January 2012 - Page 20 of 21 - Auction Central News

Photos of Thomas Edison have been known to fetch large sums at auction. For example, this autographed photo of Edison holding his 1910 invention, the alkaline storage battery, sold at RR Auction for $32,310 in December, 2011. Image courtesy of RR Auction.

File cabinet reveals $250,000 worth of contents

January 4, 2012/in Collectibles & Pop Culture/by Catherine Saunders-Watson

Photos of Thomas Edison have been known to fetch large sums at auction. For example, this autographed photo of Edison holding his 1910 invention, the alkaline storage battery, sold at RR Auction for $32,310 in December, 2011. Image courtesy of RR Auction.

NEW ULM, Minn. (AP) – Two file cabinets in a closet-size room at New Ulm City Hall contain a small gold mine of sorts – hundreds of autographed photos of the dead and famous: Thomas Edison, Mark Twain, Orville Wright, Theodore Roosevelt, Italian dictator Benito Mussolini, film legend Mary Pickford. On and on.

“It’s a neat, neat little niche thing,” City Manager Brian Gramentz said of the collection that came into the city’s possession decades ago and now stands to be sold piecemeal to the highest bidders.

Its potential value?

“In excess of $250,000,” said New Ulmite George Glotzbach, who has been representing the sole remaining heir to the collection.

The photos and autographs the late Fred Johnson collected from about 1890 to 1940 is a veritable who’s who of worldwide figures from that era.

Johnson garnered most of them by writing to the famous and requesting their signed photo portraits. He was clearly successful.

The total stash numbers about 3,000, though most of the pieces are of local interest only or are images of people obscured by time.

“Some of this stuff you couldn’t give away because nobody knows who they are,” Gramentz said.

But it’s a different story with the 300 autographed photos that have been deemed sellable to collectors.

At the city’s behest, a representative from an auction house specializing in ephemera reviewed the collection in New Ulm and provided the estimate of its potential worth.

Gramentz said the fate of the collection and how its sale proceeds could be used have been discussed by the City Council six times.

The collection’s only heir is 80-year-old Joan Baeza of Arizona, who has waived her legal right to the collection, saying she believes it was the intent of Johnson, her grandfather, to give back to his community.

She has said she wants proceeds from the sale to go to the city’s public library, for which Johnson led a fund drive for new construction in the 1930s.

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Information from: The Free Press, http://www.mankatofreepress.com

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ADDITIONAL IMAGE OF NOTE

Photos of Thomas Edison have been known to fetch large sums at auction. For example, this autographed photo of Edison holding his 1910 invention, the alkaline storage battery, sold at RR Auction for $32,310 in December, 2011. Image courtesy of RR Auction.

The Tomaquag Indian Memorial Museum is a museum of the Narragansett that is located in Exeter, Rhode Island. Exhibits include traditional crafts, history, culture and important figures.

Rhode Island museum gets native arts grant

January 4, 2012/in Museums/by Catherine Saunders-Watson

The Tomaquag Indian Memorial Museum is a museum of the Narragansett that is located in Exeter, Rhode Island. Exhibits include traditional crafts, history, culture and important figures.

EXETER, R.I. (AP) – A Rhode Island museum has been awarded a grant by a national foundation that supports and promotes native arts and cultures.

The Vancouver, Wash.,-based Native Arts and Cultures Foundation has given the Tomaquag Indian Memorial Museum in Exeter a $10,000 grant. The foundation says the money will support a collaborative project with Narragansett artist Allen Hazard, who has been making wampum art for more than 35 years. The project is called “Wampum: Telling Our Story.”

The foundation recently awarded grants to 27 other American Indian, Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian artists and organizations in 15 states.

The Tomaquag museum tells the story of indigenous people in Rhode Island and New England through its 20,000 objects and hundreds of thousands of pieces of archival materials.

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English artist Damien Hirst in a still image from the 2010 documentary 'The Future of Art' by Erik Niedling and Ingo Niermann. Image supplied by Christian Gomer, licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license.

