Smithsonian Celebrates Black History Month

The Smithsonian celebrates Black History Month (Feb. 1-29) with a series of films, lectures and performances at museums around the Institution. All programs are free, unless otherwise indicated.

Feature Event

The Institution will kick off Black History Month Sunday, Feb. 3 at 3 p.m. with “The Continuing Importance of Black History Month,” a keynote address by Lonnie G. Bunch, founding director of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture. Tours of African American art at the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery and the Smithsonian American Art Museum will precede and follow Bunch’s lecture.

The National Portrait Gallery will feature a tour of “Let Your Motto Be Resistance: African American Portraits,” the inaugural exhibition of the National Museum of African American History and Culture. Through an intriguing collection of 100 portraits, the exhibition examines 150 years of American history to show how photographers and their subjects worked together to create positive images, challenge demeaning stereotypes and shape new attitudes about race and status. The tour will start at 2 p.m. from the Information Desk in the F Street Lobby.

Immediately following the lecture, the Smithsonian American Art Museum will present the tour “African American Artists in the Smithsonian American Art Museum.” The museum is home to one of the largest and most comprehensive collections of art by African Americans. This tour highlights a variety of work-from James Hampton’s glittering tinfoil “Throne” to Edmonia Lewis’ allegorical marble sculpture to William H. Johnson’s modernist scenes of American life. Participants gather at the Information Desk in the G Street Lobby.

Performance

The Smithsonian Associates will present “Big Band Works of Quincy Jones” Friday, Feb. 8 at 7:30 p.m. at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History. The Smithsonian Jazz Masterworks Orchestra will offer a program of some of Jones’ most important works, including “Stockholm Sweetnin’” and “The Midnight Sun Will Never Set.” Tickets are required.

Call (202) 633-3030.

Film

Filmed on five continents, “500 Years Later,” an award-winning documentary, chronicles the legacy of slavery and the struggle for the most essential human right-freedom. This documentary will be shown at the National Museum of African Art Saturday, Feb. 2 at 2 p.m. The film’s writer and producer M.K. Asante Jr. will moderate a discussion. This film is recommended for mature audiences.

Lectures

The Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum will hold a series of 15-minute talks by museum curators. The lectures will be held Wednesdays in February at noon. Visitors meet at the museum seal near the National Mall entrance. (Presenters and topics are subject to change.)

• Feb. 6-Bill Yeingst presents “Greensboro Lunch Counter”
• Feb. 13-Margaret Weitekamp and Alan Needell present “Rev. Ralph Abernathy, Apollo 11 and the Civil Rights Movement”
• Feb. 27-Alex Spencer presents “Tuskegee Airmen’s Congressional Medal of Honor”

For Children

On Saturday, Feb. 9, from noon to 3 p.m., the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African Art will feature “Yoruba Crowns Workshop.” Participants will learn about the cultural symbolism of Nigerian Yoruba crowns in the museum’s exhibition “African Vision: The Walt Disney-Tishman African Art Collection.” Participants also can design a crown and adorn it with personal symbols. This program is recommended for children ages 7 and older. Registration is required. Call (202) 633-4640.

The Smithsonian American Art Museum will present “SAAM I Am!” Saturday, Feb. 9 at

1 p.m. Washington, D.C., jazz legend Jacques Johnson will lead a youthful ensemble in a performance of one of his own compositions, which was inspired by Gwen Everett’s book “Li’l Sis and Uncle Willie.” From 1 to 3 p.m., children can decorate musical instruments in a craft activity in the multipurpose rooms (near the G Street entrance). Children also can play along at the concert, which begins at 3 p.m. in the museum’s McEvoy Auditorium.

The National Museum of African Art will feature “Listen to the Drumbeat! The Art Speaks” Friday, Feb. 15 at 10:15, 11 and 11:45 a.m., and 12:30 p.m. Kofi Dennis, part of the duo Anansegromma, will introduce young audiences to pattern and communication in drumming. Participants will learn to speak through music in an interactive “drum circle” and then explore the museum’s exhibitions to look for the “beat” in African art. Drums are provided, but drums from home are welcome. This activity is recommended for children ages 5 through 10. Tickets are required. Call the Discovery Theater at (202) 633-8700.

Tour

The Smithsonian American Art Museum will feature “Free within Ourselves: African American Artists,” walk-in tours that explore the personal and cultural experiences of African American artists represented in the collection. The tour will highlight such artists as Lois Mailou Jones, Alma Thomas, William H. Johnson, James Hampton, Edmonia Lewis and Robert Duncansonwill. Walk-in tours will be held Mondays, Feb. 4 and 11, and Thursdays, Feb. 21 and 28, at 12:30 p.m. Participants meet at the Information Desk in the F Street Lobby.

