The Museum of Modern Art has acquired an original model of the Fiat 500F “Berlina,” commonly referred to as the Cinquecento. The most popular version of the 500—which was in production from 1965 through 1972—the Berlina exemplifies a clear expression of form following function, a logical and economical use of materials, and a belief that quality design should be accessible to all.
June 2017 Art News
The Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco (FAMSF) are pleased to premiereTeotihuacan: City of Water, City of Fire, the first major exhibition on Teotihuacan in the U.S. in over twenty years. The ancient metropolis of Teotihuacan is one of the largest and most important archeological sites in the world, and the most visited archeological site in Mexico.
‘Balloon Girl’ by Banksy (2004, screenprint) is offered in the forthcoming 20th Century Contemporary Art and Design auction on 11 July. Ahead of the sale, we speak to Head of Department James Nurse about the burgeoning market for secretive street artist Banksy’s work.
‘Banksy remains very much an influencer of the underground subversive culture in Britain’ – James Nurse
Max Beckmann, Hölle der Vögel (Birds’ Hell) which sold for a world record price of £36,005,000 / $45,834,362 / €40,865,674
London – Max Beckmann’s Hölle der Vögel (Birds’ Hell) (1937-38) achieved a new world record price for the artist of £36,005,000 / $45,834,365 / €40,865,675 in the Impressionist and Modern Art Evening Sale on 27 June. Hölle der Vögel (Birds’ Hell) continues the Germanic tradition of using gruesome allegorical scenes at the same time as taking aspects of Classicism and mythology to turn reality into a timeless evocation of human suffering.
André Zlattinger, Head of Modern British & Irish Art and Will Porter, Head of Sale: “The Modern British & Irish Art Evening Sale launched 20th Century at Christie’s (17 – 30 June 2017) totalling £20,199,500 / $25,734,162 / €22,966,831 and was led by Henry Moore’s Family Group which saw spirited bidding in the room and on the phone, selling for £3,861,000 / $4,918,914 / €4,389,957 to an Asian collector.
The Dali Museum has partnered with Inception, a leading provider of 360° and VR entertainment content, to make their award winning “Dreams of Dali” virtual reality (VR) experience accessible on Inception’s app for audiences around the world. The interactive version of Dreams of Dali is now available for both the Oculus Rift and HTC Vive; and the linear 360° video version is available for Gear VR, Daydream, Cardboard and more.
In the second half of the 19th century, advances in physics, electromagnetic radiation theory, and the optical sciences provoked new thought about the physical as well as the spiritual worlds. Aspects of that thought are revealed in Edvard Munch: Color in Context, an exhibition of 21 prints that considers the choice, combinations, and meaning of color in light of spiritualist principles.
SAN FRANCISCO—Best known for his depictions of Parisian dancers and laundresses, Edgar Degas (French, 18341917) was enthralled with another aspect of modern life in the French capital: high-fashion hats and the women who created them. Degas’s fascination inspired a visually compelling and profoundly modern body of work that documents the lives of what one fashion writer of the day called “the aristocracy of the workwomen of Paris.” Despite the importance of millinery as a subject in Degas’s oeuvre, there has been little discussion of its place in Impressionist iconography, until now.
The Philadelphia Museum of Art today announced a number of new acquisitions that will significantly enrich its collection. Among the works that have been recently acquired are: a group of contemporary films and videos; Japanese ink paintings mounted as handscrolls, hanging scrolls, and folding screens; nine pieces of early American furniture that illuminate the artistic achievements of cabinetmakers in colonial New England and Pennsylvania; and a major work in stained glass dating to the 1520s commissioned for a church in Paris.
