The controversy over the authenticity of a painting attributed to Van Gogh in Australia’s National Gallery of Victoria hasn’t swayed the confidence of the gallery’s director. “The portrait, estimated to be worth $20 million, is included in all catalogues listing the artist’s works, and was part of a US exhibition in 2000 that was seen by more than 1 million people without complaint. But its authenticity was questioned by some British critics when it went on show in August at Scotland’s Dean Gallery as part of the Edinburgh Festival.” The painting is now being carefully scrutinized by experts to determine the truth.
Tag: 10.12.06
Preparing For The Post-Booker Deluge
The first days after winning the Man Booker Prize are a whirlwind of media engagements and adjusting to newfound celebrity. For this year’s winner, Kiran Desai, who wasn’t even on the radar screen of the oddsmakers that handicap the Booker, “the impact of the win and attendant publicity is likely to be colossal.”
The Artist’s Fingerprint
A new piece of software developed by researchers at the University of Maastricht may be able to significantly cut the time it takes for art experts to authenticate a painting or spot a forgery. “Using high-resolution scans of paintings, the Authentic software builds up a library of characteristics, such as brushstrokes, colours and type of canvas used, that form a ‘fingerprint’ for a particular artist. A painting can then be compared against this fingerprint to help experts decide whether it is a fake.”
The Frieze Descends On London
“If Tate Modern, with its new Carsten Höller helter-skelters, has been accused of resembling an old-fashioned fairground, it has nothing on Frieze art fair. In the vast, chaotic encampment that has suddenly sprung up in Regent’s Park you wouldn’t be too surprised to encounter a coconut shy and a bearded lady… Frieze represents the moment in London’s calendar when commerce and art become most nakedly and shamelessly entwined. Four hundred and seventy galleries from Europe, the US, Russia, Japan, Lebanon and Eygpt have competed for the chance to have a pitch at this, the fourth Frieze art fair. Only 152 have been accepted.”
London’s Golden Age of Art
The Frieze Art Fair may be the best encapsulation available of the artistic explosion London has undergone over the past few decades. “People complain of party fatigue and all the work blurring into each other but there has never been a better time to be involved in art in London.”
What’s The Opposite Of Sour Grapes?
The two Australian women shortlisted for this year’s Booker Prize not only aren’t upset that they didn’t win, they’re professing relief. Kate Grenville and MJ Hyland were the first Australian women ever to make the shortlist, and they say that the whole experience was overwhelming. “In sales terms, the shortlist is certainly enough, with Grenville saying sales of her novel have increased tenfold since it was nominated for the last six.”
SF Opera To Offer Discount Tickets
San Francisco Opera is slashing some ticket prices in an effort to grow its audience. Under the plan, members of the $60-per-year Bravo Club will be able to purchase tickets for $50 that normally sell for between $87 and $155. The company’s announcement comes on the heels of the Metropolitan Opera’s decision to make $20 seats available for most weekday performances.
You’ve Got The Hall – Now Show Us The Music
Now that Orange County, California has its beautiful and acoustically impressive new concert hall, it’s time to start asking whether the principal tenant lives up to its new digs. “The Segerstrom, with 2,000 seats, is a place a lot of major orchestras in big American cities would kill for. The Pacific Symphony, on the other hand, is more than a pickup orchestra but also less than a year-round, full-contract ensemble… The citizens of Orange County have dropped a splendid gift on this young, perhaps embryonic orchestra and will now wait to see what they get in return.”