All programs are subject to change. For more information about the Black History Month programs, visit www.smithsonianeducation.org/heritage_month or e-mail heritagemonths@si.edu. For general Smithsonian information, call (202) 633-1000 or (202) 633-5285 (TTY).

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Russia is playing an increasingly pivotal role on the world stage and interest in  Russian literature is gathering momentum, especially amongst Russians wanting to buy back their heritage. With this in mind, Bernard J Shapero Rare Books has launched a specialist Russian department (headed by PierreYves Guillemet, a fluent Russian speaker) embracing books, prints, maps and vintage photographs relating to Russia, the Ukraine, the Caucasus and Central Asia.

‘After 20 years of dealing in books on Russia we feel the time is right to establish a fully- fledged Russian department headed by a Russian speaker.  We have always visited Russia and we enjoy taking part in the Moscow Antiques Fair,’ said Bernard Shapero.  ‘We have been amassing antiquarian books of Russian interest from all over the world, and at the moment the market is particularly strong for books written in Russian,’ said Shapero.  ‘We are especially proud of our new department’s first catalogue, which is the biggest and most comprehensive of any antiquarian bookseller and it includes some truly magnificent items from the Imperial library.’

There can be no better provenance for a discerning Russian collector than the Imperial Romanov Library, and Bernard J Shapero Rare Books is offering two magnificent  sets of books from the personal library of  Tsar Paul I, son of Catherine the Great. The 35 works in 164 volumes dating from the mid to late 18^th century, are in mint condition and written in French by a variety of keystone philosophers and scientists of the period such as Rousseau, Montesquieu, Gmelin and Anson spanning the all the subjects one would expect to find in a library of this calibre such as history, geography, art, science, travel and the military.  Each is bound in contemporary Russian red morocco and richly gilded; most bear the gilt Imperial armorial monogram with the initial P on each cover, while others have the Imperial coat of arms of the Tsar’s second wife, Maria Fedorovna and all are stamped with the Russian double-headed Imperial eagle, as well as the Tsarskoe Selo library stamp.  This extraordinary group left Russia after the revolution, has been in a private European collection ever since and is priced at £350,000.  Another set from the Imperial library is the first collected edition of Voltaire‘s 18^th century works, these too are emblazoned with the crests of Tsar Paul I and Maria Fedorovna, and the asking price is £80,000.

The catalogue features 135 important top quality items, such as an extremely rare and complete first edition of the first bible in Slavonic which was printed in Ostrog in the Ukraine in 1581 and has a tooled, contemporary leather binding.  Another highlight is the very important full set of the handsome Tsarskaya okhota na Rusi (The Imperial Hunt in Russia) of 1896-1911. Greatly sought after, this renowned and lavishly illustrated book describes Imperial hunts and all aspects of Russian courtly life from 10^th-19^th century; both have a price tag of £45,000.

Bernard J Shapero Rare Books is delighted to have two extraordinary lithograph panoramas of Moscow – the tallest and the longest – both are hand coloured and extremely rare and both are datable to 1850, a time when panoramas were the height of fashion in Europe.  The first Panorama de Moscou is by Acarie Baron (c.1850), which at 70x450cms (2’4″x14’9″) is the tallest view of any Russian city and is priced at £150,000. The second is the longest lithographed panorama of Moscow which measures 29x470cms (11′x 15’5″) and is from the renowned Parisian workshop of Lemercier; beautiful and vibrantly coloured, this is for sale at £80,000. Created especially for the tourist market is Alexandre Pluchart‘s Nouvelle Collection de Quarante-deux Vues de Saint-Petersbourg et des Environs of 1826.  These celebrated lithographs are regarded as the best views of St Petersburg, and include all major monuments as well as lively street scenes.  The asking price for this handsome book is £27,500.

‘We have included a wide variety of quintessentially Russian items which would grace any elegant home or office.  We hope this catalogue appeals to established connoisseurs and new collectors as well as institutions,’ said Pierre Yves Guillaumet, the specialist in charge.

Museum Victoria January to March 2008

Museum Victoria venues include: Melbourne Museum, Scienceworks, Immigration Museum, Royal Exhibition Building and the IMAX Theatre Melbourne.

The Melbourne Story

The largest exhibition ever developed by Museum Victoria, The Melbourne Story, will reveal Melbourne’s unique and changing tale when it opens at Melbourne Museum in March 2008. The Melbourne Story features more than 1200 collection objects from Museum Victoria’s collection, resulting in it being the most complete and object-rich exhibition about Melbourne ever staged. The exhibition will feature iconic objects from Melbourne’s history such as a historic bark canoe from the Yarra River, a restored Cobb & Co coach, a carriage from the Luna Park Big Dipper and the much-loved ‘Little Men’ from Coles’ Book Arcade.

