At a news conference held for the release of its annual report, Tate said it acquired 494 works, 320 of which were given or bequeathed by collectors and artists, making the year a record one for acquisitions. Tate now owns two more Francis Bacon pictures and a 1939 Stanley Spencer oil, “The Wool Shop,” as well as works by Lucian Freud and Balthus.
Tag: 09.03.08
Auction House Sues CNet Founder For Payment On Paintings
Sotheby’s, the world’s largest publicly traded auction house, sued Halsey Minor, founder of Cnet Networks Inc., for not paying $16.8 million for the purchase of works of art including Edward Hick’s “Peaceable Kingdom.”
As Rent Closes On Broadway, A Critic Wonders If It Wioll Stand The Test Of Time
“When it closes after 5,140 performances, it will be the seventh- longest-running show in Broadway history. It will have grossed more than $625 million here, on tour and in over 200 productions around the world.”
The Legend Of Thomas Beecham (The Real Story)
“A new biography of Beecham, the first to obtain partial access to the family papers, reveals that many of the best-known stories are myth, born of wishful thinking and faulty memories.”
Abu Dhabi To Get Into The Feature Film Business
“The government of Gulf Arab oil state Abu Dhabi will invest $1 billion in a media firm that will produce eight feature films a year in ventures with Hollywood, Bollywood and local producers.”
Prince On Broadway: What Happened To The Art?
Legendary Broadway producer Hal Prince isn’t the biggest fan of today’s Broadway. “Broadway should be a money-earning, artistic enterprise… There has been a lot of money around. But isn’t it time to put the ‘art’ back in?”
Trying To Plan Another Potter
“On Tuesday, the U.S. publisher of Harry Potter will premiere a highly ambitious series with a mystery ending for readers and a couple of puzzlers for the industry: How big is the market for a multimedia story – and can a phenomenon be conceived by a publisher rather than created by the public?”
Venice/Toronto Film Fests Shifting Roles
“The film fests in Venice, Italy and Toronto do more than just overlap. They make for the oddest of couples, rivals who act like best friends. For the longest time, Venice was the older brother, the stately fest that embraced tradition, and… Toronto (or TIFF as it’s usually called) was the eager younger sibling, billing itself as a people’s festival.” But are the roles reversing?
Telling The Civil War From The Confederate Side
“For Northerners, the history of the Civil War seems pretty much settled. [But] things are interpreted more ambiguously here in what once was the capital of the Confederate States of America… Institutions here — the Museum of the Confederacy and the American Civil War Center — argue that the war should be seen, at least in part, from the perspective of the losing side, and that such understanding need not be completely derailed by the moral outrage of slavery.”
Hollywood’s Voice-Over Legend Dies
“Don LaFontaine, who voiced more than 5,000 movie trailers, has died in Los Angeles aged 68… He was best known for his catchphrase used on several trailers that began with the words ‘In a world where…'”