A masterpiece by Wassily Kandinsky (1866-1944) that was recently restituted to the heirs of a Jewish collecting couple could fetch up to $45 million (£37.4 million) at Sotheby’s. It is one of the most important works by the artist ever to appear at auction as a rare example of his early style.
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Banksy’s striking Valentine’s Day artwork has been dismantled for a second time in just one week over safety and preservation concerns. Margate council first stepped in only a few hours after the elusive artist had unveiled “Valentine’s day mascara” on social media.
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According to Bloomberg, Bonhams itself could be offered for sale for $1 billion (£823 million) by its owners, the private equity group Epiris, who are reportedly seeking advice from JP Morgan Chase & Co.. The 230-year-old auction house is one of the world’s oldest and largest auctioneers of fine art and antiques.
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Last week, the much anticipated Rijksmuseum exhibition, Vermeer, opened to the public and is already receiving outstanding reviews. The popularity of the Dutch artist Johannes Vermeer (1632-1675) was confirmed when over 200,000 advance tickets for the exhibition were sold.
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The luxury goods conglomerate LVMH has given a Gustave Caillebotte (1848-1894) painting to the Musée d’Orsay in Paris worth a whopping €43 million (£38.3 million). According to experts, it was one of the last Impressionist masterpieces still in private hands before the donation.
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Global superstar Madonna is best known for being the “Queen of Pop”, but recently she’s been making headlines as the owner of a possible long-lost masterpiece. Experts believe the early 19th-century artwork that now hangs in Madonna’s home was once displayed in the Amiens museum in France, before it mysteriously disappeared during the first world war.
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A rare heart-shaped pendant linked to Henry VIII (1491-1547) and his first wife, Katherine of Aragón (1485-1536) was unveiled at the British Museum alongside thousands of treasures discovered by metal detectorists in 2021. Although the spectacular pendant is still to be valued, it has already been designated as an object of national importance.
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A repatriation ceremony held in Bethlehem last month marked the first time the US has repatriated an item to Palestinian authorities. The object in question was one of the 180 stolen artifacts uncovered in the collection of American billionaire Michael Steinhardt last year. Steinhardt has since received a lifetime ban from collecting antiquities.
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Egyptian archaeologists have discovered a perfectly preserved gold-covered mummy just outside of Cairo after a year of excavation. Untouched for 4,300 years, the opulent mummy is thought to be the oldest and most complete non-royal corpse ever found in Egypt.
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Next year, the British-Ghanaian filmmaker and artist John Akomfrah will fill the British pavilion at the 60th Venice Biennale (20 April-24 November 2024). “It is without doubt one of the most exciting opportunities that an artist can be presented with,” said Akomfrah after accepting the commission from the British Council.
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