Date: 20 March 2008

Cost: free with Museum entry

Wathaurong Glass: Weing ko-rok (fire and sand)

This exhibition will showcase some of the finest pieces from the artists of Wathaurong Glass & Arts at Melbourne Museum’s Bunjilaka Aboriginal Cultural Centre. Creating works ranging from platters and bowls to corporate award trophies and kitchen splashbacks, Wathaurong Glass & Arts is an Aboriginal owned and operated enterprise based in Geelong, which expresses Aboriginal art through the techniques of kiln-formed and sandblasted glass.

Date: until 2 March 2008

Cost: free with Museum entry

The Mind: Enter the Labyrinth

This new permanent exhibition will explore the workings of the human mind by entering a world of emotions, thoughts, memories and dreams. You will step into the shoes of those that see the world from different mind perspectives. Discover the ways in which drugs and disorders affect our minds and question your attitudes to normality.

Date: now open

Cost: free with Museum entry

Miss Australia: A Nation’s Quest

Relieve the splendour and glamour of one the nation’s most successful charity endeavours in Miss Australia: A Nation’s Quest. This National Museum of Australia exhibition features the historic crown and gowns and key moments in the history of the Miss Australia Quest, which sparkled in our national consciousness for almost a century. Stylish and proficient fundraisers, trade envoys and advocates for the disabled, Miss Australia became a national cultural phenomenon. The exhibition follows the competition’s changing fortunes, from its beginnings as a magazine promotion in 1908, to its ascendancy in the 1950s and 1960s, and its eventual end in 2000.

Date: until 6 April 2008

Cost: free with Museum entry

Eyes on Earth

Beyond the atmosphere of Earth circle the satellites of the Earth Observing System (EOS), NASA’s primary satellite mission. These remote observers constantly scan our planet – tracking weather, monitoring pollution, creating maps and gathering information to help predict storms, monitor forest fires, and study holes in the ozone layer. This highly interactive exhibition focuses on the EOS and examines how satellite observations are made and what we can learn about the Earth using space technology.

Date: until November 2008

Cost: free with Museum entry

Strike a Chord – The Science of Music

This musical exhibition looks at the science behind music and brings together the many disciplines from the physics of sound to the physiology of hearing and singing. Visitors will have the chance to conduct their own virtual orchestra, play in an air band and design their own musical instrument. Developed by Questacon – The National Science and Technology Centre, Canberra, Australia.

Date: until 25 May 2008

Cost: $11 adult, $4 concession, $3.50 child (includes entry into Scienceworks)

Discover the Night Sky: Evening Planetarium Program

The Melbourne Planetarium at Scienceworks presents special after-dark sessions, Thursday evenings in March. All evenings include complimentary wine and cheese, the opportunity to chat to the Planetarium’s Astronomer and be immersed in a Planetarium experience. The evening will finish with stargazing through telescopes (weather permitting). Each evening will showcase a different aspect of the night sky.

Cost: $20.00 adults, $15.00 MV Members – per session

Bookings Essential: call 03 9392 4819 Monday to Friday 8.30am – 4.00pm

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Trailblazers: Migrant Women Activists

“To be poor, migrant and a woman is to achieve optimum disadvantage” (anon.) – and a new exhibition recognises the efforts of migrant women who aimed to diminish that disadvantage. Celebrating the “mothers” of multiculturalism, Trailblazers records the untold story of the gutsy and spirited migrant women who fought for specialist medical, social, workplace and educational services for women of migrant backgrounds.
Date: 8 March to 27 July 2008
Cost: free with Museum entry

Masks of China: Ritual and Legend
Discover rare and spectacular masks from China in this exhibition exclusive to the Immigration Museum. Featuring handmade masks of wood, paper, copper, bronze and fabric, Masks of China explores the significance of masks in Chinese culture and history. The ancient yet still living tradition of mask-making brings together beliefs, myths and symbols from Shamanism and Buddhism, and reflects China’s many ethnic minority cultures. Constructed and painted by hand, some more than 200 years old, these masks symbolise China’s rich and diverse cultural landscape.
Date: until 24 March 2008
Cost: $12 adult, $6 concession, $3 MV members, free for children (includes Museum entry)

The Masks of China exhibition is being developed by China Museum of the National Cultural Palace, and is generously supported by the State Ethnic Affairs Commission of the People’s Republic of China, the Australian Multicultural Foundation and the Scanlon Foundation.

Kurbet… The Continuing Story of Victoria’s Albanian Community

Exploring the story of Victoria’s Albanian community, this exhibition takes as its focus the struggles of families separated for up to 40 years by Albania’s Communist rule. For Australian-Albanians, an important moment in the formation of a community was the transformation from the traditional notion of kurbet (temporary settlement in a foreign land) into a place of permanent belonging. Coming from an ethnically diverse nation, Albanian immigrants have quietly established flourishing communities in multicultural Australia, as part of their continuing journey.