Hirst vs. Hockney – a feud over use of assistants

January 4, 2012/in Art, Design & Architecture/by Catherine Saunders-Watson

English artist Damien Hirst in a still image from the 2010 documentary ‘The Future of Art’ by Erik Niedling and Ingo Niermann. Image supplied by Christian Gomer, licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license.

LONDON (AP) – Two of Britain’s art superstars are squabbling about whether it’s acceptable to use assistants to create works of art.

The argument pits painter David Hockney, just awarded Britain’s prestigious Order of Merit, against conceptual artist Damien Hirst.

Hockney uses the poster for his upcoming Royal Academy show to state that all the works on exhibit were “made by the artist himself.”

Radio Times magazine reported Tuesday that Hockney said in an interview that the comment was directed at Hirst, who has used assistants to help create some of his most famous pieces.

Hirst has said his assistants do a better painting job than he could and that he becomes easily bored. He is best known for suspending a shark in formaldehyde and covering a human skull with more than 8,000 diamonds.

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ADDITIONAL IMAGE OF NOTE

English artist Damien Hirst in a still image from the 2010 documentary ‘The Future of Art’ by Erik Niedling and Ingo Niermann. Image supplied by Christian Gomer, licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license.

Hardwood folding floor screen with embroidered panels and inlays, late Qing dynasty, sold for $58,500. Image courtesy of Michaan's Auctions.

Michaan’s closes 2011 with million-dollar Asian sale

January 4, 2012/in Auction Results/by Tom Hoepf

Hardwood folding floor screen with embroidered panels and inlays, late Qing dynasty, sold for $58,500. Image courtesy of Michaan’s Auctions.

ALAMEDA, Calif. – Michaan’s Auctions’ final sale of the year became its third highest grossing auction to date. Just shy of a 75 percent sell-through, the 427 offered lots brought in an impressive sales total of $1,270,770 on Dec. 18. The auction also made this the third Fine Asian Works of Art sale to break the million-dollar mark.

The two highest selling lots of the day brought the same selling price of $58,500. The market for decorative Asian furniture has remained strong as prominent collectors continue to seek extravagant, well-executed pieces of large stature. Lot 6255, a Qing dynasty hardwood folding floor screen with embroidered panels, is just such an object of Asian artistry. The exceptional embroidery set the nine-panel screen apart, as it took in over 11 times its projected high value. An embellished, lacquered wood wall panel generated the same result. Lot 6271 was in near perfect condition, a rare occurrence for this type of piece. This made the panel especially sought after, selling for over nine times its high estimate.

Lot 6090, a table screen with jade inset, sharply exceeded its high estimate. Although clearly a special piece, the final selling price of $26,325 amazed those in attendance. The unique design features of double sided carvings and quality jade pushed the piece over 17 times its high estimate of $1,500. A close second was lot 6215, a pair of blue and white porcelain bowls. Collectors were aware of the Kangxi mark, an indication of imperial association. The pieces are understood to most likely have been created for and used by emperor Kangxi. The mark undoubtedly helped the pair of bowls to sell for $23,400, going for over 15 times the high estimate.

Also noteworthy is a large export table with marble inset, sold as lot 6323. Originally estimated at $2,000-3,000, the table sold for over 11 times its high estimate for $35,100. The combination of the table’s unusually large size, intricate carvings and substantial single slab of pink marble made it an especially coveted piece.

Complete results for the Fine Asian Works of Art Auction as well as future auction information and bid submission is available online at www.michaans.com or www.liveauctioneers.com. For general information call Michaan’s Auctions front desk at 510-740-0220 ext. 0 or e-mail frontdesk@michaans.com.

Click here to view the fully illustrated catalog for this sale, complete with prices realized.

ADDITIONAL LOTS OF NOTE

Table screen with jade inset, late Qing/Republic Period, sold for $26,325.Image courtesy of Michaan’s Auctions.

Pair of blue and white porcelain bowls, Kangxi marks and of the period, sold for $23,400. Image courtesy of Michaan’s Auctions.

Large export table with marble inset, late Qing/Republic Period, sold for $35,100. Image courtesy of Michaan’s Auctions.

