Self-Portrait, Andy Warhol (American, 1928-1987), © The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc.

Largest-ever Warhol touring exhibition to visit Asia

Self-Portrait, Andy Warhol (American, 1928-1987), © The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc.

Self-Portrait, Andy Warhol (American, 1928-1987), © The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc.

HONG KONG, 31 January 2012 – BNY Mellon is bringing the largest touring collection of Andy Warhol’s work to Asia in 2012/14 to mark the 25th anniversary of the death of the acclaimed American painter, printmaker and filmmaker.

Andrew Warhola (Aug. 6, 1928 – Feb. 22, 1987), known as Andy Warhol, was a leading figure in the visual art movement known as Pop Art. 15 Minutes Eternal will be the largest retrospective exhibition of the artist in Asia to date. It will feature over 300 paintings, photographs, screen prints, drawings, 3-D installations and sculptures to provide a fascinating insight into one of the most provocative and influential artists of the 20th century. Iconic works in the exhibition include Jackie (1964), Marilyn Monroe (1967), Mao (1972), Campbell’s Soup (1961), Silver Liz (1963), The Last Supper (1986), and Self-Portrait (1986).

The exhibition is curated by The Andy Warhol Museum in Warhol’s home town of Pittsburgh. It chronicles the breadth of the artist’s career and demonstrates the extraordinary scope of his interests. It will travel to five Asian cities over 27 months starting at ArtScience Museum at Marina Bay Sands in Singapore, where it will run from March 17, 2012 until Aug. 12, 2012. It will then tour to Hong Kong, Shanghai, Beijing throughout 2013 and end in Tokyo in 2014. Further details on these locations will be confirmed in due course.

“Fascinated by the glitterati, Warhol remains a complex and often misunderstood persona, whose artwork depicting consumer objects such as Heinz ketchup boxes, and paintings of Marilyn Monroe and Mao Tse-Tung have been imprinted into our collective consciousness,” said Eric Shiner, director, The Andy Warhol Museum.

Shiner added: “We are thrilled that BNY Mellon is bringing the life, work and creative genius of Andy Warhol to cities across Asia. This remarkable and extensive collection celebrates anew someone whose life and work define the concept: fame is fleeting, art is eternal.”

“BNY Mellon’s global commitment to the arts is designed to facilitate access and deeper exploration of art through the communities in which we live and work. We are very proud to be supporting The Andy Warhol Museum and bringing this remarkable body of work to Asia,” said Steve Lackey, chairman of Asia-Pacific, BNY Mellon.

Additional corporate supporting sponsors of the Andy Warhol: 15 Minutes Eternal exhibition include Christie’s, The Economist and Bloomberg.

An exhibition catalog, Andy Warhol: 15 Minutes Eternal, will be available for purchase at all exhibition venues.

A comprehensive series of education programs will accompany the exhibition and feature silk-screening workshops for local schools.

Visitors with smartphones can preview a selection of the exhibition in advance. The Warhol Art app is available for the iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad, and Android mobile devices via the iTunes App Store and Android Marketplace. The Warhol Art app allows users to examine works of art and related ephemera in The Warhol’s collection with an in-depth view of archival materials, letters, source images, film and video clips, and audio. The Warhol Art app features a behind-the-scenes glimpse of over 50 art works spanning Warhol’s career from the 1930s to late 1980s.

The Warhol D.I.Y. Pop app is also available for iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad mobile devices and can be downloaded via the iTunes app store. This app allows the user to learn about Warhol’s silkscreen process and create a digital silkscreen print by utilizing the built-in camera or a photo from the device’s library as source material. The user employs Warhol’s famed process step by step to create a personal work of art. The hands-on process includes cropping, exposing, painting, and even pulling the virtual screen. Once completed, the user can then share this newly created art via e-mail, Facebook or Twitter. The Warhol D.I.Y app also includes information about The Warhol, a curator’s video perspective, a video demonstration of the actual silkscreen process and more.

About The Andy Warhol Museum:

Located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, the place of Andy Warhol’s birth, The Warhol is one of the most comprehensive single-artist museums in the world. The Andy Warhol Museum is one of the four Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh. The Warhol has an extensive traveling exhibitions program, loaning Warhol’s artwork to museums around the world. Since 1996, exhibitions organized or co-organized by The Warhol have been seen by over 9 million people in 36 countries. Visit the museum online at www.warhol.org.

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Rare mounted specimens, female (left) and male (right), of Heteropterex dilata. Origin: Perak, Malaysia. Circa 1920. Image courtesy of LiveAuctioneers.com Archive and Bloomsbury Auctions.

Illinois researchers to digitize insect collection

Rare mounted specimens, female (left) and male (right), of Heteropterex dilata. Origin: Perak, Malaysia. Circa 1920. Image courtesy of LiveAuctioneers.com Archive and Bloomsbury Auctions.

Rare mounted specimens, female (left) and male (right), of Heteropterex dilata. Origin: Perak, Malaysia. Circa 1920. Image courtesy of LiveAuctioneers.com Archive and Bloomsbury Auctions.

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. (AP) – Scientists based in Champaign with the Illinois Natural History Survey are part of an effort to digitize photographs of millions of insects.

The State Journal-Register reports the scientists are sharing $2.6 million in grants from the National Science Foundation. They will photograph specimens and create a digital collection. The survey is part of the Prairie Research Institute at the University of Illinois.

Much of the money will go to InvertNet. Under the project more than a dozen institutions across the upper Midwest will create a virtual museum. The museum will feature 56 million species.

