Cristo Redentor (Christ the Redeemer) at the peak of Corcovado mountain in Rio de Janeiro, the world’s largest Art Deco statue. Photo by Jcsalmon, licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported, 2.5 Generic, 2.0 Generic and 1.0 Generic license.RIO DE JANEIRO (AFP) – The iconic statue of Jesus overlooking Rio de Janeiro, one of the city’s most recognizable landmarks, has lost a thumb tip to lightning, a report said Friday.
Christ the Redeemer, the giant monument and tourist magnet that looms atop nearby Mount Corcovado, was damaged in a huge storm Thursday night, O Globo newspaper reported on its website.
Standing at 38 meter (125 feet) — pedestal and all — the statue was named in a 2007 global poll as one of seven new wonders of the world.
Site caretaker Father Osmar Raposo said the giant concrete figure that juts from the mountaintop some 710 meters above Rio’s beaches, would undergo repair next month.
O Globo broadcast helicopter images of the statue on its G1 web portal, showing part of Christ’s right thumb missing.
Brazil’s national space institute INPE counted more than 40,000 lightning flashes during the three-hour storm which felled dozens of trees and flooded streets.
Winds gusting at 87 kilometers per hour (52 miles per hour) forced one of Rio’s airports to close and brought a halt to boat trips across the city’s Guanabara Bay.
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ADDITIONAL IMAGE OF NOTE
Cristo Redentor (Christ the Redeemer) at the peak of Corcovado mountain in Rio de Janeiro, the world’s largest Art Deco statue. Photo by Jcsalmon, licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported, 2.5 Generic, 2.0 Generic and 1.0 Generic license.
Andrew Wyeth, ‘Wind from the Sea,’ 1947, tempera on hardboard, overall: 18 1/2 x 27 9/16 inches, National Gallery of Art, gift of Charles H. Morgan, copyright Andrew Wyeth. WASHINGTON – Andrew Wyeth’s fascination with windows is explored for the first time in an exhibition on view at the National Gallery of Art, its sole venue, from May 4 through Nov. 30. “Andrew Wyeth: Looking Out, Looking In” will present some 60 tempera paintings, watercolors and drawings that stand out from among 300 or more works of art by Wyeth depicting windows in figureless compositions. Inspired by the gift of Wyeth’s first and one of his most important paintings on the theme – Wind from the Sea (1947), donated to the gallery in 2009 – the exhibition will include several works from private collections that have never been on public view.
“In these spare, elegant, and abstract window paintings and works on paper, Wyeth tackled the complexities presented by the subject throughout his career. We hope that this exploration both on the walls and in the catalogue will encourage a much closer look at Wyeth’s work and contribute to the reassessment of his achievement that is well underway,” said Earl A. Powell III, director, National Gallery of Art, Washington.
Deceptively realistic, Wyeth’s window paintings and works on paper are skillfully manipulated constructions. The exhibition will be organized into thematic sections that group related preliminary drawings and watercolors with final tempera paintings, offering the clearest understanding of Wyeth’s creative process.
Over the course of many decades, Wyeth studied neighboring buildings and his own studios in both Chadds Ford, Pa., and in Cushing, Maine, as subjects for his investigation of windows. He explored windows utilizing multiple visual devices, such as vantage points (far, near, inside, outside, ground level, upstairs), curtains (still and flowing), reflections, landscapes seen through windows, and even windows seen through windows.
Wyeth was working in the Olson House in Maine that appears in his renowned painting, Christina’s World (1948), when an ocean breeze lifted curtains near an open window. He made a quick sketch and within a few weeks Wind from the Sea was complete. Wyeth described the moment: “That summer in 1947 I was in one of the attic rooms feeling the dryness of everything and it was so hot I pried open a window. A west wind filled the dusty, frayed lace curtains and the delicate crocheted birds began to flutter and fly. . . . My whole idea is to keep myself open for the elusive something [that might catch me] off balance when [I] least expect it. I drew a very quick sketch and had to wait for weeks for another west wind for more studies.”
In addition to never-before-seen works, the exhibition will include several familiar ones that address the subject of windows. From Spring Fed (1967), linked to the tragic death of his father, N. C. Wyeth, and the interior view in Rod and Reel (1975), to the austere and mathematically precise Off at Sea (1972) and the very spare Evening at Kuerners (1970), these paintings and works on paper represent a significant but little explored component of Wyeth’s achievement.
