Follow Up Friday
A little summary of the week that’s just been!
Including art history news, DIY tips, exhibition & literature reviews, auction announcements, etc.
Email me with your ideas. I’d love to hear from you.
1. Explore the Home of Lucian Freud
Since his death in 2011 Freud’s flat on Kensington Church Street, London has been slowly emptied out. His beloved art collection was bequeathed to the state including masters such as Constable, Auerbach and Degas. The rooms are now vacant of furniture, only his studio is left untouched. Telegraph reporter Lucy Davies interviewed Freud’s trusted assistant David Dawson, who now lives in the space and has written a book on the history of the home. It took Dawson quite some time to come to terms with the passing of his friend and employer. After Freud’s death, the house was shut up and Dawson travelled to New York to stay with friends until he was ready to face the space. Read her full interview, which is full of Dawson’s beautiful interior shots here.
2. Tracey Emin on Cute Artwork and Middle Age
This summer, Emin’s My Bed sold at Christie’s for $3.7m to benefit Charles Saatchi’s education fund. She’s now teamed up with Paddle8 to curate a sale called From the Cute to the Powerful, proceeds of which will benefit the Serpentine Trust. Read her interview on the Times Blog here, which covers everything from her rise to success, her friendship with Eugenie York and what middle age feels like.
3. Into the Woods is coming!
Disney is doing a bang up job with promotion for their next film, Into the Woods. The cast of heavy hitters including Meryl Streep, Anna Kendrick, and Johnny Depp are completely transformed for their roles in this fairy tale classic. Their print advertisements are particularly modern, featuring portraits of the leads with reverse type titles – comic book style. See them all here, including a trailer.
4. NYC Impressionism and Modern Sale Results
This week saw some spectacular results come out of New York for the Impressionism and Modern auctions and the big two. On the 4th, Sotheby’s managed a total of $422m, blowing Christie’s $166m the next night out of the water. The top earners were Giacometti’s Chariot (above left), which fetched $101m at Sotheby’s and Christie’s almost doubled their high estimate on Manet’s Le Printemps (above right) making just over $65m. Read about Sotheby’s successes on Artnet here, and all the details of the Christie’s sale are on Art News here.
5. Introducing The Thread
Have you guys stumbled upon the new website The Thread yet? It documents email conversations or threads between people – the first one features Kate and Laura of Rodarte fame, and Gia Coppola, a member of Hollywood aristocracy. See their banter and check out the latest offerings here. Gia is also featured on Tappan Collective at the moment. Check out her [very reasonably priced] prints here.