The fragile insects specimens are kept in drawers. They will be photographed from many angles so they can be seen from several different points of view.

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Information from: The State Journal-Register, http://www.sj-r.com

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Copyright 2011 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.


ADDITIONAL IMAGE OF NOTE


Rare mounted specimens, female (left) and male (right), of Heteropterex dilata. Origin: Perak, Malaysia. Circa 1920. Image courtesy of LiveAuctioneers.com Archive and Bloomsbury Auctions.

Rare mounted specimens, female (left) and male (right), of Heteropterex dilata. Origin: Perak, Malaysia. Circa 1920. Image courtesy of LiveAuctioneers.com Archive and Bloomsbury Auctions.

Swami Vivekananda in a photo taken in Chicago in September, 1893. During his visit, the chief disciple of the 19th-century saint Ramkrishna Parmahansa and founder of the Ramakrishna Mission spoke at the Chicago Art Institute during the World's Columbian Exposition. This photo is in the public domain in the USA.

Chicago’s Art Institute partners with India

 Swami Vivekananda in a photo taken in Chicago in September, 1893. During his visit, the chief disciple of the 19th-century saint Ramkrishna Parmahansa and founder of the Ramakrishna Mission spoke at the Chicago Art Institute during the World's Columbian Exposition. This photo is in the public domain in the USA.

Swami Vivekananda in a photo taken in Chicago in September, 1893. During his visit, the chief disciple of the 19th-century saint Ramkrishna Parmahansa and founder of the Ramakrishna Mission spoke at the Chicago Art Institute during the World’s Columbian Exposition. This photo is in the public domain in the USA.

CHICAGO (AP) – The government of India is forming a professional partnership with the Art Institute of Chicago.

The Art Institute will host an Indian delegation on Saturday to sign an agreement for the Vivekananda Memorial Program for Museum Excellence. The $500,000 grant honors Hindu monk Swami Vivekananda, who spoke in 1893 at the Art Institute during the World’s Columbian Exposition. The Art Institute says it’s the first U.S. museum to receive a grant from India.

The goal of the four-year program is to foster a professional partnership between the Art Institute and museums in India. During the four years the Art Institute will send staff members to India for workshops, seminars, lectures and courses. The Art Institute also will host fellowships in Chicago for Indian museum professionals.

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Online: www.artic.edu

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Copyright 2011 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.


ADDITIONAL IMAGE OF NOTE


 Swami Vivekananda in a photo taken in Chicago in September, 1893. During his visit, the chief disciple of the 19th-century saint Ramkrishna Parmahansa and founder of the Ramakrishna Mission spoke at the Chicago Art Institute during the World's Columbian Exposition. This photo is in the public domain in the USA.

Swami Vivekananda in a photo taken in Chicago in September, 1893. During his visit, the chief disciple of the 19th-century saint Ramkrishna Parmahansa and founder of the Ramakrishna Mission spoke at the Chicago Art Institute during the World’s Columbian Exposition. This photo is in the public domain in the USA.

View of downtown Chattanooga, Tenn., licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license.

Chattanooga to host spring arts festival

View of downtown Chattanooga, Tenn., licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license.

View of downtown Chattanooga, Tenn., licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license.

CHATTANOOGA – Several organizations in Chattanooga have banded together to produce a 10-day arts and culture festival that will begin this spring.

The festival will be called HATCH 2012 and will happen April 13-22 in a 10-mile area of Chattanooga, according to Hunter Museum of American Art director Dan Stetson.

HATCH stands for History Art Technology Culture Happenings and it will include several events — some new and some that already exist.

Among the participants will be local art galleries, studios, visual artists, musicians and performance artists.

Stetson told the Chattanooga Times Free Press that the art festival will be similar in scope to RiverRocks, an event centered around the area’s outdoor and adventure activities.

The festival will kick off with the Four Bridges Arts Festival, which will include a performance by the Chattanooga Symphony & Opera, the Chattanooga Theatre Centre’s Biennial Festival of New Plays and the Mid-South Sculpture Alliance Conference.

An 18-month sculpture exhibition at the Riverpark will begin with the event.

Chattanooga Mayor Ron Littlefield said the city’s art scene is a big part of what makes it so appealing to visitors.

“I make no apologies for the money we have put into the arts, though we are often criticized,” the mayor said when the festival was announced earlier this month.

“The arts bring people to our city and it encourages people to invest their families and their lives here.”

Copyright 2011 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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ADDITIONAL IMAGE OF NOTE


View of downtown Chattanooga, Tenn., licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license.

View of downtown Chattanooga, Tenn., licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license.

1947 Whizzer Motorbike. Image courtesy of LiveAuctioneers.com and RM.

Eclectic US museum to be emptied by auction

1947 Whizzer Motorbike. Image courtesy of LiveAuctioneers.com and RM.

1947 Whizzer Motorbike. Image courtesy of LiveAuctioneers.com and RM.

BOCA RATON, Fla. (AP) — Say goodbye to the twirling carousel, the rows of perfectly shined classic cars, the player pianos and jukeboxes. They’re selling all the neon signs, the slot machines, the antique guns, the Tiffany lamps, the hulking chandeliers. There will be no more rare organs or vintage gas pumps or the Army airplane gliding overhead, none of this out-of-this-world collection that took a lifetime to amass.

After Feb. 24-25, it will all be gone soon, before most people ever knew it existed.

Two Florida brothers, Bob and Paul Milhous, are liquidating their one-of-a-kind private museum after spending decades scouring the world to find its gems. The Milhous Collection, as the items have become known, are expected to fetch around $40 million at auction.

