26.3.11

CHRISTIE'S TO SELL MONET'S 'LES PEUPLIERS'


A PRISTINE MONET MASTERPIECE FROM THE ARTIST'S CELEBRATED 'POPLARS' SERIES WILL BE FEATURED AT CHRISTIE'S IN MAY, WHEN IT IS EXPECTED TO SELL FOR AS MUCH AS $30 MILLION, THE AUCTION HOUSE SAID RECENTLY. 'LES PEUPLIERS', THE LARGEST FROM MONET'S FAMED PAINTINGS DEPICTING POPLAR TREES EXECUTED DURING HIS YEARS IN GIVERNY, IS BEING SOLD BY AN ASIAN COLLECTOR WHO PURCHASED IT AT AUCTION IN 2000 FOR JUST OVER $7 MILLION. AFTER A PRECIPITOUS DECLINE FOLLOWING THE FINANCIAL CRISIS THAT HIT IN LATE 2008, THE ART MARKET CAME ROARING BACK LAST YEAR WITH WORKS BREAKING THE $100 MILLION MARK, ARTISTS' RECORDS BEING BROKEN AND AUCTION HOUSES RAKING IN CASH ONCE AGAIN. 'THE APPEARANCE OF THIS MASTERPIECE QUALITY WORKS MARKS THE FIRST TIME IN OVER A DECADE THAT A MAJOR 1890s SERIES PAINTING HAS COME TO AUCTION', SAID CONOR JORDON, CHRISTIE'S HEAD OF IMPRESSIONIST AND MODERN ART. 'WE ANTICIPATE GREAT ENTHUSIASM FROM MANY COLLECTORS, DEALERS AND MUSEUM DIRECTORS WHO HAVE BEEN EAGER FOR A QUINTESSENTIAL MONET SCENE SUCH AS THIS', JORDON ADDED. PRICES FOR TOP QUALITY WORKS BY MONET HAVE SOARED IN RECENT SEASONS, CHRISTIE'S NOTED. THE AUCTION RECORD FOR A MONET IS $80.4 MILLION SET IN MAY 2008 BY 'LE BASSIN AUX NYMPHEAS' FROM THE ARTIST'S RENOWNED WATERLILIES SERIES, WHICH WAS ABOUT TWICE THE PRE-SALE ESTIMATE. THE MAJORITY OF THE 24 WORKS FROM THE POPLARS SERIES HANG IN MAJOR ART MUSEUMS INCLUDING LONDON'S TATE GALLERY, THE PHILADELPHIA MUSEUM OF ART AND BOSTON'S MUSEUM OF FINE ARTS. 'LES PEUPLIERS' WILL BE SOLD IN NEW YORK ON 4.MAY AFTER TOURING IN MOSCOW AND LONDON IN APRIL. MONET PAINTED 'LES PEUPLIERS' DURING THE SUMMER OF 1891 AFTER STRIKING A DEAL WITH A WOOD CUTTER NOT TO CUT DOWN A STAND OF POPLAR TREES ON THE RIVER NEAR HIS HOME UNTIL HE COULD FINISH PAINTING THEM.

PERRIER-JOUET BI-CENTENAIRE


21.MARCH, THE FIRST DAY OF SPRING, SAW CHAMPAGNE HOUSE PERRIER-JOUET CELEBRATE ITS BICENTENARY IN PARIS WITH THE UNVEILING OF BI-CENTENAIRE, THE VERY FIRST LIVING LEGACY CHAMPAGNE DESIGNED TO BE PASSED ON TO FUTURE GENERATIONS. JUST 200 SELECTED GUESTS FROM 10 COUNTRIES ATTENDED THE PRIVATE LAUNCH, SET IN THE STUNNING GLASS COURTYARD OF THE ICONIC ECOLE DES BEAUX ARTS IN PARIS. GUESTS WERE ALSO TREATED TO THE UNVEILING OF A NEW UNIQUE CREATION COMMISSIONED FROM AMERICAN ARTIST DANIEL ARSHAM, DESIGNED TO EMBODY THE SPIRIT OF BI-CENTENAIRE. CHAIRMAN & CEO OF MARTELL MUMM PERRIER-JOUET LIONEL BRETON SAID: 'WE ARE VERY PROUD TO CELEBRATE TONIGHT THE BICENTENARY OF PERIERR-JOUET WITH THIS UNIQUE CHAMPAGNE EXPERIENCE AS A REAL TRIBUTE TO THE HOUSE'S REMARKABLE CRAFTSMANSHIP AND PASSION FOR PASSING ON A SENSE OF FRENCH ART DE VIVRE TO FUTURE GENERATIONS.' PERRIER-JOUET BI-CENTENAIRE IS AVAILABLE IN VERY LIMITED QUANTITIES (ONLY 100 PIECES WILL BE AVAILABLE) AT THE CHAMPAGNE HOUSE'S BOUTIQUE IN EPERNAY AND BY APPOINTMENT ONLY INCLUDING A PRIVILEGED HOSPITALITY EXPERIENCE, WITH AN ESTIMATED PRICES OF 10,000 EUROS.

