DALI'S 'THE PERSISTENCE OF MEMORY' TO JOIN DALI EXHIBITION

ON 16.NOVEMBER SALVADOR DALI'S ICONIC SURREALIST PAINTING 'THE PERSISTENCE OF MEMORY' FROM THE MUSEUM OF MODERN ART, NEW YORK, WILL JOIN THE HIGHLY SUCCESSFUL EXHIBITION 'SALVADOR DALI: THE LATE WORK'. THE EXHIBITION BRINGS TOGETHER MANY WORKS FROM DALI'S LATER CAREER AS WELL AS SEVERAL WORKS OF ART NOT SEEN IN THE UNITED STATES SINCE THE 1950s. THE EXHIBITION WILL BE ON VIEW THROUGH 9.JANUARY.2011. 'THE PERSISTENCE OF MEMORY' REPRESENTS DALI IN WAYS FEW PAINTINGS HAVE FOR OTHER ARTISTS' SAID EXHIBITION CURATOR AND DALI SCHOLAR ELLIOTT KING. 'IT'S NO EXAGGERATION THAT THIS '10 X 14 INCHES OF DYNAMITE' IS THE IMAGE THAT MADE HIM A CELEBRITY, SETTING THE STAGE FOR ALL THE ART AND ANTICS THAT FOLLOWED.' PAINTED IN 1931, 'THE PERSISTENCE OF MEMORY' IS WIDELY RECOGNIZED AS ONE OF SALVADOR DALI'S MOST FAMOUS PAINTINGS. ACCORDING TO HIS AUTOBIOGRAPHY 'THE SECRET LIFE OF SALVADOR DALI', THE PAINTING WAS DONE ONE EVENING AFTER DINNER WHILE HIS WIFE GALA WAS OUT. DALI WAS LOOKING AT A LANDSCAPE THAT HE HAD PAINTED, TRYING TO THINK OF SOMETHING MEMORABLE AND FANTASTIC TO INSERT INTO THE LANDSCAPE. NEARBY WAS A PIECE OF CAMEMBERT CHEESE THAT HAD BEGUN TO MELT. AS HE LOOKED AT THE MELTING CHEESE, HE GOT THE IDES TO PAINT A SOFT CLOCK. WHEN GALA CAME HOME DALI PUT HIS HANDS OVER HERS EYES, REVEALED THE PAINTING AND ASKED WHAT SHE THOUGHT. HER RESPONSE WAS THAT ONCE SOMEONE HAD SEEN IT, THEY WOULD NEVER FORGET IT, HENCE THE TITLE 'THE PERSISTENCE OF MEMORY.' 'SALVADOR DALI: THE LATE WORK', AT THE HIGH MUSEUM OF ATLANTA, IS THE FIRST EXHIBITION TO FOCUS SPECIFICALLY ON DALI'S ART AFTER 1940. THE EXHIBITION FEATURES 115 WORKS, INCLUDING 40 PAINTINGS AND A RELATED GROUP OF DRAWINGS, PRINTS AND OTHER DALI EPHEMERA. WHILE DALI IS BEST KNOW AS A LEADING MEMBER OF THE SURREALIST MOVEMENT OF THE LATE 1930s, 'SALVADOR DALI: THE LATE WORK' REASSESSES HIS CAREER FROM 1940 TO HIS DEATH IN 1989. DALI'S LATE WORK, WHICH MAKES UP MORE THAN HALF OF HIS TOTAL ARTISTIC OUTPUT, DREW INSPIRATION SIMULTANEOUSLY FROM THE OLD MASTERS AND TEH CONTEMPORARY WORLD, RESULTING IN WORKS THAT WERE MARKEDLY OUT OF STEP WITH THE PREVAILING STYLES OF THEIR DAY, BUT TODAY APPEAR STRIKINGLY CONTEMPORARY.

MUSEUM OF FINE ARTS, BOSTON, PRESENTS 'SCAASI: AMERICAN COUTURIER'

