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    Art

    The Indpendent Arts page

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    Hildebrand Gurlitt, Notorious Nazi Art Thief, Surfaces in Art Probe

    Keith Girard
    Hildebrand Gurlitt hailed from a family that was well known in artistic circles in pre-World War II Germany. His father was an architect and art historian, one brother was a musicologist and a nephew was an art dealer. But a deep, dark secret set him apart. During World War II, Gurlitt, a specialist in modern art, was hired by Joseph Goebbels, the feared Nazi propaganda minister, to loot priceless artworks from homes and museums across Nazi-occupied Europe....
    ArtCRIME
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    Riley Keough, Michelle Williams Light Up Whitney Gala (photos!)

    Keith Girard
    Riley Keough, granddaughter of the late King of Rock Elvis Presley, and actress Michelle Williams were among celebrities who polished their artsy cred at the Whitney Museum of American Art Gala & Studio Party in New York City last night (Oct. 23). Riley, who had a rough go in the tabloids recently, was the picture of hipster chic in her Louis Vuitton black mini-dress, with a white jacket from the designer’s spring 2013 collection....
    ArtCalendarMUSEUMS
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    Wallace Hartley’s Titanic Violin Fetches $1.5M at London Auction

    Keith Girard
    Wallace Hartley, a second-class passenger on the Titanic, went down with the ship, but the violin he was playing on the night the liner stuck an iceberg survived and was sold at auction over the weekend for a surprisingly titanic sum, $1.5 million. The instrument was recovered in 2006 along with Hartley’s travel bag, which also was auctioned by Henry Aldridge & Son in London. The bag contained the violin and sheet music....
    ArtAUCTIONS
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    James J. Kaufman Novels Explore Themes of Honesty, Integrity

    Keith Girard
    In his follow-up novel to “The Collectibles,” James J. Kaufman has delved even deeper into the meaning of life, the importance of honesty, the nature of love and the power of relationships. The 74-year-old former attorney, judge and, chief executive of the charitable “Imaging The World” foundation has called book two of his trilogy, “The Concealers.”...
    ArtBOOKS

    Artist Revealed Behind Masterfully Faked Pollocks, Koonings, Rothkos

    Keith Girard
    Pei-Shen Qian, described as a struggling Chinese artist, is the master forger behind one of the biggest scams to sweep the New York City art scene in years, involving more than 80 bogus paintings by modern masters. Alleged works by Jackson Pollock, Willem de Kooning, Mark Rothko and Robert Motherwell, were actually painted by the 73-year-old immigrant artist in the garage of his Queens home. Few details about the investigation are known. What is known is mostly contained in a new grand jury indictment of alleged scam mastermind Glafira Rosales, 57. She was arraigned today (Aug 19) in federal court in Manhattan....
    ArtCRIME
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    Mendelssohon Heirs Sue Over Picasso Sold Under Nazi Duress

    Keith Girard
    Paul von Mendelssohn-Bartholdy’s extensive art collection, looted by the Nazis during their reign of terror in Europe, is the subject of another lawsuit, filed by his heirs. At issue is an iconic Picasso painting known as “Madame Soler.” The Mendelssohn dynasty included famed composer Felix Mendelssohn and Enlightenment philosopher Moses Mendelssohn....
    ArtMUSEUMS
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    Eugene Delacroix Defaced Liberty Raises Security Issues Anew

    Keith Girard
    Eugene Delacroix’s homage to the French Revolution, entitled “Liberty Leading the People” has been defaced by a “9/11 truther,” raising questions once again about museum security and public access to priceless works of art. The 29-year-old woman used an indelible maker to write “AE911″ on the 1830 painting, one of the best known symbols of the 18th century Gallic upheaval....
    ArtMUSEUMS
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    Met Museum Hosts First Ever Exhibition of Music Masterpieces

    Keith Girard
    Sau-Wing Lam’s collection of rare Italian string instruments will go on display for the first time in the United States at the Metropolitan Museum of Art later this month. The collection includes rare violins by Antonio Stradivari. Sau-Wing worked as president of the Dah Chong Hong Trading Corp., Inc. in New York City, an import-export business. An amateur violinist and violist, Lam bought his first important violin in the 1960s and over the 25 years assembled his impressive collection of stringed instruments and bows....
    ArtMUSEUMS