Born in Chadds Ford, Pa., Andrew Wyeth was 15 when he began training as an artist in the studio of his famous father, N.C. Wyeth. Five years later, his first one-man exhibition at Macbeth Gallery in New York sold out in two days. During a career that spanned more than seven decades, Wyeth produced a large and compelling body of work that included one of the most famous paintings in 20th-century American art—Christina’s World (Museum of Modern Art, New York).
The gallery’s collection includes 19 paintings and works on paper by Andrew Wyeth.
ADDITIONAL IMAGE OF NOTE
Andrew Wyeth, ‘Wind from the Sea,’ 1947, tempera on hardboard, overall: 18 1/2 x 27 9/16 inches, National Gallery of Art, gift of Charles H. Morgan, copyright Andrew Wyeth.
This pair of exquisitely carved Chinese antique ivory figures was sold as one lot for $45,000. Ahlers & Ogletree image. ATLANTA – A pair of exquisitely carved and detailed Chinese antique ivory tusk figures on fitted rectangular bases sold as one lot for $45,000 at a New Year’s auction held Jan. 4-5 by Ahlers & Ogletree. The tusks were the top lot in a sale that grossed a little over $1 million. LiveAuctioneers.com provided Internet live bidding.
The monumental figures – one of a man, one of a woman, each 35 3/4 inches tall – were depicted at full length and in the round. One showed an emperor with a long wavy beard holding a document in his hands. The other figure was of an empress with eyes closed, holding a ribboned item in one hand and a basket of flowers in the other. Both had a storage box.
Headlining the auction was the collection of Mr. and Mrs. Thomas and Marie Patton of Atlanta.
“New Year’s auctions tend to be strong and this one was no exception,” said Robert Ahlers of Ahlers & Ogletree. “It was refreshing to see such vigor on the part of the bidders. There was a lot of energy, both in the room and online, and I attribute that to the fresh estate merchandise in the auction. That always leads to spirited bidding and we sure had plenty of that.”
Following are additional highlights from the auction. All prices quoted are hammer, exclusive of a sliding scale buyer’s premium.
A dazzling ladies’ diamond necklace featuring two vibrant blue tanzanite stones changed hands for $18,000. The necklace featured a diamond-studded flower bud decoration on a chain leading to a blue circular faceted tanzanite surrounded in diamonds, above another brilliant-cut tanzanite surrounded by diamond accents. The piece had a total diamond weight of 8.38 carats.
An antique hand-woven serapi rug, made circa 1900 and measuring about 9 feet by 14 feet, brought $15,000. A 1921 Steinway & Sons Music Room Model A baby grand piano in an ebonized satinwood case and with a leather tufted piano bench fetched $12,000. A large 19th century French sofa with carved gilt wood undulating frame in the Louis XVI style hit $10,000.
Original artwork did well across the board. A late 16th century oil on canvas work after Michelangelo de Caravaggio (Italian, 1571-1610), titled The Lute Player, 1597 and depicting a bust portrait of a boy musician rose to $13,000; and a finely rendered 19th century Italian School oil on canvas of an active Venetian carnival festival in the manner of Tiepolo breezed to $14,000.
An oil on copper panel depiction of a man with a white beard in knight’s armor in an outdoor setting by Charles-Emile Auguste Carolus-Durand (French, 1837-1917), titled Homme en Armure (Man in Armor) sold for $8,000; and a monumental oil on canvas painting of three nude female beauties as nymphs by Jules Victor Verdier (French, 1861-1926), titled Nymphs, hit $10,000.
In the watches and jewelry category, a Rolex Oyster Perpetual Submariner two-tone watch with a 3-carat diamond bezel around a black face, with a stainless steel watch band, gaveled for $8,500; and an 18-inch-long, 18K yellow gold and diamond necklace with two panther (or leopard) heads with mouths clamped around a diamond-mounted circular ring realized $6,250.
A National Basketball Association 2001 Los Angeles Lakers men’s championship 14k yellow gold ring with two .25 solitaire cut diamonds above 22 solitaire cut accent diamonds, size 11 1/2, achieved $7,000. Also, a circa 1898 English 12-gauge double-barrel shotgun with walnut stock, metal engraving and scrolled foliate decoration commanded $5,500.
Two very different tables each generated much bidder interest. One was a 17th century clockworks constructed from hand blacksmithing, possibly taken from an Italian church and later converted into the base for a rectangular glass-top table ($7,250). The other was an Italian marble table with round dentate patterned top, urn-shaped pedestal and three paw feet ($5,500).
