Madness at London's V&A

Peter Thomas -
L o n d o n ,   U K - 

Madness Collection. Image: V&A.

V&A goes ‘one step beyond’ celebrating 40 years of Madness with acquisition of the band’s instruments and costumes.

The V&A has acquired a selection of objects charting the 40-year history of the band Madness. This includes a newspaper print suit worn in the music video for the 1986 single ‘(Waiting for) The Ghost Train’ and on the cover for the band’s greatest hits album Utter Madness, as well as a saxophone played by Lee Thompson at the London Olympics closing ceremony in 2012.

A British band from humble beginnings in London’s Camden Town, the self-proclaimed ‘Nutty Boys’ have achieved global success with 15 top-ten singles, 12 studio albums, a film and a musical. The Guardian called them a ‘British pop institution’, Madness’s diverse influences include ska, two-tone, East-end Music Hall songs and variety shows, resulting in a unique look and sound that gave birth to era-defining hits like ‘Driving in My Car’ and ‘Our House’.

Newly acquired objects include Lee Thompson’s London Olympic Ceremony Union flag kilt costume, published sheet music including for hits including ‘Baggy Trousers’, the compete run of the Madness comic – Nutty Boys, a typescript for Our House – the Madness Musical and a collection of posters, badges and tour t-shirts. Highlights from the collection are now on display in the V&A’s Theatre and Performance galleries, celebrating 40 years of the band.

Singer Graham (Suggs) McPherson. Image: V&A.

Simon Sladen, Senior Curator of Modern and Contemporary Performance, said: “It’s wonderful to welcome the Nutty Boys to the Victoria and Albert Museum’s Theatre and Performance Collections. Madness’s influences are as varied as our collections themselves, from Music Hall to Variety, Ska to Two-Tone, with their impressive career encompassing not only a film and chart topping singles and albums, but also inspiring a stage musical. They play with and are a part of British iconography and continue to entertain us forty years after first getting together in Camden.”

The V&A is home to the UK’s national collection of theatre and performing arts related materials, from theatre and ballet to opera, musicals and rock and pop. Founded in the 1920s, the collection includes set models, designs, stage props, costumes, original posters, paintings and photographs, representing live performance in Britain over the last 350 years. The selection of Madness objects joins Theatre and Performance acquisitions including the Glastonbury Festival Archive, Pete Townshend’s guitar and costumes worn by Tina Turner.

Madness: Our House


Madness: Waiting for the Ghost Train

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Simon Armitage appointed new UK Poet Laureate

Peter Thomas -
L o n d o n ,   U K - 

Professor of Poetry at the University of Leeds,
Simon Armitage.

Her Majesty The Queen has been pleased to approve the appointment of Simon Armitage as the next Poet Laureate for a fixed-term of ten years. The acclaimed poet succeeds Dame Carol Ann Duffy, who served in the role between 2009 and 2019.

A Professor of Poetry at the University of Leeds, Simon has published 28 collections of poetry. His work has been studied by millions of children as part of the national curriculum and in 2010 he received a CBE for services to poetry. He now becomes the 21st UK Poet Laureate.

Simon was born in Marsden, West Yorkshire, in 1963 and worked as a Probation Officer in Greater Manchester until 1994 before focusing on poetry. He was elected to serve as Professor of Poetry at the University of Oxford from 2015 until 2019 and is also the Holmes Visiting Professor at Princeton University, New Jersey, United States of America.

In 2012, as part of the celebrations of the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, Simon conceived and curated the Poetry Parnassus, a gathering of world poets and poetry from every Olympic and Paralympic nation, which was the largest gathering of international poets in history. Simon also received The Queen’s Gold Medal for Poetry for the year 2018, awarded for excellence in poetry, on the basis of his body of work.

Prime Minister Theresa May said:

“I’m delighted Simon Armitage has been appointed the UK’s new Poet Laureate."

“As one of our most popular and respected poets, Simon brings a wealth of expertise and experience to this important role. He is well placed to attract even more people into the literary world, and further enhance our nation’s proud tradition of producing exceptional poetry."

“I would also like to thank Dame Carol Ann Duffy for her work over the last decade - championing literature, showcasing other poets’ contributions, and marking significant national moments through her outstanding poetry."

Poet Laureate Simon Armitage said:

“It’s a huge honour to be appointed Poet Laureate, one of the great high offices of literature. Over the past two decades the laureateship has become a working role, with previous laureates actively involved in the promotion of poetry and in numerous initiatives to identify and encourage talent, especially within education and among younger writers; I hope to build on the work of my predecessors with energy and enthusiasm."

