“Blacksmith, I set ye a task. Take these harpoons and lances. Melt them down. Forge me new weapons that will strike deep and hold fast.” - Captain Ahab, Moby Dick by Herman Melville, 1851
June 2025 Art News
Art has long been identified, even romanticized, as an ideal way to launder money. There’s a thread of logic here: the art world accommodates anonymous, high-dollar buyers and the industry allows large cash deals. For racketeers, it’s difficult to conjure up a more attractive set of circumstances.
Just last year, a seemingly ordinary oil painting, attributed to a “follower of Julius Caesar Ibbetson,” an 18th-century British painter, sold for £400 ($506) at Dreweatts auction house in London. The buyer initially believed the piece to be that of Philippe Jacques de Loutherbourg’s, a French refugee and painter living in London. However, when the painting was sent out for cleaning, it was returned to its new owners with J. M. W.
Indiana Jones is a terrible archeologist. Yet, despite the films having next to nothing to do with actual archeological work, he is somehow the most famous icon of the field. Those within the field might perhaps be able to console themselves with the hollow comfort that “all press is good press.” But when the primary poster child of one’s field has dedicated their life to being an ethical and moral nightmare gussied up under the mask of a heartthrob’s charming smile, the sentiment rings a bit too dissonantly.
Sun Brothers: Dean, Elliott, Hagege in the Land of Enchantment is the spectacular summer and fall exhibition at Couse-Sharp Historic Site, featuring three artists who are among the most dynamic and skilled in painting the Southwest: Glenn Dean, Josh Elliott and Logan Maxwell Hagege.
During the Victorian era, one name constantly echoed within the walls of every English art enthusiast was Edwin Landseer (1802 – 1873). Son of John Landseer, an engraver and writer among other things, Edwin displayed an early talent for painting with his earliest drawings, mostly of animals, dating back to when he was only five years old. By 24, he was already an Associate of the Royal Academy.
In a new Art & Object series, we’ll take a look at some of history’s greatest jewelry stories, showing you how and why jewelry is such a powerful artistic, cultural, and historical artifact.
A celebration of the 30-year creative journey of artists Einar and Jamex de la Torre
The Mint Museum is proud to present the vibrant and thought-provoking exhibition Collidoscope: de la Torre Brothers Retro-Perspective opening to the public June 7 at Mint Museum Uptown. The exhibition features 40 mixed media works by internationally celebrated artists and brothers Einar and Jamex de la Torre.
Ghanaian artist Gideon Appah (1987) has been making quite a splash in the international art scene over the last decade with his figurative paintings, drawings, and mixed media works. Appah’s use of impasto brushwork creates richly textured, evocative work.
On September 2nd, 2018, the National Museum of Brazil was engulfed by an electrical fire, resulting in the destruction of close to 90% of its collection. The museum, located in Rio de Janeiro, is the oldest scientific institution of Brazil and one of the largest natural history and anthropology museums in the Americas, making its destruction all the more devastating.