Date: until 24 February 2008
Cost: free with Museum entry

We came as workers, We stayed as citizens: 40 years of Turkish migration
Marking 40 years since Australia and Turkey signed an assisted immigration agreement, this new exhibition highlights the history and growth of Victoria’s Turkish community. Initially, many Turkish immigrants arrived on Australian shores with a view of themselves as ‘guestworkers’ and the intention of eventually returning to their homeland; for many, however, this intention changed to a wish to remain. The exhibition explores the challenges faced by early Turkish immigrants as they settled into life in Victoria, and charts their successes and contributions to our multicultural community.
Date: until June 2008
Cost: free with Museum entry

I Am Legend – The IMAX Experience

An unstoppable man made virus sweeps the world. Dr Robert Neville (Will Smith) is the last human survivor. Somehow immune he searches for survivors but only encounters infected mutant victims of the plague who lurk in the shadows watching as Neville tries to find a cure by using his own immune blood.

The first six minutes of ‘The Dark Knight,’ (the sequel to Batman Begins) which introduces Heath Ledger as The Joker, will be shown only at IMAX before each screening of ‘I am Legend.’

Date: now showing

Cost: $20 adult, $16.50 concession, $15 child, $60 family (2 adults & 2 children)

Sea Monsters 3D – A Prehistoric Adventure

A film produced by National Geographic revealing the prehistoric marine life that lived in the oceans eighty million years ago, this stunning photo-realistic computer generated animation takes audiences back to the Late Cretaceous period and follows the dolochorhynchops as she travels through the most dangerous oceans in history.

Date: now showing

Cost: $17.50 adult, $14 concession, $12.50 child, $50 family (2 adults & 2 children)

African Adventure 3D – Safari in the Okavango

African Adventure 3D is the ultimate giant screen adventure in one of the most beautiful wildlife reserves on earth: The Okavango Delta. Zoologist Liesl Eichenberger and wildlife filmmaker Tim Liversedge will take you along a 3D journey as they explore this unique region and come face to face with hippos, crocodiles, elephants, lions and much more.

Date: 14 February 2008

Cost: $17.50 adult, $14 concession, $12.50 child, $50 family (2 adults & 2 children)

Beowulf 3D – The IMAX Experience

In a legendary time of heroes, the mighty warrior ‘Beowulf’ battles the demon ‘Grendel’ and incurs the hellish wrath of the beast’s ruthlessly seductive mother. This epic clash forges the timeless legend of Beowulf. Featuring Ray Winstone, Anthony Hopkins, John Malovich and Angelina Jolie. Rated M – Animated violence, Sexual references.

Date: now showing

Cost: $20 adult, $16.50 concession, $15 child, $60 family (2 adults & 2 children)

For IMAX session times please visit www.imaxmelbourne.com.au or call 03 9663 5454

For further public information on any Museum Victoria exhibitions, phone 13 11 02.

Partial Solar Eclipse over Melbourne

The Moon will take a bite out of the Sun as a Solar Eclipse takes place on Thursday 7 February. Melbourne Planetarium Astronomer, Dr Tanya Hill is available for expert comment regarding this astronomical event.

Melbourne will experience a partial eclipse next Thursday, with just 9 per cent of the Sun obscured by the Moon. This will have minimal effect on general sunshine levels and the majority of Melburnians will hardly notice.

Solar eclipses occur when the Moon comes between the Earth and the Sun. The Moon blocks out the light of the Sun, making it seem like a part of the Sun is missing.

It is important to never stare directly at the Sun. The Sun can damage your eyesight at anytime, and while it may be tempting to look at the Sun during an eclipse it is not safe to do so. Scienceworks will be providing safe ways to see the partial eclipse, with special solar
telescopes available for viewing of the eclipse by visitors.

Dr Tanya Hill, Melbourne Planetarium Astronomer said “During the eclipse the Moon will make a glancing pass across the top of the Sun. By using safe methods to view the Sun, it will appear as if the Sun is wearing a baseball cap.”

The partial eclipse seen in Melbourne culminates in an Annular Solar Eclipse in Antarctica, where the Moon is not able to cover the Sun completely and a ring of sunlight remains visible encircling the Moon.

The next Total Solar Eclipse will occur on 1 August 2008 and will be visible in Canada, Northern Greenland, the Arctic, Siberia, Mongolia and China. Australia will see its next partial eclipse on 26 January 2009, but will have to wait until 13 November 2012 for its next Total Solar Eclipse.

The eclipse will occur as follows (all times are Australian Eastern Daylight Time):

Eclipse begins: 2:39pm / Eclipse maximum: 3:28pm / Eclipse ends: 4:15pm

The Melbourne Planetarium at Scienceworks has a variety of informative and entertaining shows screening daily, for a wide range of audiences. Visit museumvictoria.com.

