MEXICO CITY (AP).- Mexican authorities have found two 18th century paintings stolen from a church two years ago. The National Anthropology Institute says the paintings — “The Adoration of the Three Kings” and “The Birth of the Virgin” — were found in an art gallery in Tlaquepaque, a town near the city of Guadalajara. They were on sale for $35,000. The paintings were stolen on Sept. 5, 2008, from the Santa Matilde church in Pachuca, the capital of central Hidalgo state. Authorities decline to provide details on the investigation that led to the art gallery. The institute said Friday it determined the recovered paintings were authentic because they had signs of deterioration that matched photos taken of the artworks in the church.
Acclaimed Choreographer Lonnie J. Hightower III Performs at the Phillips Collection
WASHINGTON, DC.- Nationally recognized choreographer Lonnie J. Hightower III, 1999 YoungArts winner in dance and Presidential Scholar in the Arts, presents O’Keeffe and the Line of Dance on March 4 at The Phillips Collection. This dance interpretation of Georgia O’Keeffe’s radical abstract paintings launches the partnership between The Phillips Collection and YoungArts, the core program of the National Foundation for Advancement in the Arts. Hightower choreographed O’Keeffe and the Line of Dance in response to the Phillips’s current exhibition Georgia O’Keeffe: Abstraction. He was inspired by the dynamic relationship between Georgia O’Keeffe and Alfred Stieglitz and its effect on O’Keeffe’s art. Hightower has invited Amanda Kay Vercamen, the 2010 YoungArts winner in dance to perform with him. The dancers will be accompanied by the acapella vocals of Ashlee “Luna
Circular Base Found Corresponds to Ehecatl-Quetzalcoatl Temple Location
MEXICO CITY.- Rests of a circular-based temple that according to the reconstructive map of Mexica ceremonial center in Tenochtitlan, could be the most important dedicated to Ehecatl-Quetzalcoatl, were discovered by National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) specialists in a plot located at the back of Metropolitan Cathedral. “Due to its location and nearness to Templo Mayor, it coincides with the representation made by archaeologist and architect Ignacio Marquina in 1960. “Relevance of the finding consists in confirmation by archaeological information of historical data regarding the sacred precinct of Mexico –Tenochtitlan, which occupied nearly 500 square meters”, mentioned Raul Barrera Rodriguez, in charge of the INAH Program of Urban Archaeology (PAU). The discovery took place in the plot located at 16 of Guatemala Street, in Mexico City Historical Center, after 2 months of archaeological work.
Campaign to Save the Staffordshire Hoard has Reached 1 Million
LONDON.- As the end of February fast approaches, the fundraising total for the Staffordshire Hoard campaign has reached £1million. So far, the total raised towards saving the most valuable treasure found on British soil is £1,080,000. Of this, almost £500,000 comes from members of the public. The Art Fund is spearheading the campaign to save the Staffordshire Hoard for the West Midlands . The charity is delighted to have reached this landmark figure, just seven weeks into the campaign, which began on 13 January. The Art Fund’s Director Stephen Deuchar commented: “This is really excellent news, furthering our conviction that if the campaign continues to gather steam, we still can make the £3.3million by 17 April. However, there is much work to be done and we need as many public donations as possible – so if you’ve been inspired by the Hoard but haven’t yet donated, now is the time.”
