ARIA

9.1.10

A RACE-WINNING YACHT FORMERLY OWNED BY QUEEN ELIZABETH II IS TO BE PERMANENTLY DISPLAYED IS SCOTLAND. 'BLOODHOUND' WILL GO ON DISPLAY IN EDINBURGH BESIDE THE ROYAL YACHT BRITANNIA. THE RACING YACHT, NOW MORE THAN 70 YEARS OLD, HAD A MAJOR REFIT IN RECENT YEARS BECAUSE IT HAD FALLEN INTO DISREPAIR. THE ROYAL YACHT BRITANNIA TRUST BOUGHT 'BLOODHOUND' RECENTLY AND IS EXPECTED TO UNVEIL IT TO THE PUBLIC IN APRIL. BUILT IN 1936 AT THE CAMPER AND NICHOLSONS YARD IN GOSPORT, HAMPSHIRE, 'BLOODHOUND' IS SAID TO BE ONE OF THE MOST SUCCESSFUL OCEAN-GOING RACING YACHTS. SHE WON SCORES OF RACES IN THE SOUTH OF ENGLAND AND CROSSED THE ATLANTIC TO COMPETE IN BERMUDA. THE ROYAL FAMILY BOUGHT IN 1962 AND PRINCE PHILIP SUCCESSFULLY COMPETED WITH HER AT THE COWES WEEK REGATTA AROUND THE ISLE OF WIGHT. 'BLOODHOUND' ALSO ACCOMPANIED BRITANNIA IN THE WESTERN ISLES ON ROYAL HOLIDAYS AND THE PRINCE OF WALES AND THE PRINCESS ROYAL LEARNED TO SAIL ON HER BEFORE BEING SOLD IN 1969. 'BLOODHOUND' COMPETED AT VARIOUS POINTS IN HER HISTORY UNTIL 2001 BUT THEN FELL INTO 'CONSIDERABLE DISREPAIR'. CLASSIC YACHT RESTORER TONY MCGRAIL BOUGHT 'BLOODHOUND' IN 2003 AND REFURBISHED IT OVER THE NEXT THREE AND A HALF YEARS. CHAIRMAN OF THE ROYAL BRITANNIA TRUST, REAR ADMIRAL NEIL RANKIN, SAID: 'WE ARE DELIGHTED TO HAVE ACQUIRED SUCH AN IMPORTANT PIECE OF BRITISH YACHTING HISTORY AND LOOK FORWARD TO HAVING 'BLOODHOUND' ALONGSIDE BRITANNIA ONCE MORE, FOR THE PUBLIC TO SEE WHAT A WONDERFUL OCEAN-RACING YACHT SHE IS AND WHY SHE WAS SO FONDLY REGARDED BY ALL ASSOCIATED WITH HER ILLUSTRIOUS PAST.'

NATIONAL PORTRAIT GALLERY PRESENTS LADY JANE GREY EXHIBITION

LADY JANE GREY WAS NOMINAL QUEEN OF ENGLAND FOR JUST NINE DAYS IN 1553 AS PART OF AN UNSUCCESSFUL BID TO PREVENT THE ACCESSION OF THE CATHOLIC MARY TUDOR. A STUNNING NEW EXHIBITION AT THE NATIONAL PORTRAIT GALLERY, LONDON, CHARTS THE POSTHUMOUS ICONOGRAPHY OF LADY JANE GREY AND EXPLORES HOW WORKS IN PRINT PROMOTED HER AS AN ARCHETYPAL PROTESTANT HEROINE AND MARTYR. IT IS NOT KNOWN FOR CERTAIN WHETHER A PORTRAIT OF LADY JANE GREY WAS PAINTED DURING HER LIFETIME. GIVEN THAT LADY JANE GREY CAME TO PROMINENCE ONLY FOR A SHORT PERIOD BEFORE HER DEATH (FROM JULY 1553 TO FEBRUARY 1554), THERE WOULD HAVE BEEN ONLY A SMALL WINDOW OF OPPORTUNITY IN WHICH A PORTRAIT FROM THE LIFE COULD HAVE BEEN PAINTED. THE REIGN AND EXECUTION OF THE 'NINE DAYS QUEEN' SEEMS NOT TO HAVE MADE A CONSIDERABLE IMPACT ON THE PUBLIC CONSCIOUSNESS OF THE DAY. IT WAS NOT UNTIL THE TURN OF THE 17th CENTURY THAT A CULTURE OF PRODUCING POSTHUMOUS PORTRAIT OF LADY JANE GREY DEVELOPED. THE EXHIBITION OF TWENTY PRINTS FROM THE ARCHIVE COLLECTION OF THE NATIONAL PORTRAIT GALLERY INCLUDES DER PASSES'S INFLUENTIAL ENGRAVING FOR HENRY HOLLAND'S HEROOLOGIA, AND PRINTS OF SENTIMENTAL HISTORY PAINTINGS, POPULAR IN THE 19th CENTURY. A POSTHUMOUS PORTRAIT OF LADY JANE GREY, ACQUIRED BY THE GALLERY IN 2006, HANGS IN THE ENTRANCE TO THE DISPLAY.