It’s always nice to have access to a good supply of used old pieces of hardware. They might come in handy.

Furniture Specific: Letter to the future

January 3, 2012/in Fred Taylor/by Tom Hoepf

It’s always nice to have access to a good supply of used old pieces of hardware. They might come in handy.

Someone recently mentioned to me that our children are our letters to the future. We prepared them, packaged them, wished them luck and opened the door. But if that’s the case then some folks sent their letters off with not enough packaging and postage. Others apparently sent them off without a good address because there are so many “letters” that seem to be just wandering out there and still others have a “return to sender” stamp on them. Some of that is just luck of the draw and some of it isn’t.

But that doesn’t have to be the case with another type of letter we get to send to the future and to our children—our antiques. And like our children we do not truly “own” the antiques. We are merely entrusted with them for a period of time even though we may actually have paid a pretty penny for them, just as we did for our offspring. In fact, also like our children, sometimes it seems more like they own us rather than the other way around. In either case it still boils down to us being responsible and how we prepare our children or how we take care of our antiques will be part of our message to the future.

PROTECTION

One of the primary services we offer to our children is one that we should offer to our antiques—protection. These artifacts from the past have somehow survived to this date, often by chance and sometimes by design, and it should become our business to make sure they continue to survive, at least on our watch.

Protection can be achieved in a number of ways. First among them is how the artifact, in my case primarily furniture, is displayed. An 18th-century chair simply cannot be left on the front porch. It deserves an inside berth. In general the area in which the furniture is to be displayed should be clean and dry and have a relatively low level of light. That doesn’t mean you have to live in the dark with the old stuff but a low light level helps maintain the original color. When you are in the room or actually using the furniture turn the light up to a level that is comfortable. But when you leave the room turn the lights down or off. The same holds true for window covering. Most pieces of antique furniture do not especially like bright sunlight or even filtered sunlight. Keep drapes closed in the display area when not in use if possible. Even thin liners can help keep out excess light if it is inconvenient to completely close the drapes.

While we are often reminded in the popular press that “change is good” most antiques, especially pieces of wooden furniture, don’t see it that way. They like things just the way they are, thank you, and if any change is to be affected it needs to be minor and gradual. Extremes of temperature and humidity can cause antique furniture items to “squirm,” to move, to expand, to contract and this movement will eventually cause damage to the piece. The general range of relative humidity that maintains a neutral condition is 40 percent to 60 percent and the rule of thumb about temperature is that if you are uncomfortable so is the furniture.

The furniture must also be protected from pests that want to use the antiques for their own purposes. Just be aware that there are no organic forms except you that are beneficial to antique furniture. That includes pets, insects, boorish guests and, I am afraid, the raw material of our original letter to the future, most children.

CARE and REPAIR

While my antiques do not require nearly the time and attention that my children demanded, they still need a little TLC on a regular basis. A well-made piece of antique furniture, in generally good condition, does not require a lot of maintenance on a regular basis but it does need some. Even the cleanest display area sometimes needs to be dusted and if the area needs cleaning so does the furniture. Remove dust with a soft cotton cloth or even with the new Swiffer wipes. They can help you keep from just transferring the dust from place to place. Be sure to use the dry version, not the wet ones. While it is tempting to use a feather duster on fragile antiques they do pose a risk. The feathers often have a tendency to snag in any loose crevices and you may accidentally pull a loose piece of veneer or remove a section of a fragile finish. Soft artist’s bristle brushes can help you get into the nooks and crannies without scraping the surrounding areas. If the area has somehow accumulated a little bit more detritus than just simple dust use a dampened cloth to remove the accumulation.

This dusting regime assumes of course that the furniture has a nice coat of paste wax over the finish. The paste wax will help keep the dust and dirt from adhering to the surface and will give the piece a nice pleasant glow. Paste wax is the primary first line of defense for antique furniture. And a little goes a long way. A thin coat of paste wax applied sparingly and allowed to dry adequately before buffing will greatly enhance your protection program and make routine care less of a chore. Do not use products that contain oil which can be a dust and dirt attractor as well as discolor the original finish.