CHRISTIE’S

Maritime Art

New York – Wednesday, 30 January 2008

Sale no: 1963 – Top Three

[All sold prices include buyer's premium]

Gustave Courbet, Radical and Rebellious 19th-Century Artist, Featured in Retrospective at Metropolitan Museum

Exhibition dates: February 27-May 18, 2008

Exhibition location: The Tisch Galleries, 2nd floor

Press preview: Monday, February 25, 10:00 a.m.-noon

A pioneering figure in the history of modernism and one of the major artists of mid-19thcentury
France, Gustave Courbet (1819-1877) was constantly at odds with authority. He rejected artistic convention, challenged academic norms, and created artworks that scandalized the public. By rebelling against tradition, he paved the way for the Impressionists and, through them, modern art.

More than 130 oil paintings and works on paper by the provocative artist, brought together from museums and private collections in Europe and the United States, will be displayed at The Metropolitan Museum of Art this spring in his first full retrospective in more than 30 years. The landmark traveling exhibition Gustave Courbet explores his career in all media and includes a selection of 19th-century photographs that relate to his work, especially his landscapes and nudes.

The exhibition is made possible by The Philip and Janice Levin Foundation and the Janice H. Levin Fund.

It was organized by The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, the Réunion des Musées Nationaux and the Musée d’Orsay, Paris, and the Communauté d’agglomération de Montpellier/Musée Fabre, Montpellier.

The exhibition is supported by an indemnity from the Federal Council on the Arts and the Humanities.

Gary Tinterow, the Engelhard Curator in Charge of the Department of Nineteenth-Century, Modern, and Contemporary Art at the Metropolitan, commented: “Courbet was one of the first painters to cultivate the image of the rebellious artist. Never one to avoid controversy, he disregarded the expectations of his family, challenged the conservatism of the Academy, and bristled against the strictures of society. Even his politics were radical. And for most of his career, this notoriety served him well, attracting clients and influencing other artists of his generation. The exhibition will give today’s public a rare opportunity to rediscover this complex artist and chart, through works he created some 150 years ago, the early history of modern art.”

Exhibition Overview

The exhibition is arranged chronologically, with some galleries devoted to specific themes: early self-portraits, Ornans paintings, nudes, and Courbet and photography.

The exhibition will include several of Courbet’s seminal paintings from the early 1850s, which depict the customs of Ornans. Exhibited at the Salon of 1852, Young Ladies of the Village, a pastoral image of his sisters’ encounter with a peasant girl in a valley near Ornans, was criticized for the unattractiveness of its protagonists and its apparent disregard for perspective (1851-52, The Metropolitan Museum of Art). The Meeting: Bonjour Monsieur Courbet represents what is likely an imagined exchange between the noted collector of 19th-century art Alfred Bruyas and the artist, who had come to visit him in Montpellier (1854, Musée Fabre, Montpellier).

Also on view will be a selection of Courbet’s nudes, revealing the modernity of his approach to the genre. Idealized female nudes proliferated at the Salons in Paris during the Second Empire, and Courbet challenged the status quo – and also scandalized the public at the Salon of 1866 – with his sensuous and provocative Woman with a Parrot (1865-66, The Metropolitan Museum of Art). By censuring the artist’s taste and the model’s discarded clothes and disheveled hair, the critics made it clear that they were unsettled by the work’s undisguised contemporaneity.

Courbet was also an innovative landscape painter. His painterly and expressive renderings of Ornans and its surroundings, notably his series of paintings of the grotto at the source of the Loue River and the wooded stream of the Puits-Noir (National Gallery of Art, Washington, and The Baltimore Museum of Art), as well as his views of the coastline of Normandy (Musée Fabre, Montpellier, and Philadelphia Museum of Art), signal his radical approach to landscape painting.

These works brought Courbet critical and popular success, as did his hunting scenes, which he began painting in the late 1850s.

Portraiture engaged Courbet throughout his career, and is represented by an unprecedented selection of the artist’s early self-portraits in various guises. A highlight is the astonishing self-portrait The Desperate Man (1844-45, Private Collection), shown in the United States for the first time. He also painted numerous portraits of his family and friends, including his sister Juliette Courbet (1845; Petit Palais) and the posthumous portrait of his friend, the philosopher Pierre-Joseph Proudhon, with his children (1865-67, Petit Palais, Paris).

The Artist

Gustave Courbet was born into an affluent landowning family in the village of Ornans, near the Swiss border. He studied at the Royal College in the nearby town of Besançon and, in 1840, was sent to Paris to study law. Defying his father, he pursued an artistic career instead and learned by copying masterpieces in the Louvre.

