Tag: Arts and Culture

PARIS (AP).- The Louvre Museum and the royal palace
at Versailles were closed Thursday because of a French museum workers’ strike
that appears to be gathering steam. Frustrated tourists gathered
outside the landmark pyramid in the courtyard of the Louvre, blocked off by
workers. They are protesting government plans not to replace half of retiring
public servants, which will affect the country’s national museums. The
strike began at the Pompidou Center for Modern Art last month and workers at
other national museums joined in Wednesday.

SAN DIEGO, CA.- The Museum of Contemporary Art San
Diego announced Qualcomm’s continued sponsorship of the 25 and under free
admission program for another two years. Thanks to this generous
support, all MCASD locations — downtown San Diego (Joan and Irwin Jacobs
Building and 1001 Kettner) and La Jolla — will continue this policy. Qualcomm
has been a major supporter of MCASD’s education programs for over 15 years and
the company’s generous support of the 25 and under free admission program is
helping to develop young arts enthusiasts.

DUSSELDORF, GERMANY.- Born in 1938, Per Kirkeby is the best known
Danish artist of his generation and one of the most important contemporary
European artists. After a degree in geology and several expeditions to
Greenland, Kirkeby turned his attention entirely to the world of art in the
mid-1960s and embarked upon a journey that involved researching the vast
diversity of painting options while also working as a sculptor, architect,
printer, illustrator, film maker and author. Retrospective on view from
26 September through 10 January, 2010.

NEW YORK, NY.- Christie’s Important American
Paintings, Drawings and Sculpture sale achieved a total of $32,358,750, with
works by Andrew Wyeth, Mary Cassatt, and Charles Prendergast commanding the
highest prices. Two new world auction records were set for American
artists Guy Pène Du Bois and John Joseph Boyle, and a second highest price was
achieved for a work by Andrew Wyeth. Eric Widing, Head of American Paintings at
Christie’s noted: “Our December 2 sale saw collectors returning to the saleroom
to bid with vigor and enthusiasm on many of our top lots. Our sale
results were by far the best we have seen in American Art for over a year. Good
paintings sold well, and great paintings touched the stratosphere.”

LONDON (REUTERS.- Auction houses are banking on a
recovery at next week’s series of big Russian art sales in London, at which they
expect to show that the market dominated by new money is through the worst of
the recession. With most at stake are Sotheby’s and Russian specialist
MacDougall’s, who together offer works worth between 27 and 39 million pounds
($45-64 million). Christie’s the world’s largest auction house, has pre-sale
estimates of 6.5-9.3 million pounds. The figures are sharply down on a
year ago, reflecting how financial turmoil and falling stock and property values
have hit super-wealthy collectors from Russia and elsewhere in the former Soviet
Union and deterred owners from selling their best pieces.