When serious repairs to our children were required, such as the occasional stitch or sprain, the choice was clear. Get them to the doctor immediately. I was always assigned the stitch patrol duty while my wife handled the other details. But what do you do when your antique furniture needs repair? The good news is that it is not making a lot of noise or a big mess while you consider your options. The bad news is that you may not know exactly who to call. But you do have the time to do the research to find out who can make the correct repair in a reasonable time frame. In that time find a good conservator or repair tech who understands antique furniture and the appropriate repair methods. Most good dealers know the right buttons to push to reach reliable repair folks.

MOVING

Relocation was a painful process in my youth, but I never had that problem with my own children since we lived in the same house all of their youthful lives. But I was in the furniture restoration business and that meant that I had to move a lot of antique furniture and that could be as traumatic an event to the furniture as moving was to me as a child.

A few simple rules about moving go a long way toward a successful change of venue. Make sure the piece is intact before you move it and that it will survive a careful move. Then use the correct method to lift and carry the piece. Tables are lifted by the skirt, chairs by the seat rail, never the arms, case goods by the frame. Remove any loose elements like drawers, finials, marble tops and slip seats and secure the piece in the vehicle with pads, ropes and straps. Totally disregard the presence of wheels on a piece of furniture. They are not for your use in this purpose. Most important of all: Be sure to use your head in thinking through the entire moving process, step by step and location by location.

While it is true that antiques are not as much trouble—or as much fun—as children can be, they do have similarities and require similar approaches.

So how are you doing on your letter to the future?

Send your comments, questions and pictures to Fred Taylor at P.O. Box 215, Crystal River, FL 34423 or email them to him at info@furnituredetective.com.

Visit Fred’s website at www.furnituredetective.com. “His book How To Be a Furniture Detective” is available for $18.95 plus $3 shipping. Send check or money order for $21.95 to Fred Taylor, P.O. Box 215, Crystal River, FL 34423.

Fred and Gail Taylor’s DVD, “Identification of Older & Antique Furniture” ($17 + $3 S&H) is also available at the same address. For more information call 800-387-6377, fax 352-563-2916, or info@furnituredetective.com. All items are also available directly from his website.

ADDITIONAL IMAGES OF NOTE

It’s always nice to have access to a good supply of used old pieces of hardware. They might come in handy.

You need to know someone who can properly repair your antiques.

This photos shows three of four essential elements of moving – a dolly, a tape measure and a blanket. The fourth and most important is your head.

Howard Davis banjo clock, late 19th or early 20th century. Estimate: $300-$500. Image courtesy of Roland.

Fine art, furniture enhance 700-lot Roland auction Jan. 7

January 3, 2012/in Upcoming Auctions/by Tom Hoepf

Howard Davis banjo clock, late 19th or early 20th century. Estimate: $300-$500. Image courtesy of Roland.

NEW YORK – Roland Auctioneers & Valuers will feature more than 700 lots of antiques, fine art, decorative arts, silver and jewelry at their auction Saturday, Jan. 7, beginning at 11 a.m. Eastern. The auction will be conducted at the auctioneers’ gallery at 80 E. 11th St. LiveAuctioneers.com will provide Internet live bidding.

An exceptional collection of paintings, works on paper, photography and sculpture featuring a large group of modern art from the Fluxus school. Highlighted fluxus artists include Paula Scher, Jonas Mekas, George Maciunas, Peter Tunney, Saul Chase, Ken Friedman, Ken Jacobs, and Picasso Gaglione (aka John Held Jr.). Within the collection are hand-pulled silkscreens, a Mekas signed film still of John Lennon and Yoko Ono, a Sher U.S. map and much more.

Other art includes works signed or attributed to A. Lebourg, R. Beal, L. Kroll, E. Berman, P. Signac, H. Frankenthaler and Charles King Wood. A collection of abstract art (Part 2 of the Hill Estate), a Barbizon school landscape, old master drawings, vintage photographs of New York City, and two modern mobiles in the manner of Alexander Calder will also be sold.

Antique maps include Suffolk County, N.Y. (Hamptons), and a Braun & Hogenberg map of Blois, France.