In the 1840s and early 1850s, Courbet’s paintings were accepted into the official Salon – the annual juried exhibition administered by the French government and the Academy of Fine Arts. But, as he matured as an artist, he spurned the historical subjects prized by the Academy and painted scenes of modern life rendered in an emphatically realistic style, shocking his contemporaries. In 1855, disgruntled at his rejection by the Salon jury, Courbet constructed a Pavilion of Realism within sight of the official Salon in which he displayed a one-man show of his works, accompanied by a manifesto that proclaimed his artistic philosophy. The decade that followed witnessed his triumph as the leader of the realist school.

Courbet joined the Paris Commune of 1871 and – following the collapse of the revolutionary government – was accused of complicity in the destruction of the Vendôme column, ordered to pay a huge fine for its reconstruction, and imprisoned. In 1873, he fled to Switzerland, where he spent his remaining years in exile.

Catalogue and Related Programs

The exhibition will be accompanied by a fully illustrated catalogue published by Hatje Cantz Verlag, with essays focusing on recent Courbet scholarship by an international team of experts: Sylvain Amic, Laurence des Cars, Dominique de Font-Réaulx, Thomas Galifot, Kathryn Calley Galitz, Michel Hilaire, Dominique Lobstein, Bruno Mottin, and Bertrand Tillier. The catalogue will be available in the Museum’s book shops.

A variety of education programs has been organized to complement the exhibition. These include a Sunday at the Met lecture program on May 11, documentary film screenings, gallery talks, a teacher workshop, and a “Look Again” family program on March 8.

Education programs are made possible by The Georges Lurcy Charitable and Educational Trust.

An audio tour, part of the Metropolitan’s Audio Guide program, will be available for rental ($7, $6 for members, $5 for children under 12).

The Audio Guide program is sponsored by Bloomberg.

At the Metropolitan, the exhibition is organized by Gary Tinterow, Engelhard Curator in Charge, and Kathryn Calley Galitz, Assistant Curator, in the Department of Nineteenth-Century, Modern, and Contemporary Art. Exhibition design is by Michael Langley, Senior Exhibition Designer; graphics are by Constance Norkin, Senior Graphic Designer; and lighting is by Clint Ross Coller and Richard Lichte, Senior Lighting Designers, all of the Museum’s Design Department.

The exhibition will be featured on the website of the Metropolitan Museum (www.metmuseum.org).

A special podcast related to the exhibition will be available at www.metmuseum.org/podcast.

Prior to its showing at the Metropolitan, the exhibition was on view at the Grand Palais, Paris. Afterward, it will travel to the Musée Fabre, Montpellier.

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VISITOR INFORMATION

Hours

Fridays and Saturdays 9:30 a.m.-9:00 p.m.

Sundays, Tuesdays-Thursdays 9:30 a.m.-5:30 p.m.

Met Holiday Mondays in the Main Building:

February 18, May 26, and September 1, 2008

Sponsored by Bloomberg 9:30 a.m.-5:30 p.m.

All other Mondays closed; Jan. 1, Thanksgiving, and Dec. 25 closed

Suggested Admission (Includes Main Building and The Cloisters on the Same Day)

Adults $20.00, seniors (65 and over) $15.00, students $10.00

Members and children under 12 accompanied by adult free

Advance tickets available at www.TicketWeb.com or 1-800-965-4827.

For More Information (212) 535-7710; www.metmuseum.org

No extra charge for any exhibition.

Bloomsbury Auctions is expanding and revitalising its Photograph Department. Photographs have long been an important facet of Bloomsbury‘s repertoire of expertise, however now there is a new full time expert, Zoe Bingham who comes to Bloomsbury with an impressive specialist background.

Zoe was manager at The Photographers’ Gallery for three years where she advised on collecting, represented some 50 photographers and dealt with major photographic archives and estates including the landmark Lee Miller Archive. She also represented well-established photographers such as Jem Southam and Simon Norfolk and discovered, tutored and exhibited emerging talents. Prior to The Photographers’ Gallery, she worked for four years as Gallery Manager for Atlas Gallery, specialising in vintage prints and travel photography. Zoe has been a reviewer for the Rhubarb International Festival of the Image, a Judge for the Deutsche Bank Pyramid Awards for Photography and has lectured at the Sothebys’ Institute.

Bloomsbury‘s first auction of Photographs under Zoe Bingham‘s auspices is on 22^nd May 2008. ‘I am extremely excited about the opportunity to develop the Photograph Department, it is an evolving and fast growing market. Bloomsbury traditionally has a strong following for vintage and travel photography which I will continue to nurture; I will also broaden the modern and contemporary side, that is increasingly important and collectable.’