Photographers Explore Notions of Sovereignty and the Native Likeness
SANTA FE, NM.- Native people have often been incorrectly portrayed or entirely misrepresented by non-Natives throughout the ages. In The Sovereign Image, a new exhibit at the Museum of Contemporary Native Arts’ Lloyd Kiva New Gallery and Museum Store, contemporary Native photographers will push the Native likeness forward, articulating the future of Native people using the power of their own image.. The exhibit opens February 27 and will remain on display until April 11, 2010. The Museum Store is located at 108 Cathedral Place, in downtown Santa Fe, NM. All work will be available for purchase and all sales benefit the artists and the museum. At press time, participating artists include a mix of Institute of American Indian Arts’ students and alumni and both emerging and well-established artists: Rory Erler Wakemup (Anishinaabe), Shan Goshorn (Eastern Band Cherokee), Dorothy Grandbois (Chippewa), John Hagen (Aleut),
Phillips de Pury Announces the Sale of Mrs. Harry N. Abrams’ Estate
NEW YORK, NY.- Nina Abrams died a few days short of her 98th birthday in February 2008, at her Putnam Valley, New York, home. She was married to Harry N. Abrams for 46 years. Harry, the art book publisher who started Harry N. Abrams, Inc. in 1949, was the first in the United States to specialize in the creation and distribution of art books. Harry died in 1979 at which time Nina began to sell or gift the major pieces to institutions such as The Metropolitan Museum of Art and The Art Institute of Chicago. She donated the proceeds to many causes including: The Natural Resources Defense Council, Southern Poverty Law Center, Population Connection, Channel Thirteen, Long Island University, Rhode Island School of Design, the World Land Trust and the Hudson Highlands Land Trust. Not surprisingly she left the bulk of her own estate, including the proceeds of this sale, to these and other charities. Nina retained works with which she and her husband had felt the strongest emotional ties.
Prism Presents “Araki: A Perspective”, an Exhibition of Work by Nobuyoshi Araki
WEST HOLLYWOOD, CA.- PRISM, LA’s exciting new addition to the art landscape, is pleased to present it’s sophomore show, “Araki: A Perspective,” a collection of works by world renowned Japanese photographer, Nobuyoshi Araki. The exhibition will feature approximately 70 works by Araki, whose thought provoking photography has garnered international acclaim and stirred up controversy around the globe. Guests are invited to PRISM for a private preview of “Araki: A Perspective” on March 6th at 6:00PM. Nobuyoshi Araki’s works will be on display from March 6th – May 9th. Nobuyoshi Araki is Japan’s most notable & controversial photographer. Based primarily in Tokyo, Araki documents what he sees in the streets, exploring the various themes that exist in the city. With over 450 photography books to his name, Araki has explored a wide variety of topics, most notably the love of his wife, Yoko
Georgia Museum of Art Publishes Important Source on Early Italian Paintings
ATHENS, GA.- The Georgia Museum of Art announces the publication of the “Corpus of Early Italian Paintings in North American Public Collections: The South.” Conceived as a massive project that would catalogue and illustrate every Italian painting on panel and canvas dating between 1250 and 1500 in public collections across North America, the “Corpus” in its first part focuses on public collections in the American South. The author, Perri Lee Roberts of Miami University, discusses more than 400 paintings, each one represented by a high-quality reproduction. Three volumes make up this publication, which covers early Italian paintings in public collections located in Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and Puerto Rico. In addition to a collection of 12 paintings in the Georgia Museum of Art, other collections included belong to
Columbus Museum Announces Latest Additions to Its Collection
COLUMBUS, GA.- The Columbus Museum announced the latest additions to its permanent collection with the following recent art and history acquisitions. In November, members of the Collections Committee traveled to New York to meet with art dealers and view potential acquisitions for the collection. After reviewing a list of possible works at their meeting in December, a number of works were sent down for the committee’s examination in January. As a result, the committee chose to acquire several pieces by important American artists, including William Sidney Mount, Joseph Stella, and Jack Levine. Genre-painter William Sidney Mount was one of the most important American artists of the 19th century. His everyday subject matter and meticulously realistic style was popular with the American public during the era of Jacksonian democracy. This beautiful sketch of a little girl playing in the grass was painted in 1864. It
The Glasgow School of Art’s Digital Design Studio to Boost Access to Virtual Heritage
GLASGOW.- The Glasgow School of Art‘s Digital Design Studio (DDS) has won a grant of £139,531 from the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) for new research to improve access to, and knowledge of, the UK’s virtual heritage. The purpose of the project is to improve interpretation of a detailed, photorealistic 3D model of the famous 1938 British Empire Exhibition held in Glasgow, which the DDS created as part of a previous AHRC project. Aiming to provide an extensible toolkit for researchers to use with other 3D datasets, the project will improve interpretation of the Exhibition by linking, in a meaningful way, the related cultural artefacts on which the 3D model was based with the modelled data itself. The 1938 British Empire Exhibition was a stunning display of architectural achievement and a reflection of the life and culture of Glasgow, the UK and the Commonwealth. It incorporated over 100 innovative buildings, inclu