“Sales at Sotheby’s, Christie’s International and Phillips de Pury of ‘Part I’ works during the week of the Frieze Art Fair are estimated to fetch at least 20.8 million pounds ($33.1 million),” down 81 percent from last year.
Tag: 09.28.09
SFMOMA’s Deal With Fishers Rescues A Legacy
Without Friday’s agreement between the museum and collectors Doris and Donald Fisher, “the shock of Mr. Fisher’s death on Sunday would have been far more traumatic. One [of] his most ardent wishes concerning his public legacy – the prominent, and local, display of his artwork – will be fulfilled.”
Donald Fisher, Gap Founder And Art Collector, Dies At 81
“Along with his wife and business partner, Doris Fisher, he became a philanthropist and a major political donor, helped keep the Giants in San Francisco and amassed one of the world’s great collections of modern art.”
The Man Who’s Revolutionizing How To Play The Organ
“He takes virtuosic playing of the organ to a new level and the music industry has taken notice. Telarc released his debut album, also called “Revolutionary,” last year.”
Next Up – Your Non-Profit News
“It’s hard to imagine that at current scale the nonprofit upstarts will completely patch over all the news holes that have been left behind by traditional news operations that have hemorrhaged advertising dollars and top-flight reporters. But readers can expect to see more stories from the philanthropic news teams picked up by for-profit media outlets.”
Vietnam’s Once-Prosperous Craft Villages Teeter On The Brink
As the Communist nation rejoined the world economy during the 1990s, “hundreds, and then thousands, of farming villages began organizing themselves to sell their traditional crafts,” bringing in up to $1 billion last year. But the global recession has hit them hard: “if nothing changes by the end of the year, half of them will have collapsed entirely, with a loss of some five million jobs.”
Why We Read Dan Brown
“Books are not so widely read without a reason. Surely future historians will look to Brown as an index of What We Were Really Thinking, and, turning the dense and loaded pages of his books, they may well ask, This they read for fun?”
Ralph Nader Turns Novelist (With Real-Life Characters)
“A few weeks ago, Nader was working the phones in Washington, trying to reach the people he had fictionalized. … Phil Donahue, a lifelong admirer, was flattered.” Ditto Yoko Ono. “Warren Beatty, whom Nader envisions running for governor against Arnold Schwarzenegger, and winning, with sixty-three per cent of the vote, blurbed the book.”
Renzo Piano Wins €134,000 Prize
The 71-year-old architect of the new California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco has been awarded the 2008 Sonningprisen, Denmark’s top arts honor, “in recognition of exceptional work that showcases European culture.”