25.3.11

CHOPIN MUSEUM TO PRESENT A COLLECTION OF FREDERIC CHOPIN'S LETTERS


A COLLECTION OF FREDERIC CHOPIN'S LETTERS TELLING OF THE POLISH COMPOSER'S DAILY LIFE, FROM GIVING LESSONS TO THE HOT CHOCOLATE HE DRANK, HAVE GONE ON DISPLAY IN WARSAW'S CHOPIN MUSEUM MORE THAN SIX DECADES AFTER THEY WENT MISSING. THE SIX LETTERS WRITTEN BY CHOPIN TO HIS PARENTS AND SISTERS BACK HOME IN WARSAW IN 1845-1848 ARE THE CENTERPIECE OF THE EXHIBIT THAT OPENED THURSDAY. IT WILL RUN FOR ONE MONTH AFTER WHICH THEY WILL BE MADE AVAILABLE TO RESEARCHERS. THE COLLECTION ALSO INCLUDES LETTERS FROM THE PIANO COMPOSER'S SCOTTISH PUPIL JANE STIRLING TO CHOPIN'S SISTER, AS WELL AS OTHER ITEMS, SUCH AS A TICKET FOR A REHEARSAL CONCERT ON 26.JULY.1840. ALTHOUGH THE CONTENTS OF THE LETTERS WERE KNOWN TO RESEARCHERS, THE ORIGINALS WERE BELIEVED TO HAVE BEEN LOST OR DESTROYED DURING WORLD WAR II. 'THIS IS A GREAT DAY FOR US. THIS IS AN INVALUABLE COLLECTION THAT WE HAVE ACQUIRED', MUSEUM CURATOR ALICJA KNAST TOLD A NEWS CONFERENCE. HE SAID THAT UNTIL 1939 THE COLLECTION WAS IN THE HANDS OF LAURA CIECHOMSKA, A GRANDNIECE OF CHOPIN'S. WORD EMERGED IN 2003 THAT THE LETTERS EXISTED AND THAT A POLISH EMIGRE ART DEALER LIVING IN MEXICO, MAREK KELLER, WAS TO BUY THEM. HE THEN DONATED THEM TO THE MUSEUM. MUSEUM AUTHORITIES REFUSED TO DISCLOSE THE NAME OF THE COLLECTOR WHO HAD THEM OR THE FATE OF THE ITEMS SINCE 1939, HONORING THE COLLECTOR'S REQUEST TO REMAIN ANONYMOUS. KNAST SAID ALL THE ITEMS WERE CONFIRMED AS AUTHENTIC BEFORE THEY WERE BOUGHT FOR AN UNDISCLOSED SUM OF MONEY. CHOPIN WAS BORN IN POLAND IN 1810 TO A FRENCH FATHER AND A POLISH MOTHER, AND SPENT THE FIRST HALF OF HIS LIFE IN POLAND. DURING THE SECOND HALF HE LIVED IN FRANCE, WHERE HE WON FAME WITH HIS COMPOSITIONS, MOSTLY FOR THE PIANO, AND HIS POPULAR CONCERTS. HE DIED IN PARIS IN 1849.

SOTHEBY'S TO SELL EMERALD AND DIAMOND TIARA


DAVID BENNETT, SOTHEBY'S CHAIRMAN OF JEWELRY FOR EUROPE AND THE MIDDLE EAST, TODAY ANNOUNCED THAT SOTHEBY'S WILL SELL THE MOST VALUABLE EMERALD AND DIAMOND TIARA TO HAVE APPEARED AT AUCTION IN OVER 30 YEARS IN ITS SALE OF MAGNIFICENT AND NOBLE JEWELS IN GENEVA ON 17.MAY. ESTIMATED TO SELL FOR A RECORD £3.1-6.2 MILLION, THE HIGHLY IMPORTANT AND EXTREMELY RARE EMERALD AND DIAMOND TIARA IS COMPOSED OF 11 EXCEPTIONALLY RARE COLOMBIAN EMERALD PEAR-SHAPED DROPS WHICH WEIGH OVER 500 CARATS IN TOTAL, WHICH MAY WELL HAVE ORIGINALLY ADORNED THE NECK OF A MAHARAJAH. THE EMERALDS ARE ALSO BELIEVED TO HAVE BEEN IN THE PERSONAL COLLECTION OF EMPRESS EUGENIE. THE SUPERB TIARA WAS COMMISSIONED, POSSIBLY FROM THE RENOWNED JEWELERS CHAUMET, BY GUIDO COUNT VON HENCKEL, FIRST PRINCE VON DONNERSMARCK FOR HIS SECOND WIFE PRINCESS KATHARINA. THE JEWELRY COLLECTION OF THE DONNERSCARCKS WAS KNOWN TO BE ON PAR WITH, OR EVEN TO HAVE EXCEEDED, THOSE OF MANY OF THE CROWNED HEADS OF EUROPE.

24.3.11

ICONIC ACTRESS ELIZABETH TAYLOR DIES AT 79


THE ICONIC FILM STAR ELIZABETH TAYLOR, WHO DIED OF HEART FAILURE AGED 79, WAS IN THE PUBLIC EYE FROM THE AGE OF 11 AND REMAINED THERE EVEN DECADES AFTER HER LAST HIT MOVIE. SHE MANAGED TO KEEP PEOPLE FASCINATED, BY HER INCANDESCENT BEAUTY, HER COURAGE, HE OPEN-NATURES CHARACTER, HER SELF-DEPRECATING HUMOR, HER EIGHT MARRIAGES (TWO OF THEM WITH RICHARD BURTON), HER STUNNING COLLECTION OF DIAMONDS AND HER HUMANITARIAN CAUSES, ALL OF WHICH OFTEN OBSCURED THE REASON WHY SHE WAS FAMOUS IN THE FIRST PLACE - SHE HAD A TANTALIZING SCREEN PRESENCE, IN FILMS INCLUDING 'A PLACE IN THE SUN', 'GIANT', 'CAT ON A HOT TIN ROOF', 'BUTTERFIELD 8', CLEOPATRA' AND 'WHO'S AFRAID OF VIRGINIA WOLFE?'. TAYLOR WAS BORN IN HAMPSTEAD, NORTH LONDON, OF AMERICAN PARENTS. HER MOTHER, SARA, WAS A FORMER STAGE ACTOR AND HER FATHER, FRANCIS, AN ART DEALER. AS SOON AS SHE COULD WALK SHE WAS GIVEN BALLET LESSONS, AND AT THE AGE OF THREE SHE DANCED WITH HER CLASS IN FRONT OF THE ROYAL FAMILY. IN 1939, A FEW MONTHS BEFORE THE OUTBREAK OF WAR, THE FAMILY MOVED TO HOLLYWOOD, WHERE HER FATHER OPENED AN ART GALLERY MUCH PATRONIZED BY THE FILM COLONY. THE BEAUTY OF THE OWNER'S DARK-HAIRED, VIOLET-EYED YOUNG DAUGHTER WON ALMOST AS MUCH PRAISE AS THE PAINTINGS ON THE WALLS, AND SHE WAS SOON MAKING HER SCREEN DEBUT, AT THE AGE OF 10, IN 'THERE'S ONE BORN EVERY MINUTE', AT UNIVERSAL. BUT IT WAS MGM WHO LAUNCHED HER CAREER PROPER WITH 'LASSIE COME HOME', AND FOR WHOM MOST OF HER FILMS WERE MADE. WHEN SARA TAYLOR HEARD THAT THE STUDIO WAS LOOKING FOR A YOUNG GIRL TO PLAY VELVET BROWN, WHO WINS THE GRAND NATIONAL DISGUISED AS A BOY IN 'NATIONAL VELVET', SHE BROUGHT HER DAUGHTER TO SEE THE PRODUCER PANDRO S BERMAN. HE THOUGHT HER TOO THIN AND FRAGILE FOR THE PART, ALTHOUGH SHE COULD RIDE WELL. BUT THREE MONTHS LATER, AFTER RIGID TRAINING FROM HER MOTHER, SHE WAS ABLE TO CHANGE BERMAN'S MIND. HER PERFORMANCE, IN WHICH SHE RADIATES YOUTH, IS ENJOYED PERENNIALLY. TAYLOR'S FIRST MARRIAGE WAS TO NICKY HILTON, THE 23 YEAR OLD PLAYBOY SON OF THE HOTEL MAGNATE CONRAD HILTON, IN 1950. IT SEEMED A FAIRYTALE ROMANCE, AS BOTH WERE YOUNG, ATTRACTIVE, RICH AND PAMPERED. MGM TOOK ADVANTAGE OF HOLLYWOOD'S BIGGEST WEDDING OF THE YEAR BY RELEASING VINCENTE MINNELLI'S DELIGHTFUL COMEDY 'FATHER OF THE BRIDE', IN WHICH TAYLOR PLAYED THE BRIDE AND SPENCER TRACEY WAS THE FATHER, AT AROUND THE SAME TIME. AFTER HER SEPARATION FROM HILTON SHE MET THE SOPHISTICATED BRITISH ACTOR MICHAEL WILDING, 20 YEARS HER SENIOR. SHE WAS PLAYING REBECCA IN 'IVANHOE' IN ENGLAND WHEN SHE PROPOSED TO HIM. THEY WERE MARRIED IN 1952, AT A LONDON REGISTRY OFFICE. HER SONS, MICHAEL AND CHRISTOPHER, WERE BOTH BORN BY CAESAREAN SECTION, IN 1953 AND 1955 RESPECTIVELY. BY 1956 THE MARRIAGE BEGAN TO TOTTER. IRONICALLY, THE MAN SHE WAS TO MARRY NEXT WAS FIVE YEARS OLDER THAN WILDING. BUT THE FLAMBOYANT IMPRESARIO MIKE TODD, THE BEGETTER OF 'AROUND THE WORLD IN 80 DAYS', WAS NOTED FOR HIS YOUTHFUL SPIRIT AND HIS ABUNDANT ENERGY. AT THEIR WEDDING IN ACAPULCO IN 1957, MIKE'S LIFELONG FRIEND, THE SINGER EDDIE FISHER, WAS BEST MAN, AND EDDIE'S WIFE, DEBBIE REYNOLDS, WAS MATRON OF HONOR. IN THE SAME YEAR, A DAUGHTER, LIZA, WAS BORN AND BOTH MOTHER AND CHILD NEARLY DIED. TAYLOR WAS ADVISED NEVER TO HAVE ANOTHER BABY. A MERE SEVEN MONTHS LATER, TODD'S PRIVATE PLANE, LUCKY LIZ, IN WHICH HE WAS FLYING TO NEW YORK, CRASHED IN A STORM NEAR ALBUQUERQUE LEAVING NO SURVIVORS. TAYLOR HAD WANTED TO ACCOMPANY HER HUSBAND ON THE FLIGHT BUT SHE WAS PERSUADED TO STAY AT HOME BECAUSE OF THE FLU. GRADUALLY, TAYLOR CAME OUT OF SECLUSION AFTER THE DEATH AND COMPLETED 'CAT ON A HOT TIN ROOF'. DESPITE, OR BECAUSE OF, HER STATE OF MIND, SHE GAVE ONE OF HER MOST FINELY WROUGHT PERFORMANCES AS THE SEXUALLY FRUSTRATED MAGGIE. HER VOICE, NEVER HER STRONG POINT, SEEMED TO HAVE GAINED IN POWER, AND SHE MATCHED PAUL NEWMAN AND BURL IVES BLOW FOR BLOW. THE FILM'S BOX-OFFICE POTENTIAL WAS INCREASED FURTHER BY GOSSIP SURROUNDING TAYLOR AND FISHER. TAYLOR, WHO HAD BEEN CAST AS THE GRIEVING WIDOW, NOW FOUND HERSELF IN THE ROLE OF THE VAMP WHO WRECKED THE FISHERS' APPARENTLY IDYLLIC MARRIAGE. THE OUTRAGED MORALISTIC PUBLIC WAS UNAWARE THAT THE FISHER-REYNOLDS MARRIAGE WAS ALREADY IN TATTERS. IN 1959, TAYLOR WHO HAD CONVERTED TO JUDAISM WHEN SHE MARRIED TODD, MARRIED FISHER AT A SYNAGOGUE IN LAS VEGAS. TAYLOR WAS IN LONDON WHERE SHE WAS COMPLETING 'SUDDENLY, LAST SUMMER', WHEN THE PRODUCER WALTER WANGER OFFERED HER THE TITLE ROLE IN 'CLEOPATRA'. THE STAR HALF-JOKINGLY TOLD HIM THAT SHE WOULD DO IT FOR $1 MILLION AGAINST 10% OF THE GROSS. TO EVERYONE'S ASTONISHMENT, 20tH CENTURY FOX AGREED TO HER TERMS, MAKING HER THE HIGHEST PAID PERFORMER FOR A SINGLE FILM IN THE HISTORY OF HOLLYWOOD TO THAT DATE. AS SHE SAID, 'IF SOMEONE'S DUMB ENOUGH TO OFFER ME A MILLION DOLLARS TO MAKE A PICTURE, I'M CERTAINLY NOT DUMB ENOUGH TO TURN IT DOWN.' WHEN FILMING ON 'CLEOPATRA' STARTED TAYLOR WAS FIRST STRICKEN WITH A COLD, THEN A FEVER, THEN AN INFECTED TOOTH. IN MARCH 1961, SHE WAS RUSHED TO A LONDON CLINIC WITH LUNG CONGESTION. SHE WAS GIVEN A TRACHEOTOMY THAT HELPED HER BREATHING, BUT FOR DAYS SHE WAS ON THE DANGER LIST. AFTER SOME TIME IN A COMA, SHE BEGAN TO RALLY. HER PHYSICIANS ANNOUNCED, 'SHE HAS MADE A VERY RARE RECOVERY. MISS TAYLOR IS A WOMAN OF GREAT COURAGE. SHE PUT UP A WONDERFUL FIGHT.' IN THE SPRING, TAYLOR WON HER FIRST OSCAR, AFTER THREE CONSECUTIVE NOMINATINS FOR BEST ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE (IN 'RAINTREE COUNTY', 'CAT ON A HOT TIN ROOF' AND 'SUDDENLY, LAST SUMMER') FOR THE HIGH CLASS HOOKER IN THE 1960 FILM 'BUTTERFIELD 8', AN ADAPTION OF JOHN O'HARA'S NOVEL. AS FOR CLEOPATRA, THE WHOLE PROJECT WAS SHIPPED TO ROME, WHERE TAYLOR ARRIVED WITH A LARGE ENTOURAGE CONSISTING OF ONE HUSBAND, THREE CHILDREN, FIVE DOGS, TWO CATS, VARIOUS SECRETARIES AND DOZENS OF SERVANTS, AND SETTLED AT THE VILLA PAPPA, A 14 ROOMED MANSION OFF THE VIA APPIA. 'THERE COMES A TIME DURING THE MAKING OF A MOVIE WHEN THE ACTORS BECOME THE CHARACTERS THEY PLAY', WAGNER NOTED IN HIS DIARY. 'THE CAMERAS TURNED ON AND THE CURRENT WAS LITERALLY TURNED ON. IT WAS QUIET AND YOU COULD ALMOST FEEL THE ELECTRICITY BETWEEN ELIZABETH TAYLOR AND BURTON.' AFTER THE FIRST 'ELECTRIC SCENE' THEY PERFORMED TOGETHER, BURTON, WHO WAS MARRIED, FREQUENTED THE VILLA IN THE EVENINGS. 'I'M AFRAID AT FIRST IT WAS LUST, AND THEN I GOT TO KNOW HER AND IT WAS LOVE', BURTON RECALLED. THROUGHOUT THE SHOOTING, TO AVOID THE CONSTANT PRYING OF THE PAPARAZZI, THE CELEBRATED COUPLE WOULD ESCAPE TO A CHEAP ONE ROOM APARTMENT ON THE BEACH. FINALLY, WARY OF SUBTERFUGE, THEY DECIDED TO BE SEEN PUBLICLY IN THE VIA VENETO. THE VATICAN TALKED OF 'THIS INSULT TO THE NOBILITY OF THE HEARTH', AND ED SULLIVAN ON HIS TV SHOW SAID, 'YOU CAN ONLY TRUST THAT YOUNGSTERS WILL NOT BE PERSUADED THAT THE SANCTITY OF MARRIAGE HAS BEEN INVALIDATED BY THE APPALLING EXAMPLE OF MRS TAYLOR-FISHER AND MARRIED MAN BURTON.' AFTER CLEOPATRA, BURTON AND TAYLOR ANNOUNCED THAT THEY WOULD MAKE ANOTHER FILM TOGETHER, ORIGINALLY TO BE CALLED 'INTERNATIONAL AFFAIR'. THE TITLE WAS CHANGED TO 'THE VIPs'. DURING THE FILMING IN LONDON, CLEOPATRA OPENED TO MIXED REVIEWS. AUDIENCES WERE DISAPPOINTED THAT THE LOVE SCENES BETWEEN TAYLOR AND BURTON THAT HAD BEEN THE TALK OF MODERN ROME WERE NOT