The Photograph Department is already accepting consignments for the May sale. Zoe is on hand to advise not only about buying and selling at Bloomsbury, but also about valuations for probate and insurance as well as advice for collectors, institutions and corporate collections.

For further information please contact: Zoe Bingham: 020 7495 9494 or zoe.bingham@bloomsburyauctions.com

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

JANUARY  30, 2008

ELDER’S FINE ART & ANTIQUES AUCTIONS

NOKOMIS, FL

FEBRUARY 18 – MARCH 3, 2008

An 18^th century gilt bronze egg given to Paul I will be among the antiques and art to cross the block online at Elder’s Fine Art & Antiques Auction February 18 – March 3.

(NOKOMIS, FL) – Self made American millionaire William Boyce Thompson (1869-1930), an industrialist and mining mogul, was part of the American Red Cross Mission sent to turbulent Russia in 1917 after the February Revolution and the overthrow of the Czar. The purpose of the Mission was to find ways to feed the hungry populace while the provisional government of Alexander Kerensky tried to stabilize the country. Thompson donated $1 million of his own money to the cause, in vain it turned out, because the Bolsheviks came to power after the second Revolution in October and discarded all outside aid efforts.

But Thompson’s trip was not entirely without results. While in Russia he used his considerable wealth to take advantage of the opportunity to acquire a number of major Russian art treasures under favorable circumstances.  One of those treasures was a relatively large 6 inch, elaborately decorated gilt bronze Easter egg reported in the book by Robert C. Williams “Russian Art and American Money 1900-1940″ to have been presented to Paul I by a prime minister.  The egg will soon be presented again, this time for sale at Don Elder’s Fine Art & Antiques Auction during the two week online sale hosted by iGavel February 18 – March 3. Elder expects the egg to sell for between $10,000 and $15,000.

Another treasure, this one from the East, bears the Qianlong reign mark of 18^th century China. A large vase and cover, 9 inches tall, carved entirely from white jade having an unusual color called “white water,” features a highly stylized taotie mask on the body with an interior chair carved attaching the lid to the body. The taotie mask represents the face of a mythological man-eating beast from ancient Chinese legend. The vase was originally purchased from Gump’s in San Francisco in 1926. Gump’s, founded in 1861, has long been a marketplace for Asian, American and European art objects. The magnificent vase has a pre sale estimate of $10,000/$15,000. Also in the inventory is a large statue of a court lady of the Chinese Tang Dynasty, 618-907 A.D.

What is expected to be the top lot of the sale has a much younger provenance. It is a necklace made by French jewelry  firm Cartier in the 1950s containing a breathtaking assemblage of jadeite, onyx, platinum and diamonds. This elegant ornament has a pre sale estimate of $20,000/$30,000.

American art will be represented by eighteen examples of works by Ben Wilson (1913-2001). Wilson was among the little recognized painters of the Abstract Expressionist school of the 1930s through the 1960s but whose work is now beginning to gain popularity. He was nurtured in the “Project”, the WPA of the Depression era, attending the National Academy of Design, 1930-33, graduating from City College of New York in 1935 and from Academie Julien in Paris 1953-54. His work was influenced by cubism in the 1950s and he evolved a vocabulary of interlocking shapes and bold sweeping gestures that served as a transition from his early figurative expressionism to his later more abstract constructivist works. Wilson kept a large portion of his body of work for himself and this sale represents a rare opportunity to acquire a variety of pieces by this important American artist. The sale will also include two works by Wilson’s wife, sculptor Evelyn Wilson.

For more information on this sale call auction owner Don Elder at Elder’s Antiques, (941) 488-1005, visit the website at http://www.eldersantiques.com/ for a preview or email mailto:info@eldersantiqeus.com. Elder’s Antiques is located at 901 Tamiami Trail (US 41) South, Nokomis, Florida 34275.

Written by:

Fred & Gail Taylor

http://www.furnituredetective.com/     

800-387-6377

PHOTO CAPTIONS FOR ELDER’S FINE ART & ANTIQUES

Chinese White Carved Jade Vase & Cover

Cartier Jadeite, Onyx, Enameled Gold, Platinum & Diamond Necklace

Russian 18th Century Gilt Bronze Easter Egg

Ben Wilson (American 1913-2001) Oil on Masonite, Sahara 1986

Chinese Tang Dynasty Court Lady

I hate to admit this is my opinion but, it is. Ebay has served us the fluff. Yes, they have taken their plan, confused it, and are expecting us not to know that it is just fluff, all puffed up. In fact, if you take an egg, fluff it up into an omelet, it’s still an egg. I call this a “Lambertism”: Confusion can’t trump the truth.

Now it’s evident why Meg Whitman announced her retirement. She knew that the market would explode with criticism over the changes that were coming down the line. Why should she stay and ruin the ten year legacy of being one of the top executives in the whole world when she knew the bubble was about to pop?

