November 2018 Art News

Auctioneers at Dorotheum Auction House in Vienna found themselves short one valuable Renoir landscape on Monday. Set to be sold at auction on Wednesday, the painting was on display in their public showroom, when a team of three thieves walked in, cut the painting out of its frame and walked back out. Police believe they were professional thieves, as their efforts were well-coordinated and swiftly executed.
Where do artists come from? An answer explored through paper, percussion, and one provocative artist.
The Morgan Library & Museum is proud to announce the recent acquisition of a large-scale study of two figures for Pierre-Auguste Renoir’s celebrated canvas, The Great Bathers of 1884–87, in the collection of the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Beginning December 18, 2018, visitors will have the chance to see the monumental drawing in the Gilder Lehrman Hall lobby at the Morgan.
“It’s gorgeous,” was all Marilyn Monroe could say when she first set eyes upon the Moon of Baroda; not a heavenly body to rival her own, but a rare 24.04 karat canary yellow diamond. She wore it while promoting the classic 1953 comedy, Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, with its hit song, “Diamonds are a Girl’s Best Friend.” The classic stone became the highest bidder’s new best friend when it sold at auction November 27 at Christie’s Magnificent Jewels Hong Kong Sale.
Christie's Old Masters specialist Jonquil O’Reilly illuminates the story behind Anthony van Dyck’s sumptuous Portrait of Princess Mary, Daughter of King Charles I of England, who was married at the age of 9 to cement Anglo-Dutch relations.
The J. Paul Getty Museum announced today the acquisition of Christ as the Man of Sorrows, painted between 1520-30 by the great Netherlandish master Quentin Metsys (1465 or 1466 – 1530; variously spelled Massys, Matsys, Metsijs; Quinten). The painting has been in a private collection for centuries and was previously unknown to art historians. Its discovery and attribution expands the oeuvre of one of the leading painters in early sixteenth-century Antwerp.

Phillips’ recent two-day 20th Century & Contemporary Art and Design Auction event in Hong Kong, with an Evening Sale November 25th, and an inaugural Day Sale the 26th, reached combined sales of $19.7 million. The Evening Sale realized $13,130,939 and the Day Sale realized $6,570,358. Both auctions offered stellar examples of both Western and Asian art.

Best known as the founding father of the Art Furniture movement, Castle began his career as a sculptor and applied this training to produce functional furniture with a distinctly striking aesthetic.
On December 5, Bonhams Fine Books and Manuscripts sale includes The World of Hilary Knight featuring his original Plaza Hotel portrait of Eloise, (estimate: $100,000-150,000), a portrait that captures the irrepressible spirit of one of the most influential children's book characters in history.
The Smithsonian American Art Museum’s Renwick Gallery follows two popular exhibitions with the ninth installment of their invitational biennial. Disrupting Craft: Renwick Invitational 2018 continues the work of WONDER (their debut exhibit after a years-long renovation, which filled the museum with large-scale installations) and No Spectators: The Art of Burning Man (on view through January 21, 2019) by continuing to redefine craft.