REPEATED WITH SO MUCH PASSION IN THOSE OF ANCIENT ROME. BUT PUBLIC INTEREST IN THE COUPLE'S PRIVATE LIVES STILL MADE THE FILM A TOP EARNER OF 1963. THE AFFAIR CONTINUED IN THE PUBLIC EYE, WHILE BOTH FISHER AND SYBIL BURTON HELD OUT FOR THE BEST POSSIBLE DIVORCE DEALS. FINALLY, SYBIL BURTON CAVE IN, CLAIMING CRUELTY AND THAT HER HUSBAND WAS 'IN THE CONSTANT COMPANY OF ANOTHER WOMAN', WHICH NEWSWEEK CALLED 'THE THROWAWAY LINE OF THE DECADE'. BURTON AND TAYLOR WERE MARRIED IN MARCH 1964 BY A UNITARIAN MINISTER AT THE RITZ-CARLTON IN MONTREAL. SHE WORE A PALE YELLOW IRENE SHARAFF GOWN, AND A $150,000 EMERALD AND DIAMOND BROOCH THAT BURTON HAD BOUGHT HER AT BULGARI IN ROME. THE SCANDAL OVER, PUBLIC INTEREST IN THEM ONLY SEEMED TO INCREASE. THE WORLD'S MOST FAMOUS COUPLE HAD BECOME CELEBRITIES RATHER THAN ACTORS. 'I WANT TO BE KNOWN AS AN ACTRESS', TAYLOR TOLD THE NEW YORK TIMES IN 1964. AFTER A SERIES OF LESS THAN CONVINCING FILMS TOGETHER, IT WAS FORTUNATE THAT THEIR CREDIBILITY AS PERFORMERS WAS SOON BRILLIANTLY RESTORED BY 'WHO'S AFRAID OF VIRGINIA WOLFE?' FOR WHICH TAYLOR WON HER SECOND BEST OSCAR, PLAYING THE BITTER, 52 YEAR OLD, VULGAR WIFE OF A SELF LOATHING PROFESSOR. AS THE TAYLOR-BURTON CIRCUS MOVED FROM COUNTRY TO COUNTRY, THEIR WAY OF LIFE, WHICH THE NEW YORK TIMES LIKENED TO THE COURT OF LOUIS XIV, BECAME EVER MORE LAVISH. TAYLOR'S ELDEST SON, MICHAEL, WOULD BECOME A HIPPIE AND LIVE IN A COMMUNE IN WALES 'IN ORDER TO GET AWAY FROM ALL THOSE DIAMONDS', ACCORDING TO THE DAILY MIRROR. 'THOSE DIAMONDS' INCLUDED THE 33.19 CARAT KRUPP DIAMOND THAT BURTON BOUGHT TAYLOR FOR MORE THAN $300,000 IN 1968; A $1.5 MILLION CARTIER DIAMOND SET IN A NECKLACE OF SMALLER DIAMONDS, AND THE MUCH PUBLICIZED HEART SHAPED DIAMOND PENDENT BURTON GAVE HER FOR HER 40th BIRTHDAY. THE MARRIAGE EVENTUALLY BROKE DOWN AND, IN JUNE 1974, TAYLOR DIVORCED BURTON IN SWITZERLAND. 'THERE WERE TOO MANY DIFFERENCES. I HAVE TRIED EVERYTHING', SHE TOLD THE COURT. YET THEY WERE RECONCILED IN AUGUST 1975, ATTRACTING AS MUCH ATTENTION AS EVER. ON A VISIT TO SOUTH AFRICA IN THE AUTUMN, AN X-RAY OF TAYLOR'S CHEST SHOWED TWO SPOTS ON HER LUNGS. TERRIFIED, BURTON AND TAYLOR CLUNG TO EACH OTHER ALL NIGHT. IN THE MORNING, SHE WAS TOLD SHE DID NOT HAVE CANCER. IN HIS JOY, BURTON PROPOSED REMARRIAGE. THE CEREMONY TOOK PLACE ON THE BANKS OF A RIVER IN BOTSWANA. A FEW MONTHS LATER, THEY WERE AGAIN FILLING FOR DIVORCE. TAYLOR SOON MET JOHN WARNER, THE FORMER SECRETARY OF THE NAVY TO PRESIDENT GERALD FORD, AND THEY MARRIED IN 1976. SHE BECAME A POLITICAL WIFE, CAMPAIGNING HARD TO GET HER HUSBAND ELECTED TO THE SENATE. 'IT WAS SO BORING. THAT'S WHY I PUT ON SO MUCH WEIGHT', SHE CONFESSED. SHE THEREFORE DECIDED TO RETURN TO ACTING, ON BROADWAY, AS THE VIXEN REGINA GIDDENS IN LILLIAN HELLMAN'S DRAMA 'THE LITTLE FOXES', WHICH SHE ALSO PLAYED AT THE VICTORIA PALACE THEATRE, LONDON IN 1982 TO MIXED REVIEWS. BUT, WITH HER CAREER IN FULL SWING AGAIN - AND SOLO - SHE WAS NOT CONTENT TO BE KEPT DOWN ON THE FARM IN VIRGINIA. SHE AND WARNER DIVORCED IN 1982. THE LONG-RUNNING ROMANCE ENDED WITH BURTON'S DEATH IN AUGUST 1984. TAYLOR STAYED AWAY FROM HIS FUNERAL AS AS NOT TO TURN IT INTO A MEDIA CIRCUS. BUT A FEW DAYS LATER, SHE STOOD STRICKEN AT THE GRAVESIDE OF THE MAN WITH WHOM SHE HAD SHARED THE LIMELIGHT FOR MORE THAN TWO DECADES. AND IN 1991 TAYLOR MARRIED LARRY FORTENSKY, A CONSTRUCTION WORKER 20 YEARS HER JUNIOR WHOM SHE MET WHILE BEING TREATED AT THE BETTY FORD CLINIC. TAYLOR, WHO WAS MADE DAME IN 2000, IS SURVIVED BY HER BROTHER, HOWARD; TWO SONS, MICHAEL AND CHRISTOPHER WILDING; HER DAUGHTER LIZA TODD; HER AND BURTON'S ADOPTED DAUGHTER, MARIA; AND 10 GRANDCHILDREN.