“Since the laureateship was first conceived many hundreds of years ago Britain has changed enormously and the position of Poet Laureate has changed accordingly - I want to celebrate and speak on behalf of the variety of voices who contribute to the rich chorus of British poetry from a wide range of personal, literary and cultural experiences, and to help poetry explore its potential in a multi-faceted, multi-vocal and multi-media age."

“The poetry of these islands is one of our greatest achievements, and as well as being proud of its traditions I want poetry to feel confident and at home in the contemporary world and to demonstrate that in a hectic and sometimes frenetic age the combination of considered thought and crafted language is more relevant and vital than ever. I hope poets, readers and audiences will support me in my efforts."

Culture Secretary Jeremy Wright said:

“Simon Armitage is one of the UK’s foremost poets, whose witty and profound take on modern life is known and respected across the world. He has done so much to promote poetry, and I am sure he will use the Laureateship to continue this work."

“He is a very worthy successor to Dame Carol Ann Duffy, who championed the importance of poetry over the past 10 years and made the position relatable to people across the country. I congratulate Simon on his appointment to this historic role."

The honorary Royal title of Poet Laureate is awarded to a poet whose work is of national significance. The UK’s first Poet Laureate by Royal appointment was John Dryden who was given the title by King Charles II in 1668.

Previous Poet Laureates have included William Wordsworth, Alfred, Lord Tennyson, John Betjeman and Ted Hughes. UK Poet Laureates initially served until their death until the rules were changed in 1999 to give more poets the opportunity to hold the position.

The steering group, appointed by the Culture Secretary Jeremy Wright to select the new Poet Laureate praised Simon Armitage’s outstanding contribution to poetry over the course of his career.

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Van Gogh and His Sunflowers Summer Exhibition

Fez Escalante -
A m s t e r d a m ,   N e t h e r l a n d s - 

Credit: Vincent van Gogh, Sunflowers,
1889, Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam
(Vincent van Gogh Foundation).

Sunflowers, one of Vincent van Gogh’s best-known paintings, will be the centrepiece of the summer exhibition Van Gogh and the Sunflowers. The presentation will highlight the flower’s significance to the painter and what he hoped to achieve with his Sunflowers.

A great deal of study has been devoted to the masterpiece from the Van Gogh Museum’s collection in recent years. The exhibition will show what the latest technical research has contributed to our knowledge of Van Gogh’s working methods, the discolouration of certain pigments and the painting’s conservation history and current condition. The public will also have a first opportunity to see the back of the masterpiece, including the wooden strip that Van Gogh himself added to create more space for the sunflowers. Van Gogh and the Sunflowers will be open daily between 21 June and 1 September, from 9 am to 6 pm.

Van Gogh and the Sunflowers presents the fascinating genesis of the painting and the sunflower’s significance to Van Gogh. The flower still lifes he painted during his time in Paris reflected the French floral still life tradition. It was in that city that he first chose the sunflower as a subject, in both landscapes and still lifes. Having moved to the southern French town of Arles, he then painted his celebrated large vases with sunflowers, which came to be associated with his friendship with Paul Gauguin. The painting now in the Van Gogh Museum’s collection was originally intended for Gauguin, who lived with Van Gogh in the Yellow House in Arles for two months and made a portrait of him as a painter of sunflowers.

Van Gogh considered the Sunflowers paintings to be among his best works. He realized that he had achieved something extraordinary: ‘to be sufficiently heated up to melt those golds and those flower tones, not just anybody can do that, it takes an individual’s whole and entire energy and attention.’ It was not only Gauguin who was impressed by the works, Vincent’s brother Theo and other artists and critics also found the Sunflowers series magnificent. It did not take long after Van Gogh’s early death for them to assume the status of masterpieces.

Van Gogh and the Sunflowers will include twenty-three works, virtually all from the Van Gogh Museum’s own collection: in addition to Van Gogh’s Sunflowers, there are masterpieces like The Yellow House (1888) and Paul Gauguin’s Vincent van Gogh Painting Sunflowers (1888), as well as a number of drawings by Van Gogh that are rarely shown because of their fragility and sensitivity to light. Besides, there is a loan by Isaac Israëls on view, Woman in Profile before Van Gogh’s ‘Sunflowers’ (1916-1920) from Museum de Fundatie, Zwolle.

Van Gogh himself thought that this work was among the best things he had done.