Twentieth-century furniture to be sold includes an outstanding Dunbar sideboard and dining table, a Laverne center table, a snakeskin console attributed to Springer, a Mario Bellini sofa, an Adnet table, decorations and objects of virtue by Josef Hoffman, Hagenauer, E. Brandt and K. Drerup. German Biedemeier furniture deaccessioned from a New York museum will also be sold, along with an antique Venetian desk. Lighting includes a large Rose leaded glass floor lamp.

A Rookwood plaque and Fuller vase are expected to do well.

Florentine Craftsmen garden furniture will be sold, including an exceptional fountain.

Asian arts consist of a varied selection of antique and decorative pieces including a large pair of Japanese porcelain figures, Japanese and Chinese ivory carvings, Chinese propaganda posters, Japanese woodblock prints, assorted jade and other hard stone carvings.

For details contact Roland at 212-260-2000 or email info@rolandantiques.com.

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

Howard Davis banjo clock, late 19th or early 20th century. Estimate: $300-$500. Image courtesy of Roland.

Peter Tunney, oil on board with stencil, ‘Don’t Read This.’ Estimate: $2,000-$3,000. Image courtesy of Roland.

Old master ink drawing depicting the Assumption of Mary. Estimate: $700-$900. Image courtesy of Roland.

French dore bronze clock, 19th century. Estimate: $400-$500. Image courtesy of Roland.

Jaeger-LeCoultre Atmos mantel clock. Estimate: $300-$500. Image courtesy of Roland.

White rhinos in Namibia. Image courtesy of Wikipedia Commons.

South Africa rhino hunting auction sparks controversy

January 3, 2012/in General Interest/by Catherine Saunders-Watson

White rhinos in Namibia. Image courtesy of Wikipedia Commons.

JOHANNESBURG (AFP) – A decision by South African wildlife parks to auction the right to hunt white rhinoceros has stirred up controversy, with lobby groups warning that the species is already under pressure from poachers.

A businessman in the Kwazulu-Natal region recently paid 960,150 rands (91,500 euros) for the license to shoot a male rhinoceros in a reserve, after successfully bidding for the right from the regional nature conservation authority, Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife.

The authority’s chief Bandile Mkhize defended the decision to auction shooting rights, arguing that the decision to reduce rhino numbers was “based on sound ecological, demographic and genetic wildlife management grounds.”

“We feel more than justified that we have followed defendable principles and protocols,” he said.

Mkhize said reducing certain rhino males could actually enhance the population’s growth rates and help to further genetic conservation.

In addition, auctioning the right to shoot “generates substantial revenues and helps provide much needed additional funding and support to effective conservation management program as well as providing incentives for rhino-specific conservation.”

But while the proceeds from the auctioned hunt are to be reinvested in environment protection, anti-poaching lobby groups are up in arms against the move as they warn that poachers are already depleting South African wildlife reserves.

Simon Bloch, who represents a group of South African citizens outraged by poaching, warned that the wildlife protection authority’s move “sends the wrong message to the world.”

The group Stop Rhino Poaching estimates that 446 rhinos were killed in South Africa in 2011, a sharp jump from the 13 lost in 2007, 83 in 2008, 122 in 2009 and 333 in 2010.

Demand in Asia for use in traditional Chinese medicine, has been blamed for the intensifying trend of rhino poaching.

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ADDITIONAL IMAGE OF NOTE

White rhinos in Namibia. Image courtesy of Wikipedia Commons.

Jonathan Ive in a photo taken at the April 16, 2009 London premiere of Gary Hustwit's documentary 'Objectified.' Photo by Gary Cohen, licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license.

Apple designer Jonathan Ive knighted in UK

January 3, 2012/in People/by Catherine Saunders-Watson

Jonathan Ive in a photo taken at the April 16, 2009 London premiere of Gary Hustwit’s documentary ‘Objectified.’ Photo by Gary Cohen, licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license.

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Fans of the clean, inviting look of the iPhone, iPad and other blockbuster Apple products are legion, and that includes Queen Elizabeth II.