LADY JANE DUDLEY (nee GREY) (1537-1554) WAS THE GRAND-DAUGHTER OF HENRY VIII's SISTER PRINCESS MARY, AND IN 1553 MARRIED LORD GUILDFORD DUDLEY, SON OF THE DUKE OF NORTHUMBERLAND. UNDER NORTHUMBERLAND'S INFLUENCE EDWARD VI WILED HER THE CROWN. SHE WAS PROCLAIMED QUEEN AT HIS DEATH IN JULY 1553, AND REIGNED FOR AROUND NINE DAYS UNTIL IMPRISONED BY SUPPORTERS OF MARY TUDOR. SHE WAS EXECUTED AT THE AGE OF 16 IN THE AFTERMATH WYATT'S REBELLION.

SOTHEBY'S TO SELL MONUMENTAL GIACOMETTI SCULPTURE

SOTHEBY'S, LONDON, HAS RECENTLY ANNOUNCED THAT AN IMPORTANT, MONUMENTAL ALBERTO GIACOMETTI SCULPTURE, L'HOMME QUI MARCHE I, WILL BE OFFERED AS PART OF ITS EVENING SALE OF IMPRESSIONIST AND MODERN ART ON 3.FEBRUARY. THE WORK, CAST IN 1961, IS THE LARGEST GIACOMETTI 'WALKING MAN' TO HIT THE AUCTION BLOCK IN MORE THAN 20 YEARS, AND THE FIRST LIFE-TIME CAST OF THE SUBJECT EVER TO BE OFFERED AT AUCTION. IT IS ESTIMATED TO SELL FOR £12–18 MILLION ($19–29 MILLION). THE SCULPTURE ORIGINATED AS PART OF A PUBLIC PROJECT THE ARTIST WAS COMMISSIONED TO DO FOR THE CHASE MANHATTAN PLAZA IN NEW YORK. THE PROJECT WAS CONCEIVED AS THE FIRST MODERNIST OUTDOOR PROJECT IN THE FINANCIAL DISTRICT, AND GIACOMETTI WAS CHOSEN OVER ALEXANDER CALDER AND ISAMU NOGUCHI. GIACOMETTI EXECUTED SEVERAL FIGURES FOR THE PROJECT BEFORE HE DECIDED IT WOULD TAKE TOO LONG TO COMPLETE AND ABANDONED IT. THE WALKING MAN WENT ON TO BECOME AN ICONIC FIGURE FOR HIM, THOUGH, AND HE CREATED SEVERAL VERSIONS, ONE OF WHICH WAS SHOWN AT THE VENICE BIENNALE IN 1962. THE SCULPTURE COMES FROM THE CORPORATE COLLECTION OF GERMANY'S COMMERZBANK, WHICH ACQUIRED IT IN ITS TAKEOVER OF DRESDNER BANK IN 2009. DRESDNER BANK ACQUIRED IT AROUND 1980. A HUNDRED OR SO ADDITIONAL WORKS FROM THE DRESDNER BANK COLLECTION WILL BE PERMANENTLY LOANED TO MUSEUMS IN FRANKFURT, DRESDEN, AND BERLIN. LAST NOVEMBER, ANOTHER GIACOMETTI CAME TO MARKET, AT SOTHEBY'S NEW YORK. L'HOMME QUI CHAVIRE (FALLING MAN), CONCEIVED IN 1950 AND CAST 1951, WAS THE IMPRESSIONIST AND MODERN ART EVENING SALE'S TOP LOT, ATTRACTING SEVERAL ENTHUSIASTIC BIDDERS AND ULTIMATELY SELLING FOR $19,346,500, SOARING PST PRE-SALES ESTIMATES OF $8-12 MILLION. IT WAS THE ONLY CAST IN THE EDITION HAND-PAINTED BY GIACOMETTI. L'HOMME QUI MARCHE I WILL BE ON VIEW AT SOTHEBY'S NEW YORK GALLERIES 20-22.JANUARY.

8.1.10

VISCOUNT LINLEY DESIGNS LUXURY WHISKEY FOR MACALLAN

MACALLAN RECENTLY UNVEILED AN EXQUISITE ONE OF A KIND $90,000 WHISKEY CABINET HANDCRAFTED FROM ENGLISH BURR OAK, CREATED BY LUXURY FURNITURE MAKER VISCOUNT DAVID LINLEY, WHO IS ALSO THE SON OF PRINCESS MARGARET, WHICH WAS PRODUCED SOLELY FOR HARRODS, LONDON, AND CONTAINS SIX BOTTLES OF RARE VINTAGE MACALLAN MALT WHISKEY FROM FAMED SPEYSIDE DISTILLERY: 1937, 1940, 1948, 1955, 1966 AND 1970. THE STUNNING UNIQUE CABINET ALSO INCLUDES SIX LINLEY CRYSTAL TUMBLERS AS WELL AS A CIGAR HUMIDOR.