Credits: Self-Portrait as a Painter
Vincent van Gogh Paris, 1888
Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam
(Vincent van Gogh Foundation).

Exceptionally, the back of the world-famous Sunflowers is being shown for the first time so that visitors can see the wooden strip with the original nails that Van Gogh himself added at the top of the canvas. He probably realized while painting that the uppermost sunflowers were too close to the edge of the picture plane, so he attached the narrow wooden strip at the top to give the bouquet more space.

Van Gogh and the Sunflowers presents for the first time the results of the extensive technical research performed on this masterpiece. An international team of specialists headed by former senior conservator Ella Hendriks examined Sunflowers using the latest scientific techniques, in order to gather as much information as possible about the canvas, the ground and paint layers and the previous restorations carried out on the work. The aim was to discover which materials Van Gogh used, what condition the painting is in, whether restoration was needed and possible and what can be done to preserve the work – 130 years after it was painted – as effectively as possible for the future.

One important conclusion is that the ground and paint layers are stable, but extremely sensitive to vibrations caused by movement and to changes in humidity and temperature. It is therefore important that the painting is moved about as little as possible and that it should hang in a stable climate. For this reason, the museum recently decided not to allow Sunflowers to travel in future.

The research also provided detailed knowledge of the colours and blends of colours that Van Gogh used and the natural ageing process of the paint. The original colour nuances have been partially lost due to the effects of discolouration. We now know that the changes in colour in Sunflowers have been caused by the fading of a particular type of red paint (geranium lake) and the darkening of a particular type of yellow paint (chrome yellow). We also know more about the various restorations carried out on the work, and the consequences of these restorations.

Credit: Vincent van Gogh, Sketches of vases with
sunflowers, in sketchbook from Paris and
Auvers-sur-Oise, 1890, Van Gogh Museum,
Amsterdam (Vincent van Gogh Foundation).
Photo: Erik and Petra Hesmerg.

Sunflowers underwent minor conservation treatment at the beginning of the year based on the findings of the research. The latter revealed that the painting has several layers of varnish, all of which were applied later and hence not by Van Gogh himself. They are dirty and yellowed but cannot be removed as the paint and varnish layers have merged in certain places. A layer of wax was later added on top of the varnish at some places to secure the paint and make the surface more matt. The wax, which was applied in the late 1990s and had taken on a matt, whitish effect over time, was removed during the recent conservation treatment. The retouches added during an earlier restoration were also examined. These could not be removed as they were located beneath the varnish layer and so new retouches were made on top of the old ones.

A symposium will be held at the Van Gogh Museum on Friday 21 June, at which members of the research team will present their most important findings. The event will also see the launch of Van Gogh’s Sunflowers Illuminated: Art Meets Science – a scholarly publication in which an international team of art historians, curators and conservation scientists will unveil the results of several years of research using the latest techniques into the sunflowers paintings in the Van Gogh Museum and the National Gallery in London. The book is published by Amsterdam University Press.

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Leonardo da Vinci Horse and Rider Historic Auction

Josh Gold -
N e w   Y o r k ,  U S A - 

Leonardo da Vinci's Horse and Rider.

Following a 1995 exhibit in Stockholm, Sweden, the media was ablaze with the announcement that a small, centuries-old beeswax figure of a man on horseback was authenticated by leading scholars as having been the work of none other than the great master, Leonardo da Vinci.

A single bronze figure was able to be meticulously cast from the ancient wax in 2012. Believed to be the model for what was to have been a monument honoring Leonardo’s patron Charles d’Amboise, the historic casting was titled simply Horse and Rider.

The beautiful 28 cm bronze, the only casting to emerge directly from Leonardo da Vinci’s c. 1510 beeswax figure, along with the original mold made from the wax figure, will be sold by Guernsey’s at auction on November 1, 2019. Location to be announced.

This year marks the 500th anniversary of Leonardo da Vinci’s death (May 2, 1519) with celebrations, events and exhibits around the world honoring the “Renaissance man’s” genius. It is so rare that a work by the Leonardo da Vinci becomes available that in 2017 a painting attributed to him fetched $450 million at auction, the highest amount ever paid for a single work of art.

Emerging from a Swiss vault in the 1980’s, the wax Horse and Rider became the object of intense study by Italy's Dr. Carlo Pedretti, then UCLA’s Armand Hammer Chair in Leonardo Studies. Widely acknowledged as one of the world’s leading Leonardo scholars and author of more than sixty volumes on da Vinci, Pedretti not only authenticated the sculpture but included it prominently in his three-volume master work of original Leonardo art in the British collection of Her Majesty the Queen. Prof. Ernesto Solari, a noted Leonardo da Vinci academic, thought so much of Horse and Rider that his 2016 book is entirely devoted to it.