“Our time’s kind of up with them,” said Bob Milhous, who at 75 is the elder brother. “It’s time to move on.”

The men first started picking up collectible cars and rare automated musical instruments a half-century ago, but they never knew it would grow into this. They bought so furiously their collections outgrew their homes, then spilled into a succession of three increasingly larger spaces, until they built a new museum, within a suburban corporate park, in a nondescript building that gives no hint of its holdings.

“Our wives say, ‘Most people go to the museum and buy a postcard,'” recalled Paul Milhous, 73, “‘You go to the museum and buy the museum.'”

What they have built is part carnival, part sparkling car showroom. It has both Vegas glitz and the refrained elegance of a Prohibition-era speakeasy. You find yourself in a room of thick red drapes, a massive crystal chandelier and a variety of musical instruments that line the walls then, moments later, in the glow of neon, surrounded by the chrome and steel of collector cars.

“People come here and they leave amazed, and then they try to explain it to somebody what they saw and it just doesn’t work,” Paul Milhous said.

The brothers are distant cousins of President Richard Milhous Nixon. They made their fortune in the printing business, making circulars and comic strip inserts for newspapers. They sold that business in the 1990s and have liquidated other businesses in their holdings as they plan their estates. Giving up all their prized collectibles is part of it.

“‘Don’t leave this burden to us,” Paul Milhous recalled his and his brother’s wives saying.

And, so, on Feb. 24 and 25, it will all be sold. Two auction houses, RM Auctions and Sotheby’s, have divided it into more than 550 lots, each to be sold to the highest bidder. LiveAuctioneers.com will provide the Internet live bidding.

There is the whimsical: Dozens of vintage toy cars, giant toy soldiers that once stood at FAO Schwarz in New York, funhouse mirrors and carnival sideshow banners. There is artwork, fine furniture and the contents of a turn-of-the-20th century barbershop.

But the real highlights are in the Milhouse collections of classic cars, the mechanical musical instruments and the carousel that is the centerpiece of their museum.

There are 29 cars, 5 motorcycles, 2 tractors, a motorbike, a popcorn and peanut wagon and a PT-22 airplane. Among the cars is the only known surviving 1912 Oldsmobile Limited, which is estimated to bring bids around $1.5 million.

The instruments include music boxes, player pianos, band organs and orchestrions, which are made to simulate the sound of an orchestra all in one piece. There are dozens of theater, fair and dance organs. At least eight of the instruments have price estimates that exceed $1 million each. Many are elaborately decorated with oil paintings, stained glass, gold leaf and moving figurines.

Still, nothing in this eclectic palace draws the eye more than the carousel. The brothers searched for years for precisely what they wanted. When nothing turned up, they had one built, with 42 animals hand-carved from basswood and a Wurlitzer band organ. Its estimated price is $1 million to $1.5 million.

The museum has been kept so private over the years the idea of opening it to the public for an auction makes the brothers a bit uneasy. It has played host to many charity events, but whenever they’ve opened it up, it has been to limited audiences, with off-duty police officers hired to stand guard over their prized possessions. Now, anyone who buys a $120 auction catalog will be able to come to the preview.

For now, they’re preparing to bid farewell to it all, and enjoying their final moments with it. On a recent tour, they recalled their first purchases and remembered all the places they’ve driven their many cars. And as they walk into a dimly lit second-floor room of the museum, its walls lined with all types of instruments, only one question comes from Paul Milhous’ lips.

“What do we want to play?” he asks.

View the fully illustrated catalog and sign up to bid absentee or live via the Internet at www.LiveAuctioneers.com. Click below to view a video about the Gaudin 125-key dance organ.

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Copyright 2011 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.


View the fully illustrated catalog and register to bid absentee or live via the Internet as the sale is taking place by logging on to www.LiveAuctioneers.com.


VIDEO:


 


ADDITIONAL LOTS OF NOTE


1947 Whizzer Motorbike. Image courtesy of LiveAuctioneers.com and RM.

1947 Whizzer Motorbike. Image courtesy of LiveAuctioneers.com and RM.

Black, Starr & Frost Hall Clock. Image courtesy of LiveAuctioneers.com and RM.

Black, Starr & Frost Hall Clock. Image courtesy of LiveAuctioneers.com and RM.

c. 1931 Mills 'War Bird' Nickel Slot Machine. Image courtesy of LiveAuctioneers.com and RM.

c. 1931 Mills ‘War Bird’ Nickel Slot Machine. Image courtesy of LiveAuctioneers.com and RM.

Marlin Ballards Patent Rifle 1861. Image courtesy of LiveAuctioneers.com and RM.

Marlin Ballards Patent Rifle 1861. Image courtesy of LiveAuctioneers.com and RM.

Five Assorted Guns. Image courtesy of LiveAuctioneers.com and RM.

Five Assorted Guns. Image courtesy of LiveAuctioneers.com and RM.

Russian Neoclassical Style Center Table. Image courtesy of LiveAuctioneers.com and RM.

Russian Neoclassical Style Center Table. Image courtesy of LiveAuctioneers.com and RM.

Gaudin 125-Key Dance Organ. Image courtesy of LiveAuctioneers.com and RM.

Gaudin 125-Key Dance Organ. Image courtesy of LiveAuctioneers.com and RM.

Hofbauer Harmonipan Crank Organ. Image courtesy of LiveAuctioneers.com and RM.

Hofbauer Harmonipan Crank Organ. Image courtesy of LiveAuctioneers.com and RM.