The British monarch has awarded a knighthood to Jonathan Paul Ive, a Brit and head of Apple Inc.’s design team since the mid-’90s.

Ive received a KBE, short for Knight Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire. The honor was announced Saturday for services to design and enterprise.

“To be recognized with this honor is absolutely thrilling and I am both humbled and sincerely grateful,” Ive said in a statement. “I discovered at an early age that all I’ve ever wanted to do is design. I feel enormously fortunate that I continue to be able to design and make products with a truly remarkable group of people here at Apple.”

Ive is credited with helping the late Steve Jobs bring the consumer-electronics company back from the brink of financial ruin in the late 1990s with his whimsical design for the iMac computer, which originally came in bright colors at a time bland shades dominated the PC world.

He later helped transform Apple into a consumer-electronics powerhouse and the envy of Silicon Valley with the iPod, the iPhone and, most recently, the iPad.

The knighthood is the second royal honor Ive has received. He was awarded a Commander of the British Empire honor in 2006 for achievements in British design and innovation.

Britain’s honors are bestowed twice a year by the monarch – at New Year’s and on her official birthday in June. Recipients are selected by committees of civil servants from nominations made by the government and the public.

Most of the honors go to people who are not in the limelight, for services to community or industry, but they also reward a sprinkling of famous faces.

Oscar-nominated actress Helena Bonham Carter and music producer Steve Lillywhite were among those included with Ive in the queen’s New Year honors list for 2012.

Ive started out far from Apple Inc.’s Cupertino headquarters. He grew up outside London and studied design at Newcastle Polytechnic (now Northumbria University) in Newcastle, England. After finishing school, he co-founded a London-based design company called Tangerine. There, he designed a range of products including combs and power tools. It was through Tangerine that he first got to work with Apple.

In 1992, while Jobs was still in the midst of a 12-year exile from Apple, Ive was hired as a senior designer.

After Jobs returned, he and Ive worked closely, ushering in products that are sleek and stylish, with rounded corners, few buttons, brushed aluminum surfaces and plenty of slick glass.

Apple’s pride in this work is evident even in the packaging: Open up any iPhone box, for example, and see Apple proudly proclaim, “Designed by Apple in California.” Six of Ive’s works, including the original iPod, are part of the collection at the Museum of Modern Art in New York.

Design, as well as software that makes the gadgets easy to use, is a crucial part of setting Apple products apart from those of its rivals. Apple didn’t make the first music player or smartphone, but it dominated the market by making ones that looked cool and worked well.

Now, Apple’s products are more popular than ever, vaulting it past rival Microsoft Corp. in 2010 as the most valuable technology company in the world.

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ADDITIONAL IMAGE OF NOTE

Jonathan Ive in a photo taken at the April 16, 2009 London premiere of Gary Hustwit’s documentary ‘Objectified.’ Photo by Gary Cohen, licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license.

In Memoriam: Americana expert Morris Finkel, 88

January 3, 2012/in People/by Catherine Saunders-Watson

PHILADELPHIA – Respected Americana expert and specialist dealer Morris Finkel died on Thursday, Dec. 22, 2011. He was 88.

A charter member of the Antiques Dealers’ Association (ADA) and noted authority on American furniture and clocks, Finkel maintained a shop for many years at 10th and Pine in Philadelphia, the area long known as “Antiques Row.” For the past 36 years, he and his daughter, Amy Finkel, traded as M. Finkel & Daughter, and were regarding as one of the country’s leading sources for antique samplers and needlework.

Morris Finkel leaves a wife, Miriam (nee Lippman), daughter Amy (Richard Braemer), sons Kenneth Finkel (Margaret O. Kirk) and Ned Finkel (Tawnya); and a brother Edwin Finkel. He was the beloved grandfather of seven.

Memorial services were held on Dec. 26. Contributions in Morris Finkel’s memory may be made to the Temple Judea Museum at Keneseth Israel, 8339 Old York Road, Elkins Park, PA 19027.

