horology history -- or book a guided tour in advance -- before your visit. Even if there's no time for that (no pun intended), fertile minds will be titillated by the complicated, creative and mysterious artifacts on display.

With no further ado, here are some of the most intriguing and delightful watches and clocks:

Gallery: Highlights from the Watch and Clock Museum Beyer Zurich collection

The Watch and Clock Museum Beyer Zürich is located just off Paradeplatz and open from Monday - Friday from 2pm - 6pm. Entry is free if you have a ZürichCARD, otherwise there is a small fee.

My trip to Zürich was sponsored by Zürich Tourism and Switzerland Tourism, but the ideas and opinions expressed in this article are 100 percent my own.

Tags: clock, clock museum, museum, switzerland, watch, watch museum, WatchMuseum, zurich

Batmobile Finds A New Home In The Caymans

by Jonathon Ramsey (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Cars & Autos

The Cayman Islands might not be home to a fervent car culture, but the islands are the part-time home of fervent gearhead Andreas Ugland. After ten years of work and one hurricane, the Norwegian car buff finally inaugurated the opening of the Cayman Motor Museum that showcases vintage cars from his collection. Two of the highlights are a Batmobile and Batcycle built for and used in the original sixties television series that starred Adam West – before Batman went all gruff-voiced and Gothic.

Cars shipped from Ugland's collection around the world also include one of Elton John's Bentleys, an 1886 Benz, and a copy of the first car to be driven on the island, a 1905 Cadillac. If your tastes run to the less fantastical, fear not, there are plenty of Maseratis, Ferraris, BMWs and even a Renault 5 Turbo to fulfill the automotive senses. The museum is open now, and located on Northwest Point Road, near Boatswain's Beach.

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Tags: batman, batmobile, caribbean, cayman islands, cayman motor museum, museum

Magritte Masterpiece Back in Print

by Jared Paul Stern (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Art, Books

To celebrate the recent opening of the Magritte Museum in Brussels, Abrams / Fonds Mercator has come out with a new edition of Magritte, the masterful monograph on the Surrealist genius by the late David Sylvester, the world's foremost expert on Rene Magritte's work. Brought up to date by the Magritte Museum's director, Michel Draguet, the classic work which has been out of print for over a decade features 40 chapters of critical insights and clues to Magritte's poetic painted puzzles, and over 500 lavish full-color illustrations. Magritte's influence has been felt by many artists since the 1960s including Andy Warhol, Jasper Johns and Ed Ruscha. The Magritte Museum, housed in a neo-classical building in Brussels' Place Royale, displays over 200 original Magritte paintings, drawings and sculptures. Another museum is located at rue Esseghem 135 in Brussels in Magritte's former home, where he lived with his wife from 1930 to 1954.

Tags: Andy Warhol, art, art book, Belgium, book, Brussels, Jasper Johns, Magritte, Magritte Museum, museum, painting, Rene Magritte, Surrealism, Surrealist

John Deere Corporate Art Goes On Display In Iowa Museum

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Art

You might not think of the folks behind John Deere tractors as art collectors but the Midwestern company has been collecting art for decades. The company has amassed hundreds of works of art from around the world including pieces from Henri Toulouse-Lautrec, Marc Chagall and Alexander Calder. For the first time the company is putting its collection on display. The Figge Art Museum in Davenport, Iowa recently opened a permanent gallery to display highlights from the John Deere Collection on a rotating basis. The first exhibition: Global Currents: The John Deere Art Collection runs until October 24. The company still owns the art but different pieces from the collection will cycle through the gallery several times a year on an ongoing basis.

The collection started in 1965 when the late William Hewitt, then chairman of the company, started collecting to decorate the company's new Eero Saarinen-designed headquarters. Since that time the company shipped in major pieces from places where it did business.

Many of Deere's artworks represent international abstract trends but one of the most significant pieces in the collection reflects Deere's line of work. Grant Wood's 1931 painting Fall Plowing, shown at right, depicts the countryside of Iowa and in the foreground is the self-scouring steel plow invented by John Deere.