23.3.11

'THE VIRGIN AND CHILD WITH REPENTANT SINNERS' COMFIRMED AS AN ORIGINAL VAN DYCK


'THE VIRGIN AND CHILD WITH REPENTANT SINNERS' WAS NOT A COPY OF VAN DYCK AND DID NOT DESERVE TO BE IN THE BASEMENT OF THE SAN FERNANDO ROYAL ACADEMY OF FINE ARTS IN MADRID. IT WAS A GENUINE VAN DYCK FROM 1625, THE INSTITUTION TOOK IT OUT OF STORAGE RECENTLY AFTER MANY YEARS. THE WORK WAS INCLUDED IN THE 1964 INVENTORY OF THE ACADEMY AS 'AN OLD COPY OF VAN DYCK'. ONCE THE PAINTING WAS CLEANED AND RESTORED, THE AUTHENTICITY OF THE WORK OF ART HAS BEEN CONFIRMED ACCORDING TO THE PRESS RELEASE. THE DIRECTOR OF THE ACADEMY, ANTONIO BONET CORREA, APPEARED BEFORE THE PRESS TO PRESENT THE WORK WITH THE TEACHER AND RESEARCHER OF HISTORY OF ART AND FORMER CURATOR OF THE MUSEO DEL PRADO, MATIAS DIAZ PADRON. THE ATTRIBUTION TO VAN DYCK IS 'NO LONGER IN DOUBT', SAID THE ROYAL ACADEMY. 'THE VIRGIN AND CHILD WITH REPENTANT SINNERS' DEPICTS THE VIRGIN MARY WITH THE BABY JESUS IN HER ARMS WATCHED BY MARY MAGDALENE, KING DAVID AND THE PRODIGAL SON. THE PICTURE IS AN EXAMPLE OF THE CATHOLIC EMPHASIS PLACED ON THE SACRAMENT OF PENANCE. ACCORDING TO THE ACADEMY OF SAN FERNANDO, 'THE HIGH QUALITY OF HIS STYLE AND TECHNIQUE ALLOWS US TO CLASSIFY THE WORK IN THE ITALIAN PERIOD OF VAN DYCK. THIS COUPLED WITH THE PROXIMITY OF THE DOCUMENTS CITED, LEAVES NO DOUBT ABOUT HIS AUTHORSHIP.' THE PAINTING IS PART OF THE EXHIBITION 'ECHOES OF VAN DYCK', WHICH OPENS IN MURCIA, SPAIN, FROM 1.APRIL TO 8.MAY AND WILL BE IN MADRID FROM 16.MAY TO 26.JUNE.