Nelson-Wiggen Pian-O-Grand, Style 3. Image courtesy of LiveAuctioneers.com and RM.

Nelson-Wiggen Pian-O-Grand, Style 3. Image courtesy of LiveAuctioneers.com and RM.

Assorted Petroliana. Image courtesy of LiveAuctioneers.com and RM.

Assorted Petroliana. Image courtesy of LiveAuctioneers.com and RM.

American Chippendale carved walnut chest-on-chest, circa 1760, probably Delaware Valley, height 95 1/2 inches, width 45 3/4 inches, depth 24 5/8 inches. Estimate: $40,000-$60,000. Image courtesy of Neal Auction Co.

Great Southern estates contribute to Neal auction Feb. 4-5

American Chippendale carved walnut chest-on-chest, circa 1760, probably Delaware Valley, height 95 1/2 inches, width 45 3/4 inches, depth 24 5/8 inches. Estimate: $40,000-$60,000. Image courtesy of Neal Auction Co.

American Chippendale carved walnut chest-on-chest, circa 1760, probably Delaware Valley, height 95 1/2 inches, width 45 3/4 inches, depth 24 5/8 inches. Estimate: $40,000-$60,000. Image courtesy of Neal Auction Co.

NEW ORLEANS – Neal Auction Co.’s Winter Estates Auction on Feb. 4-5 will consist of more than 1,100 lots of antiques and fine art. Saturday’s auction will be conducted at 4038 Magazine St. beginning at 10 a.m. Central. Sunday’s session will be at 3923 Carondelet St. beginning at 11 a.m. LiveAuctioneers.com will provide Internet live bidding both days.

The auction will include 18th- and 19th-century furniture, paintings, mirrors, carpets, jewelry, sculpture and garden statuary from estates, institutions, collectors, museums and private collectors.

Furniture will be highlighted by an American Chippendale carved walnut chest-on-chest, circa 1760, and probably from the Delaware Valley. Standing 95 1/2 inches high with its molded broken arch crest, the chest on chest is estimated at $40,000-$60,000.

Another fine American Chippendale piece is a tall-case clock from Baltimore, also circa 1760. At 104 1/4 inches high, the case is inlaid and carved mahogany with a broken arch fretwork crest centered by an eagle medallion and inlaid rosettes. It carries a $25,000-$35,000 estimate.

Paintings are led by a William Henry Buck (American/New Orleans, 1840-1880) landscape titled School House by the Shore, Louisiana Bayou, an oil on canvas measuring 14 inches by 20 inches. In a period giltwood frame, it has an $80,000-$120,000 estimate.

A rare piece of George Ohr art pottery is a conventional teapot, circa 1883-1898, in mustard glaze with mottled green, berry and cobalt slip. Stamped “G.E. Ohr, Biloxi, Miss.” on the base, the teapot is 8 1/2 inches wide by 4 1/2 inches high. Its estimate is $15,000-$25,000.

An example of the jewelry that will be available is a Chinese jadeite cabochon, diamond and 18-karat white gold ring. The brilliant-cut diamonds that border the apple-green cabochon total about 1.15 carats. The ring is estimated at $25,000-$35,000.

Made in New Orleans, a fine Confederate staff officer’s sword in “as found” condition is certain to rouse enthusiasm. The blade is marked “Dufilho / N. Orleans” and the quillion with “C.S.” and a pelican insignia. Bidding is expected to rally to $8,000-$12,000.

For details on these and additional contact Neal Auction Co. at 800-467-5329.

View the fully illustrated catalog and register to bid absentee or live via the Internet as the sale is taking place by logging on to www.LiveAuctioneers.com.


ADDITIONAL LOTS OF NOTE


American Chippendale carved walnut chest-on-chest, circa 1760, probably Delaware Valley, height 95 1/2 inches, width 45 3/4 inches, depth 24 5/8 inches. Estimate: $40,000-$60,000. Image courtesy of Neal Auction Co.

 

American Chippendale carved walnut chest-on-chest, circa 1760, probably Delaware Valley, height 95 1/2 inches, width 45 3/4 inches, depth 24 5/8 inches. Estimate: $40,000-$60,000. Image courtesy of Neal Auction Co.

Confederate staff officer's sword, blade marked ‘Dufilho / N. Orleans,’ quillion with ‘C.S.’ and pelican insignia, wire-wrapped leather grip, scabbard with cypress wood inserts, blade with possible postwar gilt wash or ‘turned’ lacquer, as found condition. Estimate: $8,000-$12,000. Image courtesy of Neal Auction Co.

Confederate staff officer’s sword, blade marked ‘Dufilho / N. Orleans,’ quillion with ‘C.S.’ and pelican insignia, wire-wrapped leather grip, scabbard with cypress wood inserts, blade with possible postwar gilt wash or ‘turned’ lacquer, as found condition. Estimate: $8,000-$12,000. Image courtesy of Neal Auction Co.

Chinese jadeite cabochon, diamond and 18-karat White gold Ring, translucent apple green oval jadeite cabochon, approximately 12 1/2 carats, diamonds approx. 1.15 carats, size 6 1/2. Estimate: $25,000-$35,000. Image courtesy of Neal Auction Co.

Chinese jadeite cabochon, diamond and 18-karat White gold Ring, translucent apple green oval jadeite cabochon, approximately 12 1/2 carats, diamonds approx. 1.15 carats, size 6 1/2. Estimate: $25,000-$35,000. Image courtesy of Neal Auction Co.