[via Des Moines Register]

Tags: corporate art, davenport iowa, figge art museum, john deere, museum

Reopening Of Omega Watch Museum In Switzerland

by Ariel Adams (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Timepieces / Watches

May 3rd, 2010, in Biel, Switzerland the Omega watch museum officially reopened after extensive renovations. Originally opened in 1984, the museum showcases important pieces in the history of the timepiece brand. In addition to being the watch worn on the moon and the official time keeper of the Olympics games for many decades, Omega watches have also captured the hearts of many, and have been worn/owned by a number of celebrities. Each of this topics and more (including interesting concept watches) are on display at the museum. Getting into the museum is free, and you can have guided tours in English, French, or German. Sound good? Well the point is to get you excited about Omega watches - so the price in what you may end up spending in the watch store later. For more information visit the Omega Museum website here.

Ariel Adams publishes the luxury watch review site aBlogtoRead.com.

Tags: museum, Omega, switzerland, watch, watches

The Penetrating Portraits of Irving Penn

by Jared Paul Stern (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Art, Books

What do Pablo Picasso, Duke Ellington, Marlene Dietrich, Francis Bacon, Truman Capote, Helmut Newton and Jasper Johns have in common? All are featured in a brilliant new book of portraits by the late, great master of photography Irving Penn, who sought to capture the true persona behind the facade of famous figures. Published by the National Portrait Gallery in London in conjunction with an exhibition running at the museum through June 6, Irving Penn: Portraits features images brought together from major international collections for the exhibit. It includes a selection of superb reproductions from the exhibition's 120 silver and platinum prints, ranging from Penn's portraits for Vogue magazine in the 1940s to some of his last work prior to his death last year.

Tags: art books, coffee table books, ehibition, Francis Bacon, Irving Penn, London, museum, photographer, photography, UK, Vogue

New Museum Exhibit Takes A Closer Look at Fakes

by Rigel Celeste (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Art

When a fake is discovered the reaction of most museums is to quietly remove it from display and hope nobody notices, and although historically the National Gallery has done just that it's now offering all of its fakes up in a full-on display along with an education on the cutting edge technology used to uncover them. Infrared reflectography, x-rays, pigment analysis, and dendrochronology (a means of dating wood by looking at its rings) all make it more difficult than ever for fakes to get by, but even some experts admit that the work and skill needed to make some of the forgeries is impressive. One of the gallery's researchers, Rachel Billinge, says "Sometimes the faker has gone to such lengths you can respect their techniques – much more so than the originals, churned out in a workshop by some bored apprentice."

The exhibit will be open at the National Gallery from June 30th - September 12th.

Source

Tags: art, exhibit, fake, forgery, gallery, museum, national gallery

Dining Like Alexander the Great

by Amy Cortese (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Dining, Events, Art

Our little group attracted curious stares and a hanger-on or two as we made our way through the Metropolitan Museum of Art's hallowed halls. Maybe that was because at each stop, be it a frescoed fragment of an ancient palace, a Bodhisattva statue, or an ornate mummy, the discussion turned quickly to food: the rice and sour cherries served at a palace feast at Persepolis; the exotic fruits and spices of India; the culinary treats buried with those ancient foodies, the Egyptian Pharaohs. A stomach growled amid the din.

Then again, this was no conventional museum tour. This was Artbites.

The brainchild of Maite Gomez-Rejón, a trained chef and historian and our guide that evening, Artbites melds art, history and cuisine through classes that combine museum trips with hands-on cooking instruction. Gomez-Rejon's subjects range from the Aztecs to Leonardo da Vinci (who knew he was a vegetarian?) to Thomas Jefferson. Although she is based in Los Angeles and holds most of her classes at the Getty Center and other museums in the area, Gomez-Rejon frequently jets to other cities for classes, like the one I was at in New York. (See a schedule here).

This evening, we were tracing the victorious route of Alexander the Great (356–323 BC), the Macedonian king and general who, along with his army of 44,000 hungry men, traveled 22,000 miles from Greece to Egypt, Syria, Mesopotamia, Persia and India in a 12-year trail of conquest and culinary discovery.

Tags: art history, Artbites, cooking classes, Metropolitan Museum of Art, museum, persepolis

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Morilla: "A Subversive Disneyland" with Wine, Art, Beer and Atheists

by Alison Wellner (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Travel & Hotels, Art

"Apropos of nothing, it's nice to have you here and thank you we need the money."

I was standing in the living room in "Esmond", one of Morilla's winery's four new guest pavilions, and the black carpet with the red block letters only caught my eye after I'd admired the contemporary art on the wall, had gotten myself oriented to the in room control panel (lights, TV, window shades, music) and had gone out onto the balcony to take in the panoramic view of Tasmania's Derwent River.