Returning to fine art, an oil on canvas depiction of Still Life With Pears, Apples and Sunflower by British painter Gerald Cooper (1899-1974), 20 inches by 24 inches less the frame, knocked down at $6,000; and a 19th century Continental School four-panel folding screen hand-painted with an idyllic fictitious landscape, each panel 83 inches by 24 inches, sold for $5,500.
For details phone Ahlers & Ogletree at 404-869-2478 or send an email to info@aandoauctions.com.
Icy and Sot on the Lower East Side, New York City. Photo by Ilana Novick.
NEW YORK – Sometimes it’s hard not assume recent events, especially tragic ones, influence an artist’s work immediately following the incident. Does a mural that appears to be anti-violence strike me as such because I know that the artists, the Iranian brothers Icy and Sot, were affected by the November shooting that took place in their East Williamsburg apartment building? Am I projecting what I’ve read about the horrible events on their latest work?
Whether in response to the above mentioned events, or just simply because they are artists whose work is already anti-violence, the brothers created a mural on Allen Street near Stanton Street, where a young boy appears to be breaking a gun in half by erasing it with a tiny eraser. The gun has a bright yellow 99 cents price tag. From far away, it looked almost like a toy.
The boy is painted from the back, wearing a jeans and a gray sweater. At first I thought he was breaking the gun in half with his hands, but it became less outwardly forceful – and frankly more powerful – when I realized that he’s actually erasing it. Like a math problem from a school blackboard, this boy is erasing the power of a weapon, the gun’s paint smeared like chalk. This magic eraser made part of the gun dissolve into dust.
It’s a small and unassuming picture that rewards lingering visits. The boy and his eraser are a quietly stunning argument against guns.
ADDITIONAL IMAGES OF NOTE
Icy and Sot on the Lower East Side, New York City. Photo by Ilana Novick.Icy and Sot on the Lower East Side, New York City. Photo via Icy and Sot’s Facebook Page, Facebook.com/IcyandSotIcy and Sot on the Lower East Side, New York City. Photo by Ilana Novick.Icy and Sot on the Lower East Side, New York City. Photo by Ilana Novick.
Louise Nevelson (American, 1899–1988), ‘The Drum.’ Image courtesy of Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park. GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (AP) – Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park’s upcoming winter exhibition will feature its collection of drawings and prints by sculptors.
“Committed to Paper: Master Drawings and Prints by Sculptors” opens to the public Jan. 31 at the Grand Rapids attraction and will feature more than 40 works by 20 artists including Magdalena Abakanowicz, Anthony Caro, Louise Nevelson, George Segal, Roxy Paine and Anthony Gormley.
“This … visual treasury is full of rich imagery,” Joseph Becherer, chief curator and vice president of exhibitions and collections, said in a statement.
Some of the works relate to sculpture in Meijer Gardens’ permanent collection, while others reflect a sculptor’s work elsewhere.
The exhibition has three categories of drawings and prints: preparatory works, primarily drawings created in anticipation of specific works of sculpture; meditations on completed works of sculpture; and life studies and completed works by sculptors.
Many of the drawings and prints have been part of Meijer Gardens’ permanent collection, and others are recent gifts from artists. The exhibition is scheduled to run through April 27, and a number of events are planned during the display, including art workshops.
The pyramids of Giza. Image by Ricardo Liberato, courtesy of Wikimedia Commons. CAIRO (AP) – Egypt’s Ministry of Antiquities says that American and Egyptian archaeologists have discovered the tomb of a previously unknown pharaonic king dating back to dating to roughly 1650 B.C.
Minister of Antiquities Mohamed Ibrahim said in a statement Wednesday that archaeologists from the University of Pennsylvania, cooperating with the ministry, uncovered the tomb of 16th-dynasty King Seneb Kay near the southern city of Sohag. The team determined his name by deciphering hieroglyphics on the tomb’s walls.
During the second intermediate period of ancient Egyptian history, the country was divided among several rulers.
Head of Antiquities Ali al-Asfar says the discovery will shed light on a complex period of ancient history.
“This adds to our pharaonic history, and sheds light on an era about which we knew very little previously,” he says.
Copyright 2014 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
AP-WF-01-15-14 1834GMT
ADDITIONAL IMAGE OF NOTE
The pyramids of Giza. Image by Ricardo Liberato, courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.