Rare George Ohr art pottery teapot, circa 1883-1898, mustard glaze with mottled green, berry and cobalt slip, inverted lid, base stamped ‘G.E. Ohr, Biloxi, Miss.,’ height 4 1/2 inches, width 8 1/2 inches. Estimate: $15,000-$25,000. Image courtesy of Neal Auction Co.

Rare George Ohr art pottery teapot, circa 1883-1898, mustard glaze with mottled green, berry and cobalt slip, inverted lid, base stamped ‘G.E. Ohr, Biloxi, Miss.,’ height 4 1/2 inches, width 8 1/2 inches. Estimate: $15,000-$25,000. Image courtesy of Neal Auction Co.

William Henry Buck (American/New Orleans, 1840-1880), ‘School House by the Shore, Louisiana Bayou,’ oil on canvas, initialed ‘W.H.B.’ lower right, ‘Seth L. Baldwin’ on handwritten label and H.W. Gear & Co., New York canvas stamp en verso, 14 inches x 20 inches, in a period giltwood frame with brass plaque. Estimate: $80,000-$120,000.

William Henry Buck (American/New Orleans, 1840-1880), ‘School House by the Shore, Louisiana Bayou,’ oil on canvas, initialed ‘W.H.B.’ lower right, ‘Seth L. Baldwin’ on handwritten label and H.W. Gear & Co., New York canvas stamp en verso, 14 inches x 20 inches, in a period giltwood frame with brass plaque. Estimate: $80,000-$120,000.

American Chippendale inlaid and carved mahogany tall-case clock, circa 1760, Baltimore, tole painted face flanked by inlaid columns, height 104 1/4 inches, width 23 1/4 in., depth 11 1/2 inches. Estimate: $25,000-$35,000. Image courtesy of Neal Auction Co.

American Chippendale inlaid and carved mahogany tall-case clock, circa 1760, Baltimore, tole painted face flanked by inlaid columns, height 104 1/4 inches, width 23 1/4 in., depth 11 1/2 inches. Estimate: $25,000-$35,000. Image courtesy of Neal Auction Co.

City officials intend to renovate what's left of the former home of the Cleveland Indians. Photo by Christopher Busta-Peck. This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 1.0 License.

Early home of Cleveland Indians will get a makeover

City officials intend to renovate what's left of the former home of the Cleveland Indians. Photo by Christopher Busta-Peck. This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 1.0 License.

City officials intend to renovate what’s left of the former home of the Cleveland Indians. Photo by Christopher Busta-Peck. This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 1.0 License.

CLEVELAND (AP) – A makeover is planned for what’s left of the old home of the Cleveland Indians and the 1945 Negro League champion Cleveland Buckeyes, as the city aims to return the site to its baseball glory days.

League Park, east of downtown in the Hough neighborhood, hosted its first game in 1891 with pitching legend Cy Young on the mound for the Cleveland Spiders, but it was eventually converted into a park that later disintegrated. Now League Park and adjacent parkland will undergo $5 million in renovations, Ken Silliman, chief of staff for Mayor Frank Jackson, told The Plain Dealer.

Silliman said work will begin in late spring or early summer and be finished in about a year.

City Architecture is wrapping up plans that include restoring the ticket house and a bleacher wall and creating a regulation-size diamond in the same place as the original. Home plate will go in the exact spot where it rested the day that Babe Ruth whacked his 500th career home run in 1929.

Paula Gist, who heads the League Park Heritage Committee neighborhood group, said the project will provide a focus for an area that has seen dozens of new houses built in recent years. The committee wants to raise another $1.7 million for a track and other work.

Gist, who grew up in Hough and remembers a vibrant middle-class neighborhood that existed prior to riots in the summer of 1966, said her father, now 94, attended Negro League games at League Park.

“This is important to us, to our neighborhood,” Gist said. “We don’t want just a ballpark; we want a revitalization.” She hopes League Park also will become a regional attraction, hosting minor league baseball games and other special events.

Plans also call for a community building with a museum, a youth baseball diamond and a field for football and soccer.

The Indians used League Park from 1900 through 1946, continuing to play some games there for 15 years after Municipal Stadium opened on the lakefront. It was the team’s home field during the 1920 World Series.

Besides Young and Ruth, greats such as Bob Feller, Ty Cobb, Napoleon Lajoie, Tris Speaker and Shoeless Joe Jackson passed through the park.

The site, now on the National Register of Historic Places, served as a practice field for the Cleveland Browns until 1951, when the city bought the property.

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Information from: The Plain Dealer, http://www.cleveland.com

Copyright 2012 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

AP-WF-01-28-12 1944GMT


ADDITIONAL IMAGE OF NOTE


City officials intend to renovate what's left of the former home of the Cleveland Indians. Photo by Christopher Busta-Peck. This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 1.0 License.

City officials intend to renovate what’s left of the former home of the Cleveland Indians. Photo by Christopher Busta-Peck. This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 1.0 License.

Renowned Chinese artist Kwong Lum with Frank Robinson, recently retired Director of Cornell University's Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art. At right is the artwork titled 'Excerpt from a Poem by Li Bai,' a gift from the artist to the museum.

Chinese artist Kwong Lum presents artwork to Johnson Museum

Renowned Chinese artist Kwong Lum with Frank Robinson, recently retired Director of Cornell University's Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art. At right is the artwork titled 'Excerpt from a Poem by Li Bai,' a gift from the artist to the museum.

Renowned Chinese artist Kwong Lum with Frank Robinson, recently retired Director of Cornell University’s Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art. At right is the artwork titled ‘Excerpt from a Poem by Li Bai,’ a gift from the artist to the museum.