ARNOLD SCAASI HAS DRESSED THEM ALL, FROM BROADWAY ACTRESSES AND HOLLYWOOD STARS TO THE LADIES WHO LUNCH AND AMERICA'S FIRST LADIES. EPITOMIZING THE 'LIFESTYLES OF THE RICH AND FAMOUS', HIS CUSTOM-MADE CLOTHING EVOKES THE HEIGHT OF ELEGANCE AND CRAFTSMANSHIP FROM THE LATE 1950s TO THE PRESENT. IN CELEBRATION OF THE ACCLAIMED FASHION DESIGNER AND HIS RECENT GIFTS TO THE MUSEUM OF FINE ARTS, BOSTON (MFA), OF MORE THAN 100 OUTFITS (TO COMPLEMENT THE MFAs ACQUISITION OF HIS ARCHIVE), THE MUSEUM PRESENTS 'SCAASI: AMERICAN COUTURIER', FROM 25.SEPTEMBER THROUGH 11.JUNE.2011, IN THE LORING GALLERY. THE EXHIBITION SHOWCASES 28 OF SCAASI'S FABULOUS OUTFITS AND EXPLORE HIS PROFESSIONAL RELATIONSHIP WITH FOUR WOMEN FROM AMONG HIS EXTENSIVE CLIENTELE, INCLUDING BARBRA STREISAND, FOR WHOM HE DESIGNED THE SEEMINGLY TRANSPARENT BLACK TULLE PANTS ENSEMBLE THAT SHE WORE WHEN ACCEPTING HER 1969 OSCAR FOR FUNNY GIRL. THE ENSEMBLE, NOW PART OF THE MUSEUM'S COLLECTION, IS DISPLAYED, ALONG WITH ADDITIONAL OUTFITS CREATED FOR THE ACTRESS. SCAASI'S RICHLY TAILORED SUITS, COCKTAIL DRESSES AND LAVISH EVENING GOWNS WERE STATEMENT PIECES, OFTEN MADE FOR WOMEN WITH BIG PERSONALITIES WHO LIVES GRAND LIVES, SUCH AS CELEBRITIES ELIZABETH TAYLOR, MARY TYLER MOORE, SOPHIA LOREN AND BARBRA WALTERS, AND SOCIALITES BROOKE ASTOR, AUSTINE HEARST, EVELYN LAUDER, IVANA TRUMP AND GAYFRYD STEINBERG. IN ADDITION, HE CREATED BEAUTIFUL CLOTHES FOR WOMEN WHO WERE SUDDENLY THROWN ONTO THE WORLD STAGE, FIRST LADIES BARBRA BUSH, HILLARY CLINTON AND LAURA BUSH, WHOSE ELEGANT SCAASI GOWNS HELPED THEM ESTABLISH A STRONG PUBLIC IMAGE. BORN ARNOLD ISAACS ON 8.MAY.1930, THE MONTREAL NATIVE STUDIED AT THE PRESTIGIOUS COTNOIR-CAPPONI SCHOOL OF DESIGN IN MONTREAL AND THE CHAMBRE SYNDICALE DE LA HAUTE COUTURE PARISIENNE IN PARIS, WHERE HE APPRENTICED AT THE HOUSE OF PAQUIN BEFORE MOVING TO NEW YORK CITY TO WORK WITH RENOWNED DESIGNER CHARLES JAMES. SHORTLY THEREAFTER, 'ISAACS' WAS TURNED BACKWARDS AND BECAME SCAASI. HE GAINED RECOGNITION FOR HIS DESIGNS, AND IN 1955, THE DECEMBER COVER OF VOGUE PICTURED A COAT HE DESIGNED FOR DRESSMAKER CASUALS, CREATING THE BUZZ THAT HELPED SCAASI LAUNCH HIS READY-TO-WEAR LINE THE FOLLOWING YEAR. IN 1958, THE DESIGNER WON THE PRESTIGIOUS COTY FASHION CRITICS AWARD AND HIS SUCCESS WAS ASSURED. IN 1964, HE OPENED HIS COUTURE SALON.

CHINESE JADE FIGURES PACKED IN HALLWAY CUPBOARD SELLS FOR £1.5 MILLION

A MENAGERIE OF TINY ANIMAL ORNAMENTS KEPT IN A CARDBOARD BOX IN A HALL CUPBOARD FOR YEARS CREATED A BIDDING FRENZY WHEN THEY WENT FOR AUCTION AND SOLD FOR A STAGGERING £1.5 MILLION. AND A SMALL WOODEN CARVING STORED IN THE SAME BOX WENT FOR £380,000 AS IT WAS PROVED TO ONCE BELONG TO CHINESE EMPEROR QIANLONG 240 YEARS AGO. IN ALL THE SALE OF MORE THAN 1,500 ITEMS FROM THE HOME OF ANTIQUE ENTHUSIASTS TIM AND FRAN LEWIS FETCHED MORE THAN £4 MILLION. BUT IT WAS THEIR COLLECTION OF ABOUT 50 PIECES OF JADE AMASSED OVER DECADES AND STORED IN TWO BOXES IN A HALLWAY CUPBOARD FOR THE LAST TEN YEARS THAT SET THE AUCTION ALIGHT. FRAN LEWIS RECENTLY EMIGRATED FOLLOWING THE DEATH OF HER HUSBAND EARLIER THIS YEAR AND SHE INSTRUCTED THAT A WHOLE HOST OF ANTIQUES TO BE SOLD OFF. THE JADE ITEMS WERE UNEARTHED BY THEIR HOUSEKEEPER WHO SHOWED THEM TO THE AUCTIONEER DURING A VALUATION VISIT AT THE PROPERTY IN DORSET. THEY WERE FOUND TO DATE BACK BETWEEN 250 AND 800 YEARS AND WERE FROM IMPERIAL CHINA. AS A RESULT THE COUNTRY AUCTIONEERS WERE BESIEGED BY MILLIONAIRE BIDDERS FROM THE FAR EAST, BOTH OVER THE PHONE AND IN THE ROOM. THE ESTIMATE FOR THE OBJECTS VARIED BETWEEN £500 TO £2,000 BUT THE FIERCE COMPETITION FOR THEN SAW THE PRICES ROCKET TO FIVE AND SIX FIGURE SUMS. A THREE-INCH YELLOW JADE LION DATING BACK TO THE 16th CENTURY MING DYNASTY SOLD FOR £216,000, MORE THAN 100 TIMES ITS ESTIMATE OF £2,000. AND A THREE-INCH HORSE VALUED AT £500 MADE £132,000, 264 TIMES ITS ESTIMATE, AND A BLACK JADE ELEPHANT FROM THE EARLY MING PERIOD FETCHED £72,000. IN ALL, THE COMBINED VALUE OF HIDDEN TREASURES SOLD FOR MORE THAN £4 MILLION AT THE AUCTION OF DUKES OF DORCHESTER, WITH THE JADE SELLING FOR £1.5 MILLION. AUCTIONEER GUY SCHWINGE SAID: 'THE HOUSE WAS JUST AN ALADDIN'S CAVE OF ANTIQUES, ART WORK AND OTHER COLLECTIBLE ITEMS. THERE WERE IMPRESSIVE PAINTINGS ALL AROUND THE PROPERTY INCLUDING AN OIL PAINTING ABOVE THE FIREPLACE THAT WAS THE WORK OF RENAISSANCE ARTIST ABEL GRIMMER.'FRAN LEWIS IS THE DAUGHTER OF HAROLD SCANLON FOLEY, A MEMBER OF THE HIGHLY SUCCESSFUL FOLEY FAMILY WHO RAN THE POWELL RIVER COMPANY AND BUILT 25,000 MILES OF RAILROADS ACROSS AMERICA AND CANADA. THE LEWISES EMIGRATED TO THE UK IN THE 80s AND LIVED AT THE GRADE II LISTED 17th CENTURY MELPLASH COURT, NEAR BRIDPORT.

