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. Testament of Youth
Awards season is right around the corner, get ready for an onslaught of trailers, starting now: Based on the First World War memoir by Vera Brittain, Testament of Youth is a story of love, war and remembrance. The latest offering from David Heyman (of Harry Potter fame), it’s a film about young love, the futility of war and how to make sense of the darkest times. The story, told from a woman’s point of view stars Alicia Vikander and opens this January.
2. Lost Painting Found While Watching Stuart Little
Robert Bereny’s painting Sleeping Lady with Black Vase was last seen in 1928. Vanity Fair reports on it’s remarkable discovery:
Gergely Barki, who works as a researcher at the Hungarian National Gallery in Budapest, was spending Christmas 2009 at home on the couch with his young daughter. They were watching Stuart Little when he noticed something odd about the painting hanging over the fictional family’s mantelpiece—it bore a striking resemblance to a work by Hungarian artist Robert Bereny.
It seems that the picture had been picked up in a California antique shop for $500 by a film assistant. It’s been returned to it’s rightful home. Read the full story here.
3. Audrey Hepburn: Portraits of an Icon coming to NPG
London’s National Portrait Gallery is about to get a big dose of glamour. Next summer Portraits of an Icon is set to open featuring photographs that detail the life and career of the beloved Audrey Hepburn. The Guardian reports on the announcement, and it’s serendipitous location:
Before Breakfast at Tiffany’s, before even Gigi, there was a jolly musical revue in London called Petite Sauce Tartare that helped propel a young Audrey Hepburn into the limelight – a show in a nightclub that is now part of the National Portrait Gallery.
Opening on the 65th anniversary of Hepburn’s appearance in Petite Sauce Tartare, the show will include pictures taken by the likes of Richard Avedon, Cecil Beaton, Irving Penn and Norman Parkinson. Read an in-depth article on plans for the exhibition in The Guardian here.
4. The Coveteur’s Guide to Art Basel
On until Sunday, Art Basel – Miami Beach is a contemporary collectors paradise. An overwhelming array of artists, galleries, parties and schmoozing, the week long event is the destination for every discerning collector. The Coveteur has written a Definitive Guide to the must see and must dos while visiting the fair. Check it out here.
5. Duncan Campbell wins Turner Prize
Glaswegian Duncan Campbell is the recipient of the 2014 Turner Prize. Taking home £25,000 on Monday night during an awards ceremony at Tate Britain hosted by Chiwetel Ejiofor, Campbell said:
Being nominated for the prize has given me great heart. The opinions of the jury mean a great deal to me.
Joining the ranks of some of Britain’s greatest artists including Anish Kapoor, Damien Hirst, Chris Ofili, Grayson Perry and Steve McQueen (who directed 12 Years a Slave starring Ejiofor), The Turner Prize is a coveted win. Read the full press release on The Tate site here.
It’s amazing that a painting could get lost and than found like that.
I know! I had an inner debate – do you admit to watching Stuart Little, or just go for the glory!