12.2.11

PRUNIER LOVE 2011 YVES SAINT LAURENT CAVIAR


IN HONOUR OF THE ICONIC FASHION LEGEND YVES SAINT LAURENT, MAISON PRUNIER HAS RECENTLY RELEASED THE 2011 OF THEIR LOVE EDITION CAVIAR. THE NAME DERIVES FROM THE SEASONS GREETINGS SENT BY YVES SAINT LAURENT TO HIS FRIENDS AND FAMILY, EACH FEATURING EXQUISITE LETTERS IN SPECIAL WRITING. THE CAVIAR USED IS OF THE ST JAMES VARIETY WHICH WAS FIRST INTRODUCED IN 1932 AT THE OPENING OF THE PRUNIER RESTAURANT ON ST JAMES STREET LONDON FOR HIGH-RANKING GUESTS.

11.2.11

DE BEERS ATEA COLLECTION


DEBEERS HAS RECENTLY RELEASED A STUNNING NEW COLLECTION INSPIRED BY THE THEME OF NATURE AND THE EXQUISITE SHAPE OF CIRCLES. THE COLLECTION FEATURES THE LEGENDARY ATEA LARGE PENDENT AND THE ATEA SMALL PENDENT WITH TURNING DIAMONDS FOR A TOTAL WEIGHT OF 2.45 CARATS AND 1 CARAT RESPECTIVELY. THE COLLECTION IS COMPLETED BY THE ATEA BRACELET, THE ATEA RING, BROOCH AND SLEEPER EARRINGS INSPIRED BY A NEW DAY AND IS EXCLUSIVELY AVAILABLE FROM DE BEERS WORLDWIDE.

MISSONI TO OPEN HOTEL IN KUWAIT


THE REZIDOR HOTEL GROUP ALONG WITH LUXURY ITALIAN FASHION HOUSE MISSONI HAS ANNOUNCED THE OFFICIAL OPENING OF HOTEL MISSONI KUWAIT, ON 1.MARCH.2011. THE BRAND FAMOUS FOR ITS LUXURIOUS STRIPED TEXTILES AND LA DOLCE VITA STYLE ALREADY HAS A HOTEL IN EDINBURGH, SCOTLAND. THE MISSONI KUWAIT IS PART OF THE SYMPHONY CENTRE, A BOUTIQUE EMPORIUM LOCATED IN THE CAPITAL'S SHOPPING DISTRICT. FOR THE HOTEL DESIGN CREATIVE DIRECTOR ROSITA MISSONI COMBINES VIBRANT PATTERNS AND BOLD COLOURS WITH TURQUOISE, GREEN AND GOLD ACCENTS APPROPRIATE FOR A HOTEL FACING THE SEA. THERE ARE A TOTAL OF 169 ROOMS AS WELL AS MEETING SPACE, A GYM, STEAM ROOM, SAUNA AND A POOL DECK OVERLOOKING THE CITY. DINING OPTIONS INCLUDE THE ITALIAN RESTAURANT CUCINA; LUNA RESTAURANT, LOCATED ON THE 18th FLOOR, WHICH SERVES A FUSION OF ARABIC-ORIENTAL AND MEDITERRANEAN CUISINE; CHOCO CAFE OFFERING PASTRIES, CHOCOLATE AND A SELECTION OF SMALL PLATES AND THE POOL BAR SERVING CONTINENTAL CUISINE. ROOMS HAVE BANG & OLUFSEN TELEVISIONS AND MIRRORS IN THE BATHROOM THAT CONVERT INTO TELEVISIONS. CHECK-IN IS DONE VIA iPAD. THE HOTEL ALSO WILL HAVE A 1,500 SQUARE METER LUXURY SIX SENSES SPA, OPENING LATER IN THE YEAR.

10.2.11

JOHNSON MEADE PAINTING ON ROAD TO AUTHENTICATION


RETIRED ARMY SENIOR SERGEANT, VICTOR HAZON HALL SAYS THAT HE HAS FOUND A SIGNED PAINTING WORTH MILLIONS OF DOLLARS AT A LOCAL FLEA MARKET. HE BLAMES CORRUPTION WITHIN THE ART WORLD FOR THE FACT THAT ART GALLERIES FAMILIAR WITH THE WORK OF THE ARTIST, MARTIN JOHNSON MEADE, REFUSE TO AUTHENTICATE THE FIND. HE HAS SUBMITTED THE PAINTING TO A WELL KNOWN ART RESTORATION AND CONSERVATION CENTER IN ATLANTA, GA, WHO CONFIRMED THAT IT IS AN ORIGINAL OIL PAINTING AND THAT SEVERAL FEATURES OF THE WORK ARE CONSISTENT WITH WORKS KNOWN TO HAVE BEEN CREATED BY JOHNSON HEADE. THE PAINTING IN QUESTION IS THE EPITOME OF PRE-RAPHAEL WORKS AND SHOWS THE INFLUENCE OF JOHN RUSKIN THROUGHOUT. IT IS UNQUESTIONABLY A MASTERPIECE WITH HISTORICAL CONNECTION TO THE AUDUBON SOCIETY'S 'THE SEASIDE FINCH'. HALL SAYS THAT THIS MAY BE THE GREATEST OF ALL JOHNSON HEADE'S WORKS, YET IT IS STAGNATED BY A FICKLE AUTHENTICATION SYSTEM WITH NO OBJECTIVITY. THE WORK IS SIGNED AND THERE IS A COMPARATIVE SIGNATURE CIRCA 1900 AVAILABLE. HE SAYS THAT A FEW LARGE GALLERIES HAVE ASKED HIM TO SEND ALL HIS RESEARCH SUPPORTING THE POSITION THAT THE WORK IS JOHNSON MEADE'S. HOWEVER, ONCE THEY RECEIVED HIS RESEARCH, THEY COULD NOT BE REACHED. HE BELIEVES THEY ARE PRACTICING A BIT OF DECEPTION IN THE HOPE THAT THIS WORK WILL BE PUT ON THE MARKET AGAIN AT SOME FUTURE DATE AT A BARGAIN PRICE. MANY PEOPLE DREAM OF FINDING TREASURE AND WORK TOWARD THAT GOAL. IT IS QUITE DISAPPOINTING WHEN ONCE ACTUALLY FINDS A TREASURE, ONLY TO BE STIFLED BY THE CORRUPTION OF A TROUBLED ART WORLD WITH MANY PROBLEMS. 'THIS IS AN AMERICAN DISGRACE AND CERTAINLY NOT THE AMERICAN WAY. THERE WAS A TIME IN THIS COUNTRY WHEN VIRTUE WAS BETTER THAN GOLD, BUT IT NOW APPEARS TO BE ABOUT EGOS AND GREED', HALL SAID IN AN INTERVIEW. HALL PLANS TO CONTINUE PUBLISHING ARTICLES AND KEEPING THE PRESS INFORMED ABOUT THE STATUS FOR THE STUNNING JOHNSON HEADE MASTERPIECE, POSSIBLY HIS GREATEST WORK OF A NOW EXTINCT SPECIES THAT NOW SEEMS TO BE CAUGHT IN A WEB OF SILENCE. HALL, AS WELL AS MANY HE HAS SPOKEN WITH ON THIS TOPIC, IS UNDER THE IMPRESSION THAT 'DEALING WITH OLD MASTERS IN THE ART WORLD IS A WORLD FOR SPECIAL PEOPLE IN AMERICA'.

CHRISTIE'S FAILS TO SELL GAUGUIN PAINTING


A PAINTING BY PAUL GAUGUIN, BILLED AS THE TOP LOT AT CHRISTIE'S AUCTION OF MODERN AND IMPRESSIONIST WORKS IN LONDON, FAILED TO FIND A BUYER ON WEDNESDAY. THE TRIBUTE TO THE ARTIST'S FRIEND VINCENT VAN GOGH, IN THE FORM OF A STILL LIFE WITH SUNFLOWERS CALLED 'NATURE MORTE A L'ESPERANCE', HAD BEEN EXPECTED TO FETCH UP TO $16 MILLION. OVERALL, THE AUCTION RAISED $99.6 MILLION, ACCORDING THE AUCTION HOUSE'S WEBSITE, TOWARD THE LOWER END OF THE EXPECTED $130.4 MILLION. THE TOP LOT OF THE NIGHT WAS PIERRE BONNARD'S 'TERRASSE A VERNON' WHICH SOLD FOR $11.6 MILLION, WELL ABOVE EXPECTATIONS OF $6.4 MILLION.

9.2.11

METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART PRESENTS CEZANNE'S CARD PLAYERS


THE LARGEST COLLECTION OF PAUL CEZANNE'S CARD PLAYER PAINTINGS TO EVER BE EXHIBITED TOGETHER OPENED RECENTLY AT THE METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART, NEW YORK. IT INCLUDED THREE OF FIVE OF THE FRENCH MASTER'S FAMOUS SERIES DEPICTING PEASANTS OF THE AIX-EN-PROVENCE REGION IN A MONUMENTAL LIGHT RARELY USED TO PORTRAY THE WORKING CLASSES AT THE END OF THE 19th CENTURY. GARY TINTEROW, CHAIRMAN OF THE MUSEUM'S DEPARTMENT OF 19th CENTURY, MODERN AND CONTEMPORARY ART, DESCRIBED IT AS A LANDMARK EXHIBITION, THE FIRST DEVOTED TO THE SUBJECT. 'CREATED IN THE 1890s WHILE THE ARTIST WAS LIVING AT HIS FAMILY'S ESTATE OUTSIDE AIX-EN-PROVENCE, THESE IMAGES CAPTURE THE CHARACTER CEZANNE ADMIRED IN THE PEOPLE OF THE REGION', TINTEROW SAID. THE EXHIBITION, WHICH RUNS UNTIL 8.MAY, ALSO INCLUDES TWO DOZEN WORKS FROM THE MUSEUM'S PERMANENT COLLECTION OF EARLIER CARD PLAYING AND SMOKING SKETCHES, INCLUDING DUTCH AND FLEMISH ETCHINGS FROM THE 17th CENTURY, AND THE 19th CENTURY FRENCH PRINTS, OFTEN PORTRAYING BAWDY SCENES WITH A HEAVY DOSE OF MORALIZING. BUT WHILE AWARE OF AN INFLUENCE BY THESE WORKS, CEZANNE, 'DECIDED TO REINVENT THE SUBJECT BY PORTRAYING HIS CARD PLAYERS AS STOIC, MONUMENTAL FIGURES', TINTEROW SAID. ALONGSIDE THE CARD PLAYERS PAINTINGS A SERIES OF CEZANNE'S PREPARATORY SKETCHES AND OIL PAINTINGS ARE ON SHOW. THE EXHIBIT WAS PREVIOUSLY ON DISPLAY AT THE COURTAULD GALLERY IN LONDON. ACCORDING TO THE CURATOR OF THE LONDON EXHIBIT, A FOURTH PAINTING BELONGING TO THE BARNES FOUNDATION IN THE UNITED STATES CANNOT BE LOANED OUT AND THE FIFTH IS IN A PRIVATE COLLECTION WHICH DECLINED TO RELEASE IT FOR THE SHOW. THE PEASANTS OF AIX REPRESENTED TO CEZANNE SOMETHING TIMELESS AND UNCHANGING. HE ONCE SAID; 'I LOVE ABOVE ALL ELSE THE APPEARANCE OF PEOPLE WHO HAVE GROWN OLD WITHOUT BREAKING WITH OLD CUSTOMS.' THE PAINTER REMAINED IN THE REGION FOR MOST OF HIS LIFE, BETWEEN 1839 AND 1906. JUST FOUR YEARS BEFORE HIS DEATH HE SAID TO JULES BORELY, AN EARLY BIOGRAPHER OF THE PAINTER, 'I WAS BORN HERE; I'LL DIE HERE.'

PICASSO'S LA LECTURE SELLS FOR RECORD £25,241,250


TONIGHT, SOTHEBY'S IMPRESSIONIST & MODERN EVENING SALE WAS LED BY PABLO PICASSO'S ICONIC 1932 PAINTING OF MARIE-THERESE WALTER, LA LECTURE, WHICH SOLD TO A ROUND OF APPLAUSE FOR £25,241,250 /$40,711,612, MORE THAN DOUBLE THE LOW ESTIMATE OF £12 – 18 MILLION/$18.5-27.8 MILLION. FOLLOWING A HEATED BIDDING CONTEST THAT LASTED SIX MINUTES AMONG AT LEAST SEVEN BIDDERS, BOTH ON THE PHONE AND IN THE SALESROOM, THE WORK FINALLY SOLD TO AN ANONYMOUS BUYER BIDDING OVER THE TELEPHONE. ACHIEVING A STRONG TOTAL OF £68,834,400 / $111,023,004, WELL WITHIN THE PRE-SALE ESTIMATE OF £55,630,000 - 79,250,000, THE SALE WAS 84.5% SOLD BY VALUE. THE SALE OF LA LECTURE BROUGHT THE PAINTING TO EUROPE FOR THE FIRST TIME SINCE IT WAS PAINTED IN 1932. IT IS ONE OF A SERIES OF DEFINING WORKS IN THE ARTIST'S OEUVRE IN WHICH HE INTRODUCES HIS YOUNG LOVER MARIE-THERESE WALTER AS A RECOGNIZABLE FIGURE. THE COUPLE'S RELATIONSHIP WAS KEPT A WELL-GUARDED SECRET FOR MANY YEARS, BOTH ON THE ACCOUNT OF THE FACT THAT PICASSO WAS THEN STILL MARRIED TO OLGA AND BECAUSE OF MARIE-THERES'S AGE, SHE WAS 17 AT THE TIME THEIR RELATIONSHIP BEGAN. UNTIL THE PERIOD IN WHICH THE WORK WAS PAINTED, MARIE-THERESE ONLY EVER APPEARED IN PICASSO'S WORKS IN CODE, HER FEATURES OFTEN EMBEDDED IN THE BACKGROUND OF HIS PAINTINGS. BUT BY THE END OF 1931, PICASSO COULD NO LONGER REPRESS THE CREATIVE IMPULSE THAT HIS LOVER INSPIRED, AND OVER CHRISTMAS AND NEW YEAR 1931 AND '32, MARIE-THERESE EMERGED, FOR THE FIRST TIME, IN FULLY RECOGNIZABLE, LANGUOROUS FORM.

8.2.11

NATIONAL PORTRAIT GALLERY UNVEILS PORTRAIT OF PRINCES WILLIAM AND HARRY


A PREVIOUSLY UNSEEN PORTRAIT OF PRINCE WILLIAM AND PRINCE HARRY BY FERGUS GREER AND A PORTRAIT OF TRACEY EMIN BY DAVID BAILEY WILL FORM PART OF A NEW GALLERY DISPLAY HIGHLIGHTING THE PHOTOGRAPHS RECENTLY ACQUIRED BY THE NATIONAL PORTRAIT GALLERY, LONDON. EIGHTEEN BY TWELVE: RECENT PHOTOGRAPHIC ACQUISITIONS FROM 7.FEBRUARY IN ROOM 41a WILL SHOW EIGHTEEN PRINTS BY TWELVE CONTEMPORARY PHOTOGRAPHERS, ALL ON DISPLAY FOR THE FIRST TIME AT THE GALLERY. EVERY YEAR THE NATIONAL PORTRAIT GALLERY ACQUIRES A DIVERSE SELECTION OF PHOTOGRAPHIC PORTRAITS WHICH OFFER A VISUAL REFLECTION OF CONTEMPORARY BRITISH LIFE AND CULTURE. THE SITTERS IN THIS DISPLAY INCLUDE RECENT PORTRAITS OF POPULAR SCIENTIST BRIAN COX, POET CHRISTOPHER REID, ACTORS BENEDICT CUMBERPATCH, ANDY SERKIS AND MACKENZIE CROOK AND SINGER SONGWRITER K T TUNSTALL. THE DISPLAY WILL ALSO INCLUDE COMEDIENNE CATHERINE TATE, CONTEMPORARY SINGER M I A, POET LAUREATE CAROL ANN DUFFY, NEWSPAPER EXECUTIVE REBEKAH WADE, COMEDIAN RONNIE CORBETT, ARTIST FRANK AUERBACH, AND FILM DIRECTOR TERENCE DAVIES. SEEN IN THE DISPLAY FOR THE FIRST TIME IS AN INFORMAL DOUBLE PORTRAIT OF PRINCES WILLIAM AND HARRY TAKEN AT THE COMMANDANTS HOUSE AT THE ROYAL MILITARY ACADEMY, SANDHURST. PHOTOGRAPHER FERGUS GREER WAS COMMISSIONED BY CLARENCE HOUSE TO TAKE THE PORTRAIT IN DECEMBER 2006 IN PREPARATION FOR THE CONCERT FOR DIANA IN 2007, BUT THE PHOTOGRAPH WAS NOT PUBLISHED. THE PORTRAIT IS ONLY THE SECOND DOUBLE PORTRAIT OF THE TWO PRINCES TO ENTER THE GALLERY'S COLLECTION, THE FIRST A FORMAL COMMISSIONED PORTRAIT BY ARTIST NICKY PHILLIPS WAS UNVEILED IN 2010. THE PHOTOGRAPHS COLLECTION CONSISTS OF MORE THAN 20,000 ORIGINAL PHOTOGRAPHIC IMAGES DATING FROM THE 1840s TO THE PRESENT DAY. FOUNDED IN 1856, THE AIM OF THE NATIONAL PORTRAIT GALLERY IS TO COLLECT PORTRAITS OF FAMOUS EN AND WOMEN WHO HAVE MADE AND ARE MAKING BRITISH HISTORY AND CULTURE.

