The Mexican government has attempted to halt two auctions of Pre-Columbian artefacts in Paris. In a letter sent to the French Ministry, the Mexican Embassy expressed its “deep concern” about the legality of the sales.
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Tag: Art news
Maro Itoje scores a try at Sotheby’s with his guest curation of Contemporary African art
Professional rugby player Maro Itoje has ventured into the contemporary art auction world, with his guest curation of the upcoming ‘Contemporary Curated’ sale at Sotheby’s London. Itoje is one of English rugby’s biggest stars: he is blindside flanker for English Championship club Saracens and the England National team, and has won three European Rugby Champions Cups with his club, and three Six Nations titles with England, as well as being named European player of the year in 2016. However, Itoje is by no means only absorbed in the world of rugby. He has a keen interest in art, particularly contemporary Nigerian art, so his involvement in Sotheby’s upcoming contemporary auction seems the perfect fit.
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Cambridge University returns looted Benin Bronze cockerel
Jesus College in the University of Cambridge has returned a looted Benin bronze to Nigeria, becoming the first UK institution to do so. The unprecedented decision was announced in November 2019 after a student-led campaign initiated talks between the college and the Benin Dialogue Group.
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Walking for hope: a colossal puppet journeys to UK
Last week a giant puppet was welcomed to Folkestone by actor Jude Law for an international art project. ‘Little Amal’, which means hope in Arabic, represents a young refugee with big hopes as she embarks on an epic journey to find her mother.
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Eight works by Abstract Art Pioneer Hilma af Klint to be displayed in New York
A set of watercolours by the Swedish female artist, Hilma af Klint (1862-1944), whose paintings are considered to be the first Abstract works in Western art history, are going to be exhibited by David Zwirner next month.
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Christie’s to sell Van Gogh watercolour with an estimate of $20-30m under restitution settlement
Next month, Christie’s will sell a watercolour on paper landscape scene by Vincent Van Gogh with an estimate of $20-30 million. Christie’s played a pivotal role in facilitating the negotiations of this sale, which involves three different parties. Two are the descendants of Jewish collectors who previously owned the work during the Nazi era and sold the watercolour under duress, and the other is the heirs of the most recent owner, Texas businessman Edwin Cox (1921-2020).
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Lost Tiepolo drawing discovered in manor’s attic after 80 years
An eighteenth-century drawing by the Venetian master Giovanni Battista Tiepolo (1696-1770) is heading to auction after it was discovered in a loft.
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What a load of rubbish: Banksy’s shredded artwork sells for £16 million
An infamous Banksy artwork which shredded itself at a previous auction has sold for a whopping £16 million (£18.5 million including a buyer’s premium) at Sotheby’s in London. It sets a new auction record for the street artist, who rose to fame in the 1990’s through his satirical graffiti art.
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Miniature art with massive prices: a series of micro copies of famous paintings sells for a staggering £90,000
An engineer-turned-micro artist from Bournemouth has recently sold six miniature versions of famous paintings for a collective sum of £90,000. David A Lindon’s copies measure a miniscule 0.4 by 0.5mm, small enough to fit into the eye of a needle.
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New River Ness art installation opens after three years of delays
A controversial new public art installation has finally been unveiled at the River Ness in Inverness, Scotland. Proposed in 2018, the stone-built pier is part of Highland Council’s £758,350 River Connections Public Art Programme.
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