NEW MARILYN MONROE BOOK PRESENTS UNSEEN PHOTOS

A COLLECTION OF MORE THAN 100 PREVIOUSLY UNPUBLISHED PHOTOS OF MARILYN MONROE CAN BE SEEN FOR THE FIRST TIME IN A NEW BOOK 'MARILYN: AUGUST 1953'. THE BOOK, PUBLISHED THIS WEEK BY CALLA EDITIONS, FEATURES DIGITALLY RESTORED BLACK AND WHITE IMAGES TAKEN DURING THE SUMMER OF 1953 OF A THEN 27 YEAR OLD MONROE. THE PHOTOS WERE SHOT BY JOHN VACHON, ON ASSIGNMENT FOR LOOK MAGAZINE IN ALBERTA, CANADA, WHERE MONROE WAS FILMING 'RIVER OF NO RETURN' WITH ROBERT MITCHUM. AN ANKLE INJURY PREVENTED MONROE FROM FILMING, ALLOWING VACHON TO HAVE SEVERAL DAYS TO SHOOT THE HOLLYWOOD ICON. ONLY THREE PHOTOS FROM THE HISTORIC SESSIONS WERE PUBLISHED IN AN OCTOBER 1953 LOOK STORY. THE BOOK WILL FEATURE PHOTOS OF MONROE AND THEN FIANCE, BASEBALL LEGEND JOE DIMAGGIO SNUGGLING. VACHON IS THOUGHT TO BE THE ONLY PHOTOGRAPHER THE PAIR FORMALLY POSED FOR. IN ANOTHER OF THE PICTURES, A COMICALLY FRIGHTENED-LOOKING MONROE IS IN THE CLUTCHES OF A TAXIDERMY BEAR. VACHON'S IMAGES OF MONROE WERE INCLUDED IN THE FIVE MILLION PHOTOGRAPH ARCHIVE DONATED TO THE LIBRARY OF CONGRESS AFTER LOOK FOLDED IN 1971.

LACMA CELEBRATES NEW EXHIBITION HALL

THE LOS ANGELES COUNTY MUSEUM OF ART CELEBRATED THE OPENING OF ITS NEWEST EXHIBITION HALL RECENTLY WITH A GLITZY PARTY, COMPLETE WITH HOLLYWOOD HEAVYWEIGHTS, ART ICONS AND ENTERTAINMENT BY CHRISTINA AGUILERA. AMONG THE ACTORS IN THE STAR-STUDDED CROWD WERE TOM HANKS AND WIFE RITA WILSON, TERRI HATCHER, JAMES FRANCO, JOAN COLLINS, MOLLY SIMS AND OLIVIA WILDE. PRODUCERS BRIAN GRAZER AND MARK BURNETT AND REALITY STARLETS NICOLE RICHIE AND KIM KARSASHIAN ALSO ATTENDED THE FUND RAISING EVENT, WHICH HAD THE GLAMOR OF A FILM PREMIER AND GENERATED NEARLY $5 MILLION FOR LACMA. MUSEUM TRUSTEE JANE NATHANSON CALLED IT 'THE MOST SPECTACULAR AND SUCