Archive for the ‘antiquities’ Category

A trip to Jerusalem is not complete without a visit to the Israel Museum, the largest cultural institution in the State of Israel.  The museum was founded in 1965 and houses over 500,000 biblical and Holy Land archeological objects, including the Dead Sea Scrolls and a fascinating Second Temple Era model of Jerusalem. The most […]


Frescoes 101

28Aug09

by Emily Waldorf In light of the fascinating current Pompeii exhibition at LACMA, Pompeii and the Roman Villa, I thought it would be interesting to delve into frescoes.  Many people know what frescoes look like but few know how they are made. There is a common misconception that frescoes are made with oil-based paint when […]


Pritzker Prize Goes to Swiss Peter Zumthor (NY Times) Young Artists, Caught in the Act (NY Times) Pulling Masterpieces from the Ruins (WSJ) Versailles Fashion is Feted in Lavish Show of Court Costumes (Bloomberg) Gallery Director Pleads Guilty to Falsifying Records (Bloomberg) Downturn Hits Art Investment Funds (The Art Newspaper) South African Market Continues to […]


Previously published on Decorati.com By Emily Waldorf Did you know that Jeff Koons, John Currin, and Damien Hirst all collect Old Masters? In a follow up to my post, “The Recession’s Silver Lining: Art Quality & Value Improve,” I wanted to pinpoint where exactly quality and value are to be found in an uncertain market. […]


The YSL sale with totals of $484, 426, 456, is now the greatest single-owner auction in history and second only in all-time high grossing sales to Christie’s multi-owner Impressionist and Modern Art sale in New York in November 2006, which had totals of $491,472,000. Auction records were set, thousands of visitors crowded the Grand Palais […]


One of the largest single-owner sales of all time is hitting the auction block on February 23, 24, & 25 at the Grand Palais in Paris.  The Collection Yves Saint Laurent et Pierre Bergé is being offered by Christie’s in association with Pierre Bergé Associés (PBA) with a pre-sale estimate of $280-560 million.  The collection was amassed […]


By Emily Waldorf In an effort to transform Qatar into an official global arts destination, the I.M. Pei designed Museum of Islamic Art recently unveiled itself. The building is an imposing, fortress-like geometric shape, with a refreshing simplicity and sense of purpose that is rarely seen in the glitzy cities of Dubai and Abu Dhabi. […]


By Celine Mactaggart Mumbai  (locals still say Bombay) Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Museum While most of the museums in India’s major cities have troubling infrastructure, this one stands apart. Also known as the Prince of Wales Museum, it was commissioned in 1909 to commemorate the future king’s visit. Most of the collection was gifted by the […]


By Emily Waldorf Jori Finkel wrote a fascinating article in The New York Times on the American artist, Jim Dine’s, current installation at the Getty Villa: Jim Dine: Poet Singing (The Flowering Sheets).  She explains that although we may know Dine as a famous painter, sculptor, and printmaker, one of his lesser known passions is […]


The Art Newspaper reported that one third of the Coptic sculpture collection at the Brooklyn Museum is comprised of modern reproductions of late Egyptian sculpture. An upcoming exhibition in February 2009, “Coptic Sculpture at the Brooklyn Museum,” will shed light on the forgeries. The fakes were acquired by the museum in the 1960’s and 1970’s […]