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Australia's NGV in Melbourne: Liquid Light, 500 Years of Venetian Glass

Avi Cohen -
M e l b o u r n e ,   A u s t r a l i a - 

Venini & Co., Murano manufacturer Italy est. 1921
Fulvio Bianconi designer Italy 1915–96
Handkerchief (Fazzoletto) vase 1949

Venetian glass is famous throughout the world for its vibrant colour and crystalline clarity, elaborate design and unmatched craftsmanship, honed over hundreds of years by local artisans on the island of Murano in Venice, Italy.

Liquid Light: 500 Years of Venetian Glass draws upon the National Gallery of Victoria’s extensive holdings of Venetian glass, ranging in date from the sixteenth to the twentieth century, including the NGV’s especially rich material from the nineteenth-century revival period.

In displays exploiting the characteristic brilliance and vivid colour palette of Murano glass, the exhibition traverses five centuries of style – from Baroque to post-modernism – through a display of glassware, including elaborate champagne flutes and goblets, bowls and vases, tableware and decorative objects.

Highlights from the exhibition include an opulent Serpent-stem goblet from the early seventeenth century, replete with intertwining dragons that coil around its stem, and a bottle-shaped Patchwork vase by Fulvio Bianconi, c.1950, created by masterfully fusing blocks of coloured glass into a kaleidoscope of colour.

The exhibition will showcase the Venetians’ technical prowess through considered displays of the famous cristallo body, known for its transparent, watery fineness, as well as lattimo, a milky, white glass coveted for its resemblance to porcelain, and vetro a filigrana – glasses decorated with fine white threads twisted into elaborate patterns.

Though the secret formula for Venetian glass was heavily guarded on Murano, its qualities were emulated by major European glasshouses, particularly in the Netherlands. Through exquisite displays of ‘façon de Venise’ glass, the exhibition will celebrate the indelible impact and legacy of Venetian glass on glassblowing world-wide.

Venetian glass experienced a major revival in the nineteenth-century as Venice became part of the newly unified Kingdom of Italy. The unification sparked the restoration of traditional Italian industries, including the Muranese glass industry, which enjoyed a resurgence in connoisseurship and supremacy.

In 1871 a large collection of Venetian glass was acquired by the NGV directly from Venice by the proconsul to the Kingdom of Italy, and a further group of works was acquired in 1874, from the manufactory of Antonio Salviati, the father of the Venetian glass revival. Further important groups of nineteenth-century Venetian glass entered the Collection from the Italian displays at the 1880–81 Melbourne International Exhibition.

Tony Ellwood AM, Director, NGV said, “The first examples of Venetian glass entered the NGV Collection nearly 150 years ago. This exhibition will celebrate not only the breadth and beauty of the glassware in the NGV Collection, but also the rich legacy of the art form from the sixteenth century to today."

Liquid Light: 500 Years of Venetian Glass will be on display from 8 March 2019 – 13 April 2020 at NGV International, 180 St Kilda Road, Melbourne, Australia. Entry is FREE. Information is available from the NGV website: NGV.MELBOURNE

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Exhibition by Studio Swine Opens at A/D/O

Josh Gold -
N e w   Y o r k,  U S A - 

Azusa Murakami and Alexander Groves

Wave. Particle. Duplex. is an investigation of the invisible elements that shape our enviornment and how modern technology is used to give them physical form.

A/D/O, the creative space in Greenpoint, Brooklyn by MINI dedicated to exploring the future of design, is pleased to announce Wave. Particle. Duplex. a new immersive, site-specific exhibition of work by Studio Swine, opening to the public Thursday, January 17, 2019.

Helmed by Japanese architect Azusa Murakami and British artist Alexander Groves, Studio Swine is the third participant in A/D/O’s Designer in Residence program, which offers professional designers the tools and opportunity to expand the boundaries of their practice. For six months, Brooklyn became Studio Swine’s home, inspiring a wealth of research and creative exploration, culminating in a final exhibition created exclusively for A/D/O.

“In our earlier works, we were really interested in exploring the idea of locale and the sense of place we could create with certain objects or narratives. Recently, we’ve been focusing on works that are more experiential, with a specific focus on the relationship between nature and technology. During our residency at A/D/O, we decided to translate this idea to new works built with nature’s ephemeral materials,” says Studio Swine.