Of course, the idea of Morilla needing money is entirely preposterous. This hotel/winery/brewery/event space and oh yeah, soon-to-open museum called MONA that will be the largest private art collection in the Southern Hemisphere -- is owned by a guy with deep pockets, a Tasmanian named David Walsh.

A math whiz, Walsh made his money gambling -- two years ago, he proposed that a story about him in the Australian newspaper AGE start with "David Walsh is a rich wanker." Morilla is one place where he's been spending some of those riches since he bought it in 1995.

Often, when a rich person gets the idea to go into the hospitality business as a lark, you end up with places that are on the bizarre side of idiosyncratic. But Walsh has not skimped out on hiring experienced staff, so as he's added on to one of Tasmania's most venerable wineries, the result is a place that definitely showcases his personality -- for instance, there's no bible in guest rooms, but there is a copy of The God Delusion -- but also meets standards of a well-run luxury accommodation.

Gallery: Morilla: "Subversive Disneyland" in Tasmania

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Tags: australia, australian wine, contemporary art, hotels, morilla, museum, tasmania, tasmanian wine, tourism, travel

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Classic Car Auction To Aid Chrysler Museum

by Jonathon Ramsey (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Cars & Autos, Auctions

Two years ago the Walter P. Chrysler Museum Foundation, with just 70 cars and six full-time employees at the time, switched to non-profit status and asked Chrysler dealers for $5,000 donations to assist with expenses. We aren't sure what's transpired in the interim, but whatever it was doesn't appear to have done the trick. It is now being reported that the museum will auction 20 of its vehicles in order to help its own bottom line, and they'll go on the block during the Classic Car Auction of Michigan, overseen by RM Auctions.

The RM catalog doesn't break down which cars are being offered by the museum, but they will include a 1904 Rambler Model L Tonneau, and a celebrity-owned 1964 AMC Rambler Coupe – for those of you who count former Michigan Governor George Romney, father of ex-GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney, a celebrity.

The auction takes place next Saturday and Sunday at The Rock Financial Showplace in Novi, Michigan with a preview day on Friday, April 23 from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Tickets are $10.

Source

Tags: auction, chrysler, classic car auction, classic cars, michigan, museum, rm auctions, Walter Chrysler Museum

Cy Twombly Hits The Ceiling At The Louvre

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Art

Artist Cy Twombly has been given a rare honor. He is the third contemporary artist who has designed a permanent work for The Louvre in Paris. His ceiling mural covers more than 3,700 square feet in one of the Louvre's largest galleries, the Salle des Bronzes, in one of the older sections of the museum. Twombly is known for brightly colored abstracted pieces but for the Louvre he went a little classical. The mural is sky blue with simple spheres and insets that bear the names ancient Greek sculptors like Lysippus, Myron, Phidias, Polyclitus and Praxiteles written in Greek lettering. The overall effect is tranquil and elegant and works well with the gallery's existing exhibits.

Tags: art, cy twombly, louvre, mural, museum, paris

Thursday Nights at Vienna's Museum of Fine Arts

by Annie Scott (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Dining, Art

One thing you mustn't miss in Vienna is the Museum of Fine Arts. The building is so astonishing, one assumes it was originally a palace of some kind -- but the Viennese were wise and appreciative of art; the building was built to house the great many collected (and stolen) masterpieces of the Austrian Empire. Their wisdom continues today: they have a delightful Thursday night program for both tourists and locals to enjoy the art and each other.

Thursday nights at Vienna's Museum of Fine Arts are catered by Gerstner, one of Austria's finest caterers (and perhaps one of the world's). Purchase a 48 euro ticket in advance to gain admission to both the museum and a roped off area in the center of the museum where you can feast on appetizer and dessert buffets, as well as be served your choice of delicious entree. Drinks are not included, but plenty are available, from spirits to Viennese wine, and the staff is attentive and friendly. The best part of all this is that you can dine at your leisure from 6:30 to 10:00 PM and visit the various exhibits between courses.

Have a bowl of bisque and a glass of champagne, visit the Bruegels, munch on a Caprese salad, visit the Raphaels, order a bottle of red and a delicious filet, go see the Rubens, choose a few little desserts, then see more by Velazquez, Dürer, Titian, Tintoretto and others. Doesn't that sound like the best way to spend a Thursday evening? Personally, I'd have trouble topping that.

Visit the Kunsthistorisches Museum website for more information on the Gerstner Art & Delight Evening Buffet.

Gallery: Kunsthistorisches Museum - Vienna's Museum of Fine Arts