TOLEDO, Ohio (AP) – The Toledo Museum of Art is planning an exhibit to mark 200 years of Libbey Glass.
Museum to showcase 200 years of Libbey Glass production
Rago’s Remix Auction attests to allure of classic, modern designs
LAMBERTVILLE, N.J. – Rago Arts and Auction Center’s Remix Auction brought $1.27 million in sales on April 7. The auction of nearly 700 lots presented pieces of mid-century modern and 21st century design alongside period furnishings, heirloom silver, Asian and compelling art. Absentee and Internet live bidding was available through LiveAuctioneers.
Trove of author Ray Bradbury’s papers set for preservation
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) – Ray Bradbury won over generations of readers to science fiction with “Fahrenheit 451” and other works during a writing career that spanned much of the 20th century and produced a mountain of manuscripts, correspondence and memorabilia.
Wernher von Braun archive ready for takeoff at RR Auction, April 19
BOSTON – An amazing archive of signed drawings, diagrams, charts and letters by Dr. Wernher von Braun concerning his pioneering ‘Man Will Conquer Space Soon’ series will be auctioned RR Auction on Thursday, April 19. The fully illustrated catalog can be viewed on LiveAuctioneers.
Native American beadwork, birdstones soar at Cowan’s auction
CINCINNATI – The final opportunity to acquire a piece from one of the most revered prehistoric art collections in history and a truly remarkable assortment of beadwork drove a record number of bidders to Cowan’s April 6 American Indian and Western Art Auction. A capacity crowd in Cowan’s Cincinnati salesroom vied with nearly 500 bidders bidding over the phone and online for well over six hours on the way to a $1.4 million day. All told, the auction featured 689 bidders, a record for a Cowan’s American Indian & Western Art auction. Absentee and Internet live bidding is available through LiveAuctioneers.
Ahlers & Ogletree auction focuses on art, design April 22
ATLANTA – A large mixed media artwork by the African American master Wadsworth Jarrell, a cruciform staff inscribed and signed by Martin Luther King Jr., an important Italian Art Nouveau dining suite by Cutler & Girard dated 1901, and a slant-back chair and plant stand by Frank Lloyd Wright with provenance from Christie’s will all be part of Ahlers & Ogletree’s auction planned for Sunday, April 22. Absentee and Internet live bidding is available through LiveAuctioneers.
Renaissance masterpieces on view in New Orleans starting April 19
NEW ORLEANS – Beginning April 19, the New Orleans Museum of Art (NOMA) will present Veronese in Murano, a focused exhibition featuring two Renaissance masterpieces by the celebrated artist Paolo Veronese (1528–1588). NOMA is the second and final venue for the paintings, titled St. Jerome in the Wilderness and St. Agatha Visited in Prison by St. Peter, which will be on view through September 3, 2018.
The exhibition was organized by The Frick Collection in New York City in honor of the full restoration of the works by Venetian Heritage, and with the generous support of BVLGARI. Though known to scholars, the paintings’ remote location in a church in Murano, an island in the lagoon of Venice known today for its glassmaking studios and shops, made them difficult to access and study. Veronese in Murano marks the first time the restored masterworks have been exhibited outside Italy since their creation 450 years ago.
“The Veronese masterworks complement NOMA’s strength in Northern Italian art, particularly works from 16th, 17th and 18th century Venice,” said Susan Taylor, NOMA’s Montine McDaniel Freeman Director. “We are pleased to be able to present these magnificent paintings to the people of the city of New Orleans.”
In 1566, the Venetian priest Francesco degli Arbori commissioned St. Jerome in the Wilderness and St. Agatha Visited in Prison by St. Peter for a small chapel the priest had built just outside the church and convent of Santa Maria degli Angeli. St. Jerome in the Wilderness was placed over the main chapel altar, and facing it over the entry door was St. Agatha Visited by St. Peter in Prison. For his chapel, the priest chose Saint Jerome as a model because the saint had translated the Bible into Latin, and Saint Agatha for her exemplary piety as an early Christian martyr. The dynamic movement of the figures, bold modeling, and open and scintillating brushwork combined with high-keyed color create a dramatic effect, representing Veronese at the height of his abilities.
To protect the two canvases from the humidity of the chapel and from the risk of theft, the nuns of Santa Maria degli Angeli moved them inside the main church in 1667. By the early 19th century, the two paintings had been transported to another church in Murano, San Pietro Martire. St. Jerome in the Wilderness has been exhibited outside the church only once—in 1939— while St. Agatha Visited in Prison by St. Peter has not left the church since being installed in the early 19th century.
“Because these works had never left the small island of Murano until their recent renovation, there is certainly mystery surrounding them,” said Vanessa Schmid, NOMA’s Senior Research Curator for European Art. “We are delighted to have the opportunity to showcase Veronese’s vibrant style and theatricality.”
Visit the museum online at www.noma.org.
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Michigan organizers to unveil Titanic memorial in May
MARINE CITY, Mich. (AP) – Michigan organizers are set to unveil a Titanic memorial in May honoring the nearly 70 Michigan-bound passengers who died when the ship sank more than a century ago.