Recently, as I was examining a collection of framed artwork for a quick verbal appraisal, I was reminded of an important but often overlooked piece of valuable information: a gallery label on the verso or backside. Read More +
In Russia, modernism at the end of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th century often meant an embrace of all things ancient. In music, Igor Stravinsky shocked Western audiences with the violent rhythms of “The Rite of Spring” (1913), which derived from Russian folk music. Read More +
The famous Armory Show of 1913 exposed American tastemakers to the latest developments in European modernism through exhibiting paintings by Picasso, Braque, Matisse, Kandinsky, Duchamp and others. Read More +
If you come across a signed work by one of the 20th century’s best known and most influential artists, with a price tag of under $500, you would normally have every reason to suspect a forgery. But if the print bears the signature of Salvador Dali, you might just have a genuine article. Read More +
Botero is probably the first answer most critics, collectors or curators will give when asked to name a contemporary Latin American artist. Read More +
Britain’s long reigning and beloved Queen Victoria had barely been laid to rest before the backlash began. With her randy son Edward VII on the throne and setting an example on both sides of the Atlantic, mores began to loosen, and by the end of World War I the Western world was in full revolt against the Victorian Age. Read More +
When freelance photographer Mannie Garcia photographed Barack Obama at the National Press Club in April 2006, he couldn’t have guessed that Obama would be elected president two and a half years later. Read More +
In the Middle Ages when publishing was literally in the hands of the church, the monks who copied the texts of books also took time to adorn their pages with beautifully illuminated illustrations. Read More +
The art world is hurting as the New Year begins. December’s five-day auction at Christie’s Hong Kong resulted in sales of $146 million, 35 percent less than projected. Read More +
Walk down the aisles at any multiplex cinema and the conclusion is inescapable: movie posters are nothing special nowadays. Read More +