Image courtesy of A/D/O

Inspired by New York City’s shifting environmental elements, Studio Swine conceived two new bodies of work: Dawn Particles and Fog Paintings. Born from the the studio’s long-standing exploration and obsession with materiality, the work disseminates ideas explored in earlier projects such as New Spring and Infinity Blue – giving ephemeral entities, such as as light and time, physical homes. The installation itself is housed in a closed structure, generating a unique experience for visitors.

The debut of Wave. Particle. Duplex. celebrates the studio’s first foray with plasma – collaborating with local workshops and artisans on the production of their Dawn Particles series. Composed of a selection of Krypton lightworks, the compositions use magnetized plasma to capture bursts of light similar to those observed in the sun, stars, and comets. Hand blown glass is mounted onto panels and backed by a series of shifting currents that generate a bright, energetic wall of waves. The current’s light is blurred by the panel’s satin-sanded finish, creating a dramatic portrait of nature.

In the Fog Paintings, a micro-atmosphere of swirling fog is encapsulated in a series of backlit vitrines. These shifting fog patterns diffuse colored light, which in turn generates a sequence of transcendental silhouettes. The final works can be seen as an homage to the sublime – a contemporary vision of traditional landscape paintings, like that of the Hudson River School, which focus on the metaphysical capture of light and landscape.

Image courtesy of A/D/O

“A/D/O was built as a platform for creative ideation – it welcomes and nurtures artistic curiosity,” says Esther Bahne, Head of Brand Strategy and Innovation at MINI. “Our Designer-in-Residence Program further bolsters this model, encouraging creative partners like Studio Swine to develop concepts that might have been previously considered too daring.”

Visitors to Wave. Particle. Duplex. will encounter an artistic harnessing of nature uniquely crafted with modern technology. Together, the two bodies of work serve as the manifestation of Studio Swine’s larger investigation of the energy and invisible elements that shape our environment.

“We think of A/D/O as an incubator for design, a community that supports intellectual freedom and boundary-pushing collaboration.” continues Nate Pinsley, Managing Director of A/D/O. “With this, Studio Swine was given the opportunity to expand their practice, developing new techniques to further enhance their vision. Wave. Particle. Duplex. itself represents a new chapter for the studio – working with plasma for the first time to develop a portrait of a city that is equally soft and dramatic.”

On the occasion of Wave. Particle. Duplex. opening, Studio Swine will debut a documentary, produced in conjunction with A/D/O and MINI, that explores how both their residency and practice at large has informed the exhibition’s development.

Wave. Particle. Duplex. will be on view at A/D/O through February 10, 2019.

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London's Opera Gallery is Presenting ‘Beyond Reality’ from the 13th to 28th of December

Peter Thomas -
L o n d o n ,   U K - 

David Bowie's Eyes by Valter Casotto

The collective show ‘Beyond Reality’ is of world-leading hyperrealist artists, including internationally acclaimed Marc Sijan, Tigran Tsitoghdzyan, John Humphreys, Yigal Ozeri, and Mike Dargas.

Featuring life-like sculptures and paintings that look like real photos, ‘Beyond Reality’ showcases artworks that challenge the viewers, making them question whether what they are looking at is art or real life.

A creature designer for Dr Who and sculptor for Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and Alexander, London-based John Humphreys is an expert in special effects and makes sculptures that are disturbingly close to life. He also created the Alien for Alien Autopsy, the black and white film that launched worldwide controversy around the “UFO incident” near Roswell (New Mexico) and inspired the TV series ‘The X-Files’.

Longinus a Latere Extensa by John Humphreys

Italian artist Valter Adam Casotto has been a prosthetic makeup artist for over 20 episodes of Games of Thrones, as well as Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (the Gringott goblins), The Hobbit (Bombur, Kili and several Orcs), Tale of Tales, and X-Men: First Class. He produces unflattering portraits and life-like creations that look so real they seem almost on the verge of movement.

Mark Sijan’s hyper-realistic sculptures of real people that are exceptionally natural. They are the result of dexterous and painstaking work, and focus on the overlooked, invisible figures in society (cleaners, butlers, security guards), as a tribute to real people.