22.3.11

LESLIE HINDMAN AUCTIONEERS TO PRESENT GARMENTS FROM GLADYS KNIGHT


DURING A SPECIAL EVENING SESSION OF THE HOUSE'S VINTAGE COUTURE AND ACCESSORIES AUCTION ON 11.APRIL, LESLIE HINDMAN AUCTIONEERS WILL OFFER A COLLECTION OF GARMENTS OWNED BY GLADYS KNIGHT, A SEVEN TIME GRAMMY AWARD WINNER KNOWN TO HER FANS AS 'THE EMPRESS OF SOUL'. KNIGHT, WHO BEGAN HER ILLUSTRIOUS CAREER AS LEAD VOCALIST OF GLADYS KNIGHT & THE PIPS, WORE THE 57 DAZZLING OUTFITS THROUGHOUT HER STORIED CAREER AT PERFORMANCES AND AWARD CEREMONIES. HER COLLECTION DEPICTS THE EVOLUTION OF HER PERSONAL STYLE ACROSS MORE THAN FOUR DECADES. GLADYS KNIGHT WAS BORN IN ATLANTA, GEORGIA ON 24.MAY.1944. HER FIRST TASTE OF STARDOM CAME AT THE AGE OF SEVEN, WHEN SHE WON TED MACK'S ORIGINAL AMATEUR HOUR CONTEST. THE FOLLOWING YEAR, SHE, HER BROTHER MERALD, SISTER BRENDA AND COUSINS WILLIAM AND ELEANOR GUEST FORMED A GROUP CALLED 'THE PIPS', AFTER ANOTHER COUSIN, JAMES 'PIP' WOODS. BY 1960 THE PIPS BEGAN TOURING, EVENTUALLY SIGNING WITH MOTOWN RECORDS AND OPENING FOR DIANA ROSS AND THE SUPREMES. GLADYS KNIGHT & THE PIPS COUNT AMONG THEIR HIT SINGLES 'I HEARD IT THROUGH THE GRAPE VINE', 'FRIENDSHIP TRAIN' AND 'IF I WERE YOUR WOMAN'. IN 1973 THE GROUP LEFT MOTOWN TO SIGN WITH BUDDAH RECORDS, LANDING A MAJOR HIT WITH GRAMMY-WINNER 'MIDNIGHT TRAIN TO GEORGIA'. AFTER THE PIPS RETIRED IN 1988, KNIGHT EMBARKED ON AN ENORMOUSLY SUCCESSFUL SOLO CAREER. SHE HAS RECEIVED WORLDWIDE ACCLAIM FOR HER SINGLES WHICH HAVE TOPPED THE ALBUM CHARTS. ENSEMBLES FROM DESIGNERS SUCH AS BOB MACKIE, TONY CHASE AND OLEG CASSINI COVER APPEARANCES MADE BY KNIGHT IN RECENT YEARS TO AS EARLY AS THE 1970s. THE MAGNIFICENTLY BRILLIANT COLOURS, TEXTURES AND MATERIALS MAKE IT CLEAR THAT EACH GOWN IS NOT JUST SOMETHING KNIGHT WORE, BUT A WAY OF HEIGHTENING THE EXPERIENCE OF A PERFORMANCE. 'THESE DRESSES ARE AS EXCITING S ANY WE'VE HANDLED FROM A PROMINENT COLLECTION', SAID AUCTIONEER LESLIE HINDMAN. 'IT'S AN HONORED TO BE HANDLING A PART OF MUSIC HISTORY.'

