British Museum Expansion

The Camden Council voted to allow the British Museum to expand, after vetoing an earlier bid.  The new design puts more than a fifth of the expansion underground, keeping street level less crowded.  The extension will be used for conservation and research as well as display and is to be called the World Conservation and Exhibitions Centre.  It also will be built to be energy efficient.

It’s a big week for museum expansions!

Read more at The London Evening Standard.

Japanese Art at Met

Kano Sansetsu (Japanese, 1589-1651). Detail from The Old Plum, ca. 1645. Japan, Edo period (1615-1868), The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York

The Metropolitan Museum is celebrating the 35th anniversary of acquiring the Packard Collection of Japanese art with a special exhibition that opens today and runs thro  Five Thousand Years of Japanese Art: Treasures from the Packard Collection showcases the masterpieces of the Packard Collection, many of which have never been seen before or are rarely on display because of conservation issues.  You can read more about the collection and exhibition on the Met’s website here.

SLAM Continues with Expansion

Yesterday, the St. Louis Art Museum announced it is proceeding with its planned expansion after a one-year delay.  As a St. Louis native, this makes me very happy to hear.  I’m so impatient for the construction to be done so I can visit and see the new space!  Also, the parking garage will be lovely!  No more driving in circles around the park for hours trying to find a spot.  Not to mention, you know, a whole lot more of the art will be on display.

Designed by London-based architect David Chipperfield, the more than 200,000-square-foot expansion will provide new galleries, public space and a 300-space below-grade parking garage, as well as a new, fully accessible entrance on Fine Arts Drive. The expansion represents a 30 percent increase in the Museum's gallery and public space, and will more than double its current parking capacity. Tarlton/Pepper/KAI, through a joint venture, is the general contractor.

Full press release about the expansion after the jump:

Bubbly delight for Hirshhorn

I love the art at the Hirshhorn.  But I have to admit, as an undergrad in DC I often stayed clear of the museum because its architecture was just too depressing some days.  I had a horribly depressing 1970s library on my campus that I was forced to go into, I didn’t need to fill my off days with the same thing.

But now that might all change, according to Nicolai Ouroussoff in the NYTimes.  Apparently Richard Koshalek, director of the Hirshhorn, has been working with New York architects Diller Scofidio & Renfro to add an inflatable addition to the museum – which is a brilliant idea because it’s not permanent and therefore does not need the approval of the overarching Smithsonian, just the Board of the Hirshhorn.

I think it would be a fantastic addition to the museum and really bring in the tourists as well as the conventions.  What say you?

Whitney Biennial Shrinks

Whitney released the list of artists for its 2010 Biennial last week.  The number of artists has shrunk from 81 in 2008 to 55, with each artist only getting to show one work.  Just another sign of the times in the art world.  I don’t necessarily think it’s a bad thing to have a scaled-down biennial.  For one thing, it really gives the artists a chance to shine and makes it a lot less daunting for visitors.

See the list at the Whitney’s website.

Read more at ArtInfo.com.

Corniest headline ever?

Probably not, but still pretty bad.  “Elton John Comes Out of the Closet with Sale of Flamboyant Clothing Collection“. Oh, artdaily!

Not art market news per se, but it’s amusing and for a good cause.

Out the Closet 2009 will be the fifth pop up shop that the Elton John AIDS Foundation has held. The last Out The Closet, in 2002 on Regents Street, sold approximately 15,000 items and raised £400,000 for the Elton John AIDS Foundation. Elton commented, “Out of The Closet has become an amazing fundraising opportunity for the Elton John AIDS Foundation. We always get a fantastic response from the public – I think the idea that the items we all buy and enjoy can help someone in dire need, particularly at this time of year, really strikes a chord. I’m so grateful for everyone’s support in making this happen.”

Van Dyck Portrait Sets Record

Anthony van Dyck’s self-portrait doubled its estimate at a Sotheby’s sale in London yesterday to achieve £8.3m.

According to Scott Reyburn at Bloomberg:

“It’s a beautiful painting,” the Van Dyck’s joint buyer Alfred Bader said in an interview after paying 8.3 million pounds. “And it’s for sale.” Bader, a veteran Milwaukee-based art investor, was buying in partnership with the London-based dealer Philip Mould. They beat eight other bidders, said Sotheby’s.

The auction brought in £15.1m ($24.6m) overall, with 42% of the 50 lots failing to sell.  More on the sale and the van Dyck in Scott’s piece here.

Thomas Hoving, 1931-2009

Thomas Hoving, longtime director of the Metropolitan Museum, passed away today.

Read more on this legend in the art world here and here.

Just a moment to explain

I know my posting has been lacking as of the last, oh, 2 months.  I apologize for that and hope to make up for it.  At the moment, though, I often find myself walking a fine line called “conflict of interest”.  I’m working for an art publication at the moment and am often unsure of what I should write about on the blog and whether or not writing about it steps on my duty to the publication.  I’ve been giving this a lot of thought over the past two months and therefore decided not to post during that time.

What I’ve decided to do is go back to the model of linking to articles and sites around the web.  I might talk about a sale or two and some fairs and shows, but I can’t promise anything.  Hopefully I can figure out just how to do this tightrope act.  Hope you’re still with me for this part of the journey!

Art Theft Extravaganza

There have been a string of art thefts lately.  A Picasso sketchbook, a Magritte, eleven Warhols, and (allegedly) $80m worth of art.  Is this a sign of the recession?  Or just crafty thieves taking advantage of unprotected art?  Luckily, Interpol has launched a new online database of stolen works of art.  Hopefully the new free database will make it harder for thieves to shift stolen pieces of art.