Audrey Hepburn by Michael Moebius

World-renowned painters Tigran Tsitoghdzyan, Mike Dargas, Michael Moebius and Yigal Ozeri blend portraiture and hyperrealism, using their remarkable pictorial expertise to invite us to take a closer look. Meticulous trompe-l’oeil paintings of Nicolae Maniu and Lee Jung Woong, while rooted in hyperrealist practice, add a touch of Surrealism and humour, with hints to the artistic production of Salvador Dalí and Jackson Pollock.

Federica Beretta, Director at Opera Gallery London, said: “We wanted to have a playful exhibition, with works that anyone can access and engage with. Beyond Reality will exhibit art by emerging artists as well as world-leading and acclaimed masters in the field. These days there seems to be a great appetite for skilful artists, who question the way we perceive art thanks to their unparalleled craft”.

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‘Unique’ 18th century watercolour painting at risk of export from the United Kingdom

Peter Thomas -
L o n d o n ,   U K - 

Opaque watercolour on paper, 16.3 x 23.7cm
By Nainsukh of Guler, circa 1735-1740

UK Culture Minister, Michael Ellis, steps in to prevent Nainsukh of Guler’s ‘Trumpeters’, valued at £550,000 from export.

A ‘unique’ watercolour painting depicting a traditional musical performance in mid-18th century Northern India is at risk of export unless a UK buyer is found for the £550,000 piece.

‘Trumpeters’ by Nainsukh of Guler (1710-1778) has been blocked from export by Michael Ellis, Minister for Arts, Heritage and Tourism, to provide an opportunity to keep it in the UK.

The delicate miniature, described by experts as of a ‘rarely found calibre’, shows seven village musicians on a terrace, striking differing poses and faces, while energetically blowing the exceptionally long Pahari horns called Turhi, in the hill region of Northern India. It is a fine example of Nainsukh of Guler’s trademark gift of detailed observation and complex directional composition.

The artist is considered to be one of the most acclaimed of the Pahari (Hills) movement, which were a major and popular genre of Indian miniature painting during the period. Some of his other works are exhibited in public collections in the UK, including the Victoria and Albert Museum and the British Museum.

Miniature painting deemed to be of significant cultural interest

The miniature is an example of the colour and light of India which inspired its first owner, renowned artist Winifred Nicholson (1893-1981), whose works have been exhibited in world leading galleries including the Tate.

Michael Ellis, Minister for Arts, Heritage and Tourism said:

“Nainsukh’s artistic influence has been felt around the world for generations and this piece demonstrates the outstanding aesthetic importance of his work."

“I hope that this piece can be kept in the UK, not only for its beauty, but to help further the study of Indian art and history."

Reviewing Committee on the Export of Works of Art and Objects of Cultural Interest member Peter Barber said:

“Nainsukh of Guler’s beautiful miniature of musicians is a masterpiece unparalleled in North Indian art. But the exuberant gestures and puffed-out cheeks of the trumpeters bear a remarkable resemblance to the trumpeters depicted some 300 years earlier by the Italian Renaissance artist Andrea Mantegna (1431-1506) in his series of paintings, now in Hampton Court, showing the Triumph of Caesar. These paintings were repeatedly reproduced as prints over the coming centuries, initially by Mantegna himself. Did Nainsukh see, and was he influenced, by the prints when preparing this watercolour?"

“The export bar offers a British gallery, museum or library the opportunity to acquire this painting. Like the Mantegnas, it would then remain, and be enjoyed, in this country and the connections between two great works of Asian and European arts could be further investigated”.

Artwork depicts a traditional musical performance in mid-18th century Northern India

The decision to defer the export licence follows a recommendation by the Reviewing Committee on the Export of Works of Art and Objects of Cultural Interest, administered by The Arts Council. They made their recommendation on the grounds that the painting is of outstanding aesthetic importance and of significant use in the study of Indian history.

The decision on the export licence application for the painting will be deferred until 15 February 2019. This may be extended until 15 May 2019 if a serious intention to raise funds to purchase it is made at the recommended price of £550,000.

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Remembering Stan Lee, 1922 - 2018

Josh Gold -
L o s   A n g e l e s,  U S A - 

Stan Lee, 1922 - 2018. Image courtesy of  Marvel

Stan Lee, the co-creator of numerous superhero characters such as the Fantastic Four, Hulk, Spider-Man and Iron Man passed away Monday in Los Angeles at age 95.

An Ambulance was rushed to Lee's Hollywood Hills home. He was reportedly taken to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center where Lee later passed away.

Disney and Marvel released a joint statement honouring the memory of Lee:

Today, Marvel Comics and The Walt Disney Company pause and reflect with great sadness on the passing of its Marvel Chairman Emeritus, Stan Lee. With a heavy heart, we share our deepest condolences with his daughter and brother, and we honor and remember the creator, voice and champion of Marvel Comics.