No matter how you slice it, Ebay’s new changes is an attempt to increase revenues so that the stock will reverse its downward spiral. But I think I have news for them. It ain’t going to work, and in my opinion, if these changes stand, this stock might be the best short in the market.

I can now hear the stampede of feet searching for other places to sell their merchandise. In fact, if these changes stand, I predict that there will be several new auction sites that will be opening in the near future. This pie is going to be sliced into thinner and thinner slices, and Ebay will be the loser.

Their competition must be in shock today. They were thinking that they might have to rearrange their own marketing plans, because Ebay would be taking away their advantages.  Instead, they find themselves in an excellent position to take more market share from Ebay.

Now, it will be wise to evaluate each week where the best service is for the members of the 31 Club and recommend these companies. Does this mean never telling people to use Ebay?  No. But we might tell them to wait until Ebay has a day of no listing fees, or other special offers, because under the present plan, these increases don’t provide the best value in the marketplace.
One of the “interesting” changes, is that the seller can no longer respond to a buyer’s feedback. Now what is this all about?  The seller, under the new plan, can no longer respond to negative feedback given by a buyer. The sellers are just asking for a fair shake and the opportunity to defend themselves against unscrupulous buyers.  

Stay tuned. I don’t think you have heard the last of this yet. It will be interesting to see if the new CEO can stand up under the pressure that is sure to be coming over the next few weeks.

In the South we have an old saying:  “Keep your powder dry.” This might be a great time to practice patience.

Find out how 31 Club Members are building wealth using antiques, collectibles and art to do it. Then take a look at our Fine Art Paintings and Atniques at www.31corp.com

Cleveland, Ohio – January 29, 2008 – For many avid collectors of antiques and collectibles the cold of winter has forced them indoors. There is no better time to grab a warm beverage, a comfortable chair and a copy of the February edition of the Kovels’ on Antiques and Collectibles Newsletter. Nothing else brings the collector up to date on the latest prices, trends and news. The 12-page, color-illustrated newsletter is available to subscribers in print and online from the Kovels’ website at http://www.kovels.com . Here are this month’s featured stories:

It took many pennies for a collector to catch a rare Jonah and the Whale mechanical bank at a Pennsylvania auction. The antique treasure sold for $414,000. To cash in on more information about cast iron mechanical banks, you’ll want to get this month’s issue.

Check out one of the gems of Hall China’s line of Autumn Leaf kitchenware. It’s a vintage bean pot that sold for $224 at an Iowa auction. Many more examples of Autumn Leaf can be seen in the February issue.

Brilliant period cut glass shines for antique glass collectors in the February issue. An Aberdeen pattern water pitcher by the Jewel Glass Company scored high at a Kansas auction when it sold for $1400. You too can check out some of the dazzling examples featured in this article.

Get inspired to furnish your home in the high fashion of the 1950′s. Wouldn’t an Eames chair and ottoman look great in your living room? The famous design was created in 1956 and it’s been in production ever since. A set with original cushions and wood frame recently sold for $3360 at an Illinois auction. You can see an entire room in this style in Kovels’ February newsletter.

What’s the story with antique cash registers? They seem to be popping up at little shops everywhere. As their popularity increases, it’s not surprising that they are seeing an increase in value as well. Several antique registers sold at a fall Showtime auction in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Prices ranged from $1430 to $14, 400. We have some beautiful examples in the February newsletter.

If it is cold where you are, what could be more perfect than collecting penguins? There are just 17 species of penguins, but a recent Richard Opfer auction in Timonium, Maryland offered more than 250 penguin collectibles. Want to know more? Get the February issue and find out what some of the tuxedo-clad birds went for.

The February issue of the Kovels’ newsletter also includes their regular monthly features, such as the News Flash, Collector’s Gallery and Buyer’s Price Guide. Subscriptions for the print edition or the online edition can be purchased from their website at http://www.kovels.com

About the Kovels
Ralph and Terry Kovel are the authors of more than 95 books about collecting and antiques, including the best-selling annual price guide “Kovels’ Antiques and Collectibles Price List.” Hailed by Parade magazine as “the duke and duchess of the antiques world,” the Kovels publish a monthly award-winning newsletter, Kovels on Antiques and Collectibles, and write a syndicated weekly newspaper column distributed to more than 150 newspapers. They appeared weekly on the HGTV program “Flea Market Finds with the Kovels.” Their popular website with free price information is www.kovels.com. The Kovels’ most recent books are “Kovels’ American Collectibles, 1900 to 2000,” published by Random House, and the newly re-designed Kovels’ Antiques and Collectibles Price List 2008, with 2,500 photos and 42,000 actual prices, published by Black Dog and Leventhal Publishers. Both are available wherever books are sold and online at http://www.Kovels.com