ART FUND SAVES TWO COLLECTIONS FOR THE NATION


THE ART FUND ANNOUNCED THAT BOTH THE FROME HOARD OF ROMAN COINS AND THE IRON AGE HOARD OF GOLD TORQUES, OR NECK ORNAMENTS, UNCOVERED NEAR STIRLING IN SCOTLAND HAVE BEEN SECURED FOR THE UK PUBLIC WITH SIGNIFICANT ASSISTANCE FROM THE ART FUND AND THE NATIONAL HERITAGE MEMORIAL FUND. THE MUSEUM OF SOMERSET TAKES POSSESSION OF THE £320,250 FROME HOARD AND FURTHER FUNDS OF OVER £100,000 TOWARDS ITS CONSERVATION FOLLOWING THE ANNOUNCEMENT OF THE £294,026 GRANT FROM THE NHMF. THE GOOD NEWS FOLLOWS AN INTENSIVE FUNDRAISING CAMPAIGN WHICH THE ART FUND KICK-STARTED WITH A GRANT OF £40,250 TO HELP RAISE THE FUNDS NEEDED FOR THE EXTRAORDINARY FIND OF OVER 52,000 SILVER AND BRONZE COINS. MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC GENEROUSLY DONATED £13,657 TOWARDS THE APPEAL THAT WERE MATCH-FUNDED WITH A FURTHER £10,000. AT THE SAME TIME THE NATIONAL MUSEUM OF SCOTLAND ADDS FOUR STUNNING IRON AGE GOLD TORQUES, DATED BETWEEN THE 1st AND 3rd CENTURY BC, TO ITS COLLECTION. THE ART FUND GAVE A GRANT OF £10,000 TOWARDS THE £462,000 NEEDED FOR THE TORQUES. OTHER FUNDS DONATED INCLUDED £154,000 FROM THE NATIONAL HERITAGE MEMORIAL FUND, £123,000 FROM THE NATIONAL MUSEUMS SCOTLAND AND £85,000 FROM THE SCOTTISH GOVERNMENT. ART FUND DIRECTOR, STEPHEN DEUCHAR SAID: 'WE ARE ABSOLUTELY THRILLED THAT NOT ONE BUT TWO WONDERFUL HOARDS OF TREASURE HAVE BEEN ADDED TO COLLECTIONS AT OPPOSITE ENDS OF THE UK. BOTH THE ROMAN COINS IN SOMERSET AND TORQUES IN SCOTLAND ARE GOING TO ABSOLUTELY THE RIGHT PLACES WHERE GENERATIONS CAN LEARN, ENJOY AND BE INSPIRED BY THEM, AND EXPERTS CAN CARRY OUT VITAL RESEARCH. IN THE CASE OF THE FROME COINS IT IS VERY MUCH THANKS TO THE GENEROSITY OF MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC THAT WE WERE ABLE TO DOUBLE DONATIONS THROUGH OUR MATCH-FUNDING APPEAL. I'D ALSO LIKE TO THANK THE NATIONAL HERITAGE MEMORIAL FUND FOR HELPING TO MAKE THESE ACQUISITIONS POSSIBLE. THIS IS AN EXAMPLE OF HOW PRIVATE AND PUBLIC FUNDS COME TOGETHER TO SAVE IMPORTANT HERITAGE ITEMS.'

21.3.11

L'ANEILLE DE GUERLAIN BACCARAT


THERE ARE ONLY 47 STUNNING BOTTLES OF 'L'ANEILLE DE GUERLAIN' (THE BEE OF GUERLAIN) PERFUME IN THE WORLD. THE SCENT, CREATED BY HEAD PERFUMER THIERRY WASSER, BECOME THE MOST EXPENSIVE BOTTLES OF PERFUME IN THE WORLD (245ml OF PURE EXTRAIT DE PARFUME FOR $17,500). GUERLAIN TEAMED AGAIN WITH LUXURY CRYSTAL CREATOR BACCARAT TO MANUFACTURE A MASSIVE FLACON FOR THE UTLRA-EXCLUSIVE FLACON OF THEIR NEW PERFUME CALLED L'ABEILLE DE GUERLAIN. IT IS MEANT TO LOOK LIKE A GIGANTIC BEE WITH ITS WINGS FACETED LIKE PRECIOUS DIAMONDS. THE BEE HAS BEEN A SYMBOL OF GUERLAIN SINCE THE FOUNDER PIERRE-FRANCIOS-PASCAL GUERLAIN CAME TO FAME CRAFTING PERFUMES FOR EMPRESS EUGENIE OF FRANCE, WHO REIGNED FROM 1853 TO 1870; THE BEE WAS THE EMBLEM OF FRANCE'S SECOND EMPIRE. GUERLAIN SAYS THE EXCLUSIVE BEE FLACON, WHICH CAN BE DISPLAYED AS ART EVEN AFTER THE PERFUME IS GONE, MAY ATTRACT BUYERS. THE LAST TIME THE COMPANY MADE AND EXCLUSIVE PERFUME BOTTLE WAS CLOSE TO A CENTURY AGO, WITH A TURTLE-SHAPED FLASK IN 1914; A SNAIL BOTTLE WAS FEATURED IN 1902. AND THE PERFUME ITSELF COULD LAST A LIFETIME; THE BOTTLE IS EIGHT TIMES AS LARGE AS THE USUAL 30ml PORTION FOR PARFUM.