Provenance research can be like looking for a needle in a haystack, where sometimes what you find is a strong thread. Such was the case with a Picasso drawing that will be sold on May 16, 2014 in the American & European Works of Art auction at Skinner in Boston.
George Leslie Stout, the Fogg Art Museum’s first conservation department head, articulated the best practices for art authentication as a “three-legged stool,” and his model is still generally accepted today.… Read More
One of the distinct joys of being a fine art appraiser and cataloguer is getting to physically handle a work and bring its forgotten history to light. When we are lucky, the owner provides documentation for provenance or context. More often than not, what we work with are anecdotes that we must verify or rule out independently. At the heart of cataloguing is looking at a work objectively and asking the fundamental question “What does that mean?” of any inscriptions or marks.
Winter has arrived in New England, and I’m dreaming of the warm, turquoise waters of the Spanish Costa Brava. I completely fell in love with Barcelona this summer, for its blending of art and architecture as well as high and low culture. Antoni Gaudi left his visionary mark on the city in the late 19th century, and Barcelona has continued to think big with its monumental sculpture, murals, and street art.
As much as I would love to re-explore Barcelona, I dream of exploring other parts of the country. If I could go anywhere in Spain right now, these would be my top five art destinations.
Next time you come across an empty cardboard box, take a close look at it before you find a trash can– or better yet, a recycling bin. Does the box look like art?
It very well could be considered fine art, especially by someone like artist Robert Rauschenberg.
“Tampa Clay Piece” (1972) isn’t actually made out of cardboard. This work is a fired and silkscreened ceramic, but it derives from Robert Rauschenberg’s long-standing practice of creative reuse.… Read More