NEW YORK – The Chinese artist Kwong Lum, who is best known for ink splash paintings, a technique that adapts the ancient art of calligraphy to abstract paintings, recently endowed Cornell University’s Johnson Museum with a painting titled Excerpt from a Poem by Li Bai.

The painting was accepted during the annual Cornell Asian Alumni Association banquet on Jan. 21. At that time, Frank Robinson, recently retired Director of the Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art, acknowledged the gift with this statement: “It’s very exciting, and it symbolizes the great, intimate relationship Cornell and the Johnson Museum have with Asia and Asian art.”

The Kwong Lum gift is done in unrestrained freehand cursive script, a later technique that evolved from ink splash. Excerpt from a Poem by Li Bai is the first such work of art in the Johnson Museum’s renowned collection of Asian art.

Kwong Lum describes Unconstrained Freehand Cursive Script as “free from the painstakingness and foreordained results historically practiced by traditional calligraphers.” The finished work is a painting of exceptional fluidity, vibrant and compelling. It features elements of both ancient Eastern and contemporary Western painting.

A recognized prodigy by the age of nine, Kwong Lum evolved ink splash painting in the 1980s. To achieve the freedom needed for spontaneous abstraction, the artist replaced the brush with paint rollers, rice paper with canvas, and pigment with Chinese ink and acrylics. The breakthrough significantly reformed traditional Chinese painting.

In 1990, Kwong Lum evolved the stylistic form known as unconstrained freehand cursive script.

Kwong Lum described the style as embodying the essence of Lao Tzu’s principal that all things brought into being are formless yet complete.

Throughout his lifetime, Kwong Lum has consistently drawn the attention of master artists, curators and critics. At the age of nine, he became the student of Ding Yanyong, the painter, connoisseur and educator who was also one of the three founders of the Shanghai College of Art. As Kwong Lum’s proficiency began to mature, Ding Yanyong treated him as a son, teaching him traditional painting, calligraphy and poetry. The master initiated the student in antique appraisal skills and seal engraving, all the while helping him acquire a collection of ancient art treasures.

At the age of 12, Kwong Lum won first prize at the Grand Hong Kong Painting Contest of Young Artists. At 15, he was admitted to New Asia College (now Hong Kong Chinese University). In 1957, he entered the Ontario College of Art in Toronto, thus beginning his life as a Westerner. After graduation, Canadian newspapers reviewed Kwong Lum as “a brilliant rising star in Canada.”

Henry Geldzahler, late Chief Curator of the Metropolitan Museum, spoke highly of Kwong Lum’s work. The art critic Robert C. Morgan has praised it Kwong Lum for his clarity, incisiveness and ability to weave images from the East into the West and to find amazing correlations between the two.

Today, Kwong Lum holds the distinction of being the only living artist to be honored with a museum in his name in China. It is due to open mid-2012. He is also a researcher and consultant to the Beijing National Museum of China and owner of Gianguan Auctions on Madison Avenue in New York City.

Artist’s Background:

Kwong Lum was born in China and has resided in New York City for the past forty years. Throughout that time, Lum has been active in promoting the cultural and economic exchanges between China and the West. He is the subject of a four-part TV docuentary by China Central Television.

Kwong Lum is married to Mary Ann Lum of Toronto. They are the parents of two adult children.

Gianguan Auctions is located at 295 Madison Avenue (entrance at 38 E. 41st Street) in New York City. Tel. 212-867-7288.

The Kwong Lum Museum is located in Jiangmen, China, the artist’s hometown. It was slated for Beijing but, at the request of the artist, was constructed in his hometown.

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ADDITIONAL IMAGES OF NOTE


Kwong Lum, 'Excerpt from a Poem by Li Bai'

Kwong Lum, ‘Excerpt from a Poem by Li Bai’

Kwong Lum at work with a canvas and rollers.

Kwong Lum at work with a canvas and rollers.

Henry Ossawa Tanner (American, 1859-1937) painted 'The Annunciation' in 1898. Philadelphia Museum of Art. Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.

Henry O. Tanner retrospective at Philadelphia alma mater

Henry Ossawa Tanner (American, 1859-1937) painted 'The Annunciation' in 1898. Philadelphia Museum of Art. Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.

Henry Ossawa Tanner (American, 1859-1937) painted ‘The Annunciation’ in 1898. Philadelphia Museum of Art. Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.

PHILADELPHIA (AP) – A major retrospective of late 19th-century painter Henry O. Tanner, who left the racial prejudice of the U.S. for the salons of France and became the first internationally celebrated African-American artist, is making its debut at the prestigious Philadelphia art school he attended.

“Henry Ossawa Tanner: Modern Spirit,” on view through April 15 at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, features more than 100 paintings and drawings including the famed Resurrection of Lazarus on loan from the Musee d’Orsay in Paris. The painting, which garnered widespread critical acclaim when it was first shown in 1897, has never before crossed the Atlantic.

Anna Marley, the show’s curator, noted that a description written long ago on the back of the “Lazarus” canvas says “Ecole Americaine”—identifying Tanner as part of the American school of painters.

“I know that would have made Henry Tanner very happy and very proud,” she said, “because in the United States when he was reviewed in the 19th century it would say ‘black artist’ and in Paris when he was received into the salon, it was … ‘Henry Tanner, American artist.’ So this is so important for so many reasons.”

Tanner (1859-1937) was born in Pittsburgh to a middle-class, deeply religious family. His father was an African Methodist Episcopalian minister and his mother was born a slave in Virginia and came to Pennsylvania via the Underground Railroad.