ANYA HINDMARCH TO DESIGN FOR BARBOUR

LUXURY ACCESSORIES DESIGNER ANYA HINDMARCH, WHOSE CELEBRITY FOLLOWERS INCLUDE SCARLETT JOHANSSON, MADONNA AND CLAUDIA SCHIFFER, HAS BEEN CHOSEN TO DESIGN A NEW COLLECTION OF JACKETS FOR THE ICONIC BRITISH OUTERWEAR COMPANY BARBOUR. 'IT WAS FASCINATING WORKING IN THEIR HISTORIC ARCHIVES, SEEING THE BARBOUR STORIES BEHIND SOME OF THE COATS FROM EXPLORERS, MILITARY MEN AND HEROINES', HINDMARCH TOLD VOGUE UK IN A RECENT INTERVIEW. 'WE HAVE RESPECTED THE ORIGINAL DESIGN BUT PLAYED WITH THE CUT, FIT AND DETAILS. IT HAS BEEN FUN TO ADD A LITTLE ANYA HINDMARCH STYLE TO SUCH AN ICONIC BRITISH BRAND.' THE CAPSULE COLLECTION OF FOUR PIECES WILL BE AVAILABLE THIS AUTUMN FROM THE DESIGNER'S STANDALONE BOUTIQUES AS WELL AS SELECTED BARBOUR RETAILERS WORLDWIDE. BARBOUR, WHICH WAS FOUNDED IN 1894, HOLD ROYAL WARRANTS FROM HM QUEEN ELIZABETH II, HRH THE DUKE OF EDINBURGH, AND HRH THE PRINCE OF WALES.

THE SMITHSONIAN CELEBRATES ELVIS PRESLEY'S 75th BIRTHDAY ANNIVERSARY

ON THE 75th ANNIVERSARY OF ELVIS PRESLEY'S BIRTH, THE SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION IS SHOWCASING THE KING OF ROCK 'N' ROLL'S UBIQUITOUS IMAGE THROUGH EXHIBITS OPENING 8.JANUARY IN WASHINGTON AND LOS ANGELES. 'ONE LIFE: ECHOES OF ELVIS' WILL BE ON VIEW AT THE NATIONAL PORTRAIT GALLERY IN WASHINGTON THROUGH AUGUST. THE ONE-ROOM EXHIBIT IS DEVOTED TO THE EVOLUTION AND INFLUENCE OF PRESLEY'S IMAGE AFTER HIS DEATH. THE EXHIBIT FEATURES PORTRAITS, IMAGES FROM GRACELAND, ELVIS MERCHANDISE AND A REMINDER THAT ELVIS' MANAGER PUT HIS FACE ON JUST ABOUT ANYTHING THAT COULD BE MARKETED. THE COMMERCIAL IMAGES INCLUDE AN ELVIS-IMPRINTED LUNCH BOX, NUTCRACKER, ACTION FIGURE AND SNOW GLOBE. ORIGINAL ARTWORK FROM THE 1992 ELVIS STAMP DESIGN COMPETITION IS ON VIEW, ALONG WITH THE 1993 STAMP WITH PRESLEY'S LIKENESS THAT BECAME THE MOST POPULAR US POSTAL STAMP OF ALL TIME, WITH A PRINTING OF OVER 500 MILLION. A GOLD BUST OF ELVIS AS JULIUS CAESAR BY SCULPTOR ROBERT ARNESON ANCHORS ANOTHER WALL. A MUSEUM DOCENT RECENTLY DISCOVERED A SURPRISE IN THE SCULPTURE THAT HAD BEEN IN STORAGE AT THE SMITHSONIAN'S HIRSHHORN MUSEUM; A SMALL HEART WAS CARVED IN THE BACK. PRESLEY SAT FOR ONLY ONE PORTRAIT PAINTER. A PAINTING BY RALPH WOLFE COWAN, USUALLY ON DISPLAY IN THE GALLERY'S ENTERTAINMENT SECTION, IS THE EXHIBIT'S CENTRAL IMAGE. IT WAS COMPLETED FROM SKETCHES COWAN MADE IN 1969 WHILE CREATING ANOTHER PORTRAIT THAT HANGS IN GRACELAND. IN LOS ANGELES, THE GRAMMY MUSEUM IS OPENING THE SMITHSONIAN'S TRAVELING EXHIBIT, 'ELVIS AT 21: PHOTOGRAPHS BY ALFRED WERTHEIMER'. THE PHOTOJOURNALIST WAS HIRED TO SHOOT PROMOTIONAL IMAGES OF THE RECORDING ARTIST JUST BEFORE ELVIS MADE IT BIG. THE SHOW FEATURES 56 OF WERTHEIMER'S IMAGES FROM 1956 WILL TOUR THE COUNTRY THROUGH 2013 WITH STOPS THIS YEAR IN BOCA RATON, FLA., AND WINCHESTER, VA. IT WILL BE OPEN IN WASHINGTON ON 30.OCTOBER.2010.