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Gustav Klimt (Austrian, 1862-1918), The Kiss, 1907-8, Osterreichische Galerie Belvedere. Courtesy The Yorck Project: 10.000 Meisterwerke der Malerei. DVD-ROM, 2002. ISBN 3936122202. Distributed by DIRECTMEDIA Publishing GmbH.

Golden year for Klimt as Austria marks 150th anniversary

January 3, 2012/in Art, Design & Architecture/by Catherine Saunders-Watson

Gustav Klimt (Austrian, 1862-1918), The Kiss, 1907-8, Osterreichische Galerie Belvedere. Courtesy The Yorck Project: 10.000 Meisterwerke der Malerei. DVD-ROM, 2002. ISBN 3936122202. Distributed by DIRECTMEDIA Publishing GmbH.

VIENNA – His golden The Kiss adorns scarves and coffee mugs worldwide, while his portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer sparked a decades-long restitution battle: in 2012, Austria celebrates 150 years since Klimt’s birth.

Gustav Klimt, born on July 14, 1862, is one of the best known figures of the Jugendstil art period.

In honour of this milestone anniversary, Vienna’s biggest museums – led by the Belvedere, the Albertina and the Leopold Museum – are proposing no less than nine exhibits during the course of the year, all promising new insights into the artist’s life.

“More works by Gustav Klimt will be on display in Vienna in 2012 than ever before: from his decoration work in the Burgtheater and the Kunsthistorisches Museum to his largely unknown drawings and world-renowned paintings like The Kiss, which Vienna’s tourism board has already advertised.

Klimt, the co-founder of the turn-of-the-century Secession movement and one of Austria’s key modern artists alongside Egon Schiele and Oskar Kokoschka, was the second of seven children born to a gold engraver and his wife in Baumgarten, near Vienna.

Already as an art student, he founded an artists’ company with his brother Ernst and a friend, taking on major commissions to decorate luxurious salons and create theatre sets.

Although his work adorns the walls and ceilings of prestigious Viennese institutions like the Burgtheater and Kunsthistorisches Museum (Art History Museum, KHM), Klimt is best known for his later “Golden Period” paintings.

One of them, the 1907 Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer I briefly became the most expensive painting ever sold when it changed hands in the United States in 2006 for 135 million dollars (104 million euros).

Earlier, it had made headlines due to a lengthy dispute between the Belvedere – home to the world’s largest collection of Klimt paintings, including The Kiss – and the family of the portrait’s previous Jewish owner, who said it had been stolen by the Nazis.

The Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer I was eventually handed back to the family after the Austrian state refused to buy it.

To celebrate Klimt’s 150th birthday, the Belvedere has planned an extraordinary exhibit, with its entire collection of Klimt paintings going on display from June 15 until January 2013.

A separate exposition on the artist’s collaboration with architect Josef Hoffmann, another Secession co-founder, is already running until March 4.

The Albertina will focus on Klimt’s drawings, while the Leopold museum is promising “Gustav Klimt – Up Close and Personal,” exploring his private life through his letters.

Further exhibits are planned in four more museums including the Wien Museum – the city’s history museum – and the KHM, which will also offer special guided tours in the grand stairwell which Klimt worked on with his artists’ company.

Moreover, his last workshop in a swanky Viennese district, now recreated, will open to the public in mid-2012, although the villa has been entirely remodelled on the exterior.

Klimt died on February 6, 1918 of a stroke.

His paintings recall a heyday in Viennese cultural life when the capital of the Austro-Hungarian empire bustled with the greatest artists and intellectuals of the day, from Sigmund Freud to Otto Wagner, Egon Schiele and Adolf Loos.

The Vienna Ballet presented the first tribute of the year to Klimt on Sunday as dancers performed live among his works at the Belvedere during the traditional New Year’s Concert.

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ADDITIONAL IMAGE OF NOTE

Gustav Klimt (Austrian, 1862-1918), The Kiss, 1907-8, Osterreichische Galerie Belvedere. Courtesy The Yorck Project: 10.000 Meisterwerke der Malerei. DVD-ROM, 2002. ISBN 3936122202. Distributed by DIRECTMEDIA Publishing GmbH.