The family moved to Philadelphia in 1866, when Tanner was 7 years old. On a walk through the city’s picturesque Fairmount Park at 13, Tanner decided on his creative calling when he saw a painter at work outdoors.

A shy youngster, he spent much of his time painting and drawing at the city’s zoo and waterfront and visiting its museums and galleries.

He studied at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts from 1879 to 1885 and was a favorite student of Thomas Eakins, whose artistic sensibilities had a profound and lasting influence. The young artist went on to exhibit his work, sell his illustrations and open a photography studio in Atlanta but acceptance was a struggle amid the racial enmity prevalent in post-Civil War America.

Tanner left his home and family in 1891 for Paris, which was the center of the art world and lacked the racial bigotry he had experienced back home. He continued his art education and studied under several prominent French painters who became mentors and helped him gain exposure. The Resurrection of Lazarus cemented his place within the artistic elite and signaled his creative path toward Biblical subjects.

Tanner sent photographs of many of his paintings back to his Philadelphia alma mater for its archives, including Daniel and the Lion’s Den, another important painting of the same era whose whereabouts are unknown. A large black and white panel is on view for visitors to get a sense of what it looked like—and maybe lead to its recovery.

“I hope that maybe this exhibition will help us find it,” Marley said. “It was shown in Philadelphia and then it disappears from the records. … I hope it’s in a church basement in Philadelphia somewhere.”

Though the religious paintings that dominated his later career are the stars of the show, the exhibit also contains examples of Tanner’s earlier secular work.

The show also includes a section explaining a scientific and technical analysis of Tanner’s materials and methods conducted by the Smithsonian Institution, as well as a companion exhibit showing how Tanner was a mentor for African-American artists during his lifetime and remains a role model in the present.

“Henry Tanner was a modern man, a leader in his field, who was adventurous, who traveled the world, who was a phenomenal painter, but we also wanted to convey the fact that he was the leading American religious artist in this period,” Marley said. “And the reason … is because of his modernization of the genre.”

After its Philadelphia premiere, the exhibition heads to the Cincinnati Art Museum and the Museum of Fine Arts in Houston.

___

Online:

Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts:

http://www.pafa.org

Copyright 2012 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

AP-WF-01-26-12 2250GMT


ADDITIONAL IMAGE OF NOTE


Henry Ossawa Tanner (American, 1859-1937) painted 'The Annunciation' in 1898. Philadelphia Museum of Art. Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.

Henry Ossawa Tanner (American, 1859-1937) painted ‘The Annunciation’ in 1898. Philadelphia Museum of Art. Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.

Procession of Maharao Ram Singh II of Kota, c.1850. Opaque watercolor on paper. ©Victoria and Albert Museum, London.

VMFA to host ‘Maharaja: The Splendors of India’s Great Kings’

Procession of Maharao Ram Singh II of Kota, c.1850. Opaque watercolor on paper. ©Victoria and Albert Museum, London.

Procession of Maharao Ram Singh II of Kota, c.1850. Opaque watercolor on paper. ©Victoria and Albert Museum, London.

RICHMOND, Va. – This spring, the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts will present the only East Coast opportunity to explore the art and material culture of India’s maharajas (“great kings”) from the early 18th century to the mid-20th century. Maharaja: The Splendors of India’s Great Kings, is an international touring exhibition organized by the Victoria & Albert Museum, London, that opens at VMFA on May 21 and continues through Aug. 19, 2012.

Through the experience of seeing more than 200 objects spanning three centuries, visitors will be immersed in the rich and intriguing world of India’s royal courts. Many of the objects are drawn from the V&A, and the majority is from its unrivaled colonial-period collections.

“Visitors will get a behind-the-scenes glimpse into the private lives of some of the world’s greatest and most legendary royals,” VMFA Director Alex Nyerges said. “Three centuries of elaborate jewelry, ornate weaponry, fascinating artwork, royal costumes and photographs will be on display. Maharaja is the first exhibition of its kind to delve into these kings’ unique culture. The museum’s South Asian and European decorative arts collections further illustrate the rich artistic tradition of this era.”

Set against a backdrop of the tumultuous changes of the early 18th century through the 1940s, the exhibition takes visitors on a tour of Indian kingdoms during eras of shifting political powers. A richly appointed throne room, a saddle carried by an elephant, a horse-drawn carriage of enameled silver, a throne sheathed in gold and numerous paintings are some of the objects that will aid in animating the courts of India’s kings. Visitors will learn of the institution of Indian kingship through an exploration of the many roles – political, religious, military, and cultural – played by the ideal ruler. Through the art and objects made for the royals, the exhibition will trace the ways in which the maharajas adapted to the profound historical changes occurring during their time – from the waning of the Mughal Empire, through the rise of the British hegemony to the eve of Indian and Pakistani independence.

Exhibition Highlights:

Royal Procession

Ram Singh II, the ruler of Kota, a small state in northern India, rides proudly on a richly adorned elephant through the streets of his capital. His high status is shown by his radiant green halo, his parasol, and the attendants who wave ceremonial fly whisks around him. A dancing girl entertains him by performing on a platform mounted on his elephant’s tusks. Other attendants and musicians follow on foot, and the women of the city watch from balconies and rooftops.