7.2.11

RESTORATION AT CHICHESTER CATHEDRAL TO BEGIN


CHICHESTER CATHEDRAL RESTORATION & DEVELOPMENT TRUST ANNOUNCED RECENTLY THE ARRIVAL OF CONSERVATORS TO SAVE THE TUDOR PAINTINGS IN CHICHESTER CATHEDRAL. FOLLOWING A NATIONAL APPEAL TO RAISE £250,000 TO SAVE THE TUDOR PAINTINGS BY LAMBERT BARNARD IN CHICHESTER CATHEDRAL THE WORK HAS NOW BEGUN. ALISON GODFRY, DIRECTOR OF THE CHICHESTER CATHEDRAL RESTORATION & DEVELOPMENT TRUST SAID: 'SO FAR WE HAVE MANAGED TO RAISE £202,000 TOWARDS THE PROJECT. HOWEVER, THE PAINTINGS ARE IN SUCH A CRITICAL CONDITION THAT IT WAS NOT POSSIBLE TO WAIT ANY LONGER BEFORE THE STABILIZATION COULD COMMENCE. WE ARE DELIGHTED THAT THE APPOINTED CONSERVATORS, THE HAMILTON KERR INSTITUTE (PART OF THE FITZWILLIAM MUSEUM, CAMBRIDGE) JOINED US ON 11.JANUARY TO BEGIN THIS VITAL WORK. THE PAINTINGS, OF INTERNATIONAL SIGNIFICANCE, FEATURED ON THE BBC2 CULTURE SHOW IN OCTOBER 2010 AND THIS REALLY HELPED US RAISE THE MONEY. WE JUST HOPE THAT VISITORS, HISTORIANS AND ART ENTHUSIASTS WILL NOW HELP US WITH THIS FINAL AMOUNT THAT WE DESPERATELY NEED.' 'THE WORK THAT IS BEING CARRIED OUT IS CRITICAL AND WILL PREVENT ANY FURTHER DETERIORATION FOR THE TIME BEING. THE PAINTINGS ARE COMPLETELY UNIQUE, NOTHING LIKE THEM SURVIVES IN EITHER THIS COUNTRY OR EUROPE. IT IS OUR RESPONSIBILITY TO LOOK AFTER THEM AND MAKE SURE THEY SURVIVE FOR FURTHER GENERATIONS', SHE ADDED. THE CATHEDRAL IS OPEN EVERY DAY AND THERE IS NO ADMISSION CHARGE. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION ABOUT THE SERVICES AND RESTORATION VISIT www.chichestercathedral.org.uk

SKYY VODKA INFUSIONS: DRAGON FRUIT AND BLOOD ORANGE


A YEAR AFTER THE LAUNCH OF ITS GINGER-INFUSED VODKA, AMERICAN PREMIUM LABEL SKYY HAS LAUNCHED THE LATEST ADDITIONS TO ITS ALL-NATURAL INFUSIONS RANGE WITH DRAGON FRUIT AND BLOOD ORANGE FLAVORS. BUILDING ON THE MOMENTUM AND POPULARITY OF DRAGON FRUIT JUICES AND FLAVORED WATERS, SKYY INFUSIONS DRAGON FRUIT PRESENTS AN EXOTIC TASTE AND IS BILLED AS THE FIRST DRAGON FRUIT VODKA AVAILABLE ACROSS THE COUNTRY. MEANWHILE SKYY INFUSIONS BLOOD ORANGE BUILDS ON THE POPULARITY OF ORANGE-FLAVORED VODKAS, THIRD MOST POPULAR IN THE CATEGORY, WITH A MORE INTENSE FLAVOR PARTICULARLY SUITED TO TIKI COCKTAILS. THEY JOIN THE EXISTING LINE-UP OF CITRUS, CHERRY, GRAPE, RASPBERRY, PASSION FRUIT, PINEAPPLE AND GINGER INFUSED VODKAS.

BACCARAT L'ESPRIT DES BOIS COLLECTION


LUXURY CRYSTAL MAKERS BACCARAT HAS RECENTLY RELEASED A STUNNING AND UNIQUE COLLECTION OF HOMEWARES DESIGNED BY DUTCH INDUSTRIAL DESIGNER MARCEL WANDERS. THE COLLECTION FEATURES NATURE AS ITS MAIN THEME USING SEVERAL WORLDS TO CROSS THE HOUSE AND FUNCTION BOTH AS HOMEWARE AND DECORATIVE ART. THE COLLECTION INCLUDES A CANDLE AS THE FOREST OF DREAMS, MONUMENTAL VASES AS THE SURF'S FOREST, WINE GLASSES AS THE DRUNKENNESS OF THE WOODS AND SHINY AND ELEGANT DECANTERS TO FINISH OFF THE COLLECTION. THE BACCARAT L'ESPRIT DES BOIS COLLECTION IS EXCLUSIVELY AVAILABLE FROM BACCARAT BOUTIQUES WORLDWIDE.