“Stan Lee was as extraordinary as the characters he created. A super hero in his own right to Marvel fans around the world, Stan had the power to inspire, to entertain, and to connect. The scale of his imagination was only exceeded by the size of his heart,” said Bob Iger, Chairman and CEO, The Walt Disney Company.

Array of Stan Lee Comics courtesy: The Comics Bolt

Stanley Martin Lieber, aka Stan Lee, loved the written word from an early age, and wanted to craft stories like those in his favorite books and films, which he consumed voraciously. From a simple upbringing in the teeming landscape of Manhattan, young Stanley worked his way through a succession of jobs until the day he found himself an assistant at a comic book publishing company—Timely Comics.

In between refilling artists’ inkwells, erasing pencil lines from comic pages and fetching an untold number of lunches, Stanley expressed his desire to write and create tales of his own; in the May 1941 issue of CAPTAIN AMERICA COMICS #3, he got his wish. Readers would find a prose story in that issue, “Captain America Foils the Traitor’s Revenge,” sporting the byline of “Stan Lee.” A star was born.

“I used to be embarrassed because I was just a comic book writer while other people were building bridges or going on to medical careers. And then I began to realize: entertainment is one of the most important things in people's lives. Without it, they might go off the deep end. I feel that if you're able to entertain, you're doing a good thing.”  STAN LEE, 1922-2018.

Marvel Editor-in-Chief, Stan "The Man" Lee

As Stan’s roles and tenure with Timely Comics grew and evolved, so did the company itself. With Stan at its helm, Timely Comics morphed first into Atlas Comics and then into the name that would catapult it into legend and forever be synonymous with Stan Lee: Marvel Comics.

As Marvel’s Editor-in-Chief, Stan “The Man” Lee made his voice the voice of the stories themselves. Writing virtually every Marvel title and working with such luminaries as Jack Kirby, Steve Ditko, Don Heck, Gene Colan and John Romita, Stan began building a universe of interlocking continuity, one where fans felt as if they could turn a street corner and run into a Super Hero. A rich collection of characters grew out of his nonstop plotting sessions with his artists, including the Fantastic Four, Spider-Man, Thor, Iron Man, the Hulk, the X-Men, and more. Today, it would be almost impossible to find a corner of the Marvel Universe that Stan didn’t have a hand in.

Marvel fans found a friend in Stan Lee. He introduced the famous “Stan’s Soapbox” to speak directly to his readers, reaching a personal level rarely seen in comics of the day. Always pushing for new ways of creating comics, Stan also inaugurated the “Marvel method” of plotting and art, creating some of the most iconic stories in the industry to this day.

Stan Lee, 1922 - 2018. Courtesy of  Marvel

When something mattered to Stan, you felt it in his words, whether in an editorial or in the stories themselves. With passion for the medium, he helped refine and reform the Comics Code Authority and addressed hot-button issues like discrimination, drugs and intolerance.

Stan stepped up from his position as Editor-in-Chief in 1972 to tackle the role of Publisher at Marvel Comics, and while a strong succession of writers followed in his wake, his spirit and voice remained throughout the adventures that followed. His outspoken love for comics even extended to a series of college campus talks; given any chance to educate and illuminate on the industry, he took it. An entire generation of young readers expanded and strengthened their vocabulary and knowledge through Stan’s stories.

In later years, Stan took on new projects of his own outside of Marvel, but always kept one eye on the universe he created, watching with pride as it continued to grow and expand. Stan worked tirelessly to promote Marvel properties and characters to the film industry, and his spunky cameos in Marvel films and television series became an important part of his legacy.

Stan Lee, 1922 - 2018. Image courtesy of  Marvel

Over the years, Stan was widely recognized for his remarkable accomplishments, receiving the National Medal of Arts, being inducted into the Will Eisner Award Hall of Fame and Jack Kirby Hall of Fame and being named a Disney Legend. He continued to work, write and enjoy life and creativity every day—and the world is better for it.

Marvel and the entire The Walt Disney Company salute the life and career of Stan Lee and offer their undying gratitude for his unmatchable accomplishments within their halls. Every time you open a Marvel comic, Stan will be there. Please join us today in remembering Stan “The Man” Lee.

“Stan Lee was as extraordinary as the characters he created. A super hero in his own right to Marvel fans around the world, Stan had the power to inspire, to entertain, and to connect. The scale of his imagination was only exceeded by the size of his heart”.

BOB IGER

Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, The Walt Disney Company

“Stan Lee's contributions to Marvel, a company he helped forge into a household name, will forever live on and we will continue to celebrate the imaginative characters he helped create and the fantastic universe he helped build. My thoughts and prayers go out to his daughter and brother at this time.”

IKE PERLMUTTER

Chairman of Marvel Entertainment

“Stan Lee's passion, charisma, and his love for the characters and stories he created shaped Marvel into what it is today. His relentless drive and dedication to tell imaginative stories changed the lives of countless fans for over 75 years, and his spirit lives on in the people he's inspired. His legacy will never be forgotten. My thoughts go out to his family at this difficult time.”

DAN BUCKLEY

President, Marvel Entertainment

“To so many of us he was a father figure, a mentor, a best friend. Stan let us into the pages of his comics and into his world. He told us all about himself, warts and all. He made us laugh when things were bleakest, he let us in and made us feel like we were a part his family so that when he creatively took a chance and leaped off the precipice of that building, we were always right there with him. He wasn’t just a guy in a suit, he was Stan 'The Man' Lee! Goodbye my friend and of course…EXCELSIOR!”

JOE QUESADA

Chief Creative Officer, Marvel Entertainment

“No one has had more of an impact on my career and everything we do at Marvel Studios than Stan Lee. Stan leaves an extraordinary legacy that will outlive us all. Our thoughts are with his daughter, his family, and the millions of fans who have been forever touched by Stan’s genius, charisma and heart. Excelsior!”

KEVIN FEIGE

President, Marvel Studios

“There aren't enough hyperboles left in the Marvel Universe to cover the tremendous titan who was Stan Lee. His wondrous wit, his crafty creativeness, and his spectacular showmanship were all hallmarks of his genius. In the words of Benjamin J. Grimm, ‘I gotta go now, I think I got somethin' in my eye.’”

JEPH LOEB

Executive VP, Head of Television, Marvel Entertainment

“There are so many of us who would not be the men and women we've become, and be where we are today, without the influence Stan Lee had on our lives; not only through the heroes he created and the lessons we learned from them, but from the example 'The Man' himself set in life. The more I got to know Stan, the more I saw how he put a little piece of himself in each and every character he created, and by doing so, he allowed readers to see their own reflection and imagine the possibility that they, too, could transcend their problems and become something amazing, uncanny, and fantastic.”

C.B. CEBULSKI

Editor in Chief, Marvel Entertainment

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The Museum of Modern Art Celebrates the “Live Eye” of Lincoln Kirstein and His Influence at MoMA and Beyond

Shantel Harris -
N e w   Y o r k ,   U S A - 

Paul Cadmus Set Design for 1937 Ballet Filling Station
Image: MoMA

New York, on November 5, 2018 — The Museum of Modern Art announced Lincoln Kirstein’s Modern, an exhibition exploring Lincoln Kirstein’s sweeping contributions to American cultural life in the 1930s and ’40s, on view from March 17 through June 30, 2019.

Best known for co-founding the New York City Ballet, Kirstein (1907–1996), a polymathic writer, curator, editor, impresario, tastemaker, and patron, was also a key figure in MoMA’s early history. With his prescient belief in the role of dance within the museum, his championing of figuration in the face of prevailing abstraction, and his position at the center of a New York network of queer artists, intimates, and collaborators, the impact of this extraordinary individual remains profoundly resonant today. Seen through the lens of Kirstein, the works in the exhibition reveal an alternative and expansive view of modern art. Lincoln Kirstein’s Modern is organized by Jodi Hauptman, Senior Curator, and Samantha Friedman, Associate Curator, Department of Drawings and Prints, MoMA.

Evans Kirstein. Photo: MoMA

Kirstein proclaimed, “I have a live eye,” and the exhibition illuminates the influence of his vision, tastes, and efforts on the Museum’s collecting, exhibition, and publication history.

Lincoln Kirstein’s Modern features more than 200 works from the Museum’s collection—set and costume designs for the ballet by Paul Cadmus and Jared French, photographs by Walker Evans and George Platt Lynes, realist and magic realist paintings by Honoré Sharrer and Pavel Tchelitchew, sculpture by Elie Nadelman and Gaston Lachaise, and the Latin American art that Kirstein acquired for the Museum by artists such as Antonio Berni and Raquel Forner—alongside material drawn from the Museum Archives.

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