Two-Piece Turban Ornament

This spectacular turban ornament (sarpech) consists of a feather-shaped upper part (jigha), worn vertically, and a headpiece (sarpati) worn horizontally. Traditionally at the Mughal court, only the ruler was entitled to wear a turban ornament. By the 1700s, such ornaments were given as symbols of royal favor to select noblemen, a convention that spread rapidly throughout the royal courts of India. This ornament of gold, diamonds, rubies, emeralds, sapphires and pearls was given in 1757 as a token of appreciation to Admiral Charles Watson by Nawab Mir Jafar who had been installed by the British as the new ruler of the eastern Indian state of Murshidabad.

Throne

This throne, decorated with richly worked sheets of gold, belonged to Ranjit Singh, the most powerful of the Sikh maharajas, and attests to the legendary magnificence of his court. Its distinctive cusped base is composed of two tiers of lotus petals (ancient Indian symbols of purity and creation), while the octagonal shape is based on Mughal furniture styles. The British victory over the Sikh kingdoms in the years following Ranjit Singh’s death was a triumphal event. This throne and other valuable treasures, including the famed Koh-i-noor diamond, were taken to London as symbols of British supremacy over the powerful Indian ruler.

Carriage

The ritual of the grand royal procession remained an important public display of power and status during the period of British rule in India. The traditional elephants were still used, but European modes of transport, such as this landau carriage, became increasingly popular. Maharaja Bhavsinhji II, ruler of Bhavnagar, commissioned this carriage from the Fort Coach Factory in Bombay (now Mumbai) in 1915. The whole structural framework is covered in silver, and the enameled decorations of flowers, birds and butterflies are masterpieces of technical skill.

Related programs:

Educational programs will include a family day event, Celebrate the Art of India Family Day on Saturday, May 26, 1 – 4 p.m.; A Teen Talent: Status, Power, and Identity for students grades 6-12 on Friday, May 25, 6:30 – 8:30 p.m.; and “Samosa Saturdays” on Saturdays, June 9, July 21, and August 4 featuring Indian afternoon tea and a lecture. A six-session art history class, The Art of India, by Kerry Lucinda Brown, PhD candidate, VCU Department of Art History, will begin on Tuesday, April 17 from 1-2 p.m.

About VMFA’s permanent collections:

VMFA possesses one of the country’s premier collections of Indian art, which Maharaja: The Splendors of India’s Great Kings will complement. More than 300 objects represent the length and breadth of the Indian Subcontinent and more than 3,000 years of its history. The collection, installed in four galleries in VMFA’s McGlothlin Wing, showcases the diversity of the regional cultures and religious traditions that have defined India’s artistic production throughout the centuries. Especially popular are a gilded silver elephant saddle and an elegant white marble garden pavilion.

The Sydney and Frances Lewis Collection of Decorative Arts also has noteworthy Art Deco objects related to examples in the exhibition.

About the exhibition:

• TITLE: Maharaja: The Splendors of India’s Great Kings

• LOCATION: VMFA Altria Group and NewMarket Galleries

• DATES: May 21 – August 19, 2012

• CURATORS: Anna Jackson, Amin Jaffer, and Deepika Ahlawat; John Henry Rice, VMFA Associate Curator of South Asian and Islamic Art, coordinating curator

• ITINERARY: V&A Museum, London (Oct. 10, 2009 – Jan. 10, 2010); Kunsthalle der Hypo-Kulturstiftung, Munich ( Feb. 12 – May 23, 2010); Art Gallery of Ontario (Nov. 20, 2010 – April 3, 2011); Asian Art Museum, San Francisco (Oct. 21, 2011 – April 8, 2012); Virginia Museum of Fine Arts (see above).

• NUMBER OF OBJECTS: 200

• ADMISSION: $15 and $12 for seniors, students with valid ID and groups of 10 or more. Free for members.

• HOTEL PACKAGES: Hotel and travel packages are in development and will be posted at http://www.visitrichmondva.com/Plan/Hotel-Packages

• SPONSORS: Exhibition organized in collaboration with the Victoria and Albert Museum, London. The exhibition is supported by an indemnity from the Federal Council on the Arts and the Humanities. Additional support provided by the E. Rhodes and Leona B. Carpenter

Foundation. The Banner Exhibition Program at VMFA is made possible by the Julia Louise Reynolds Fund.

• ACCOMPANYING BOOK: Maharaja: The Splendors of India’s Royal Courts, by Anna Jackson and Amin Jaffer. $34.95

About the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts:

With a collection of art that spans the globe and more than 5,000 years, plus a wide array of special exhibitions, the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts (VMFA) is recognized as one of the top comprehensive art museums in the United States. The museum’s permanent collection encompasses more than 23,000 works of art, including the largest public collection of Fabergé outside Russia and one of the nation’s finest collections of American Art, Art Nouveau and Art Deco. VMFA is home to acclaimed collections of English Silver and Impressionist, Post-Impressionist, British Sporting and Modern & Contemporary art, as well as renowned South Asian, Himalayan and African art. In May 2010, VMFA opened its doors to the public after a transformative expansion, the largest in its 75-year history. Programs include educational activities and studio classes for all ages, plus fun after-hours events. VMFA’s Statewide Partnership program includes traveling exhibitions, artist and teacher workshops, and lectures across the Commonwealth. VMFA is open 365 days a year and general admission is always free. For additional information, telephone 804-340-1400 or visit www.vmfa.museum.

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ADDITIONAL IMAGE OF NOTE


Procession of Maharao Ram Singh II of Kota, c.1850. Opaque watercolor on paper. ©Victoria and Albert Museum, London.

Procession of Maharao Ram Singh II of Kota, c.1850. Opaque watercolor on paper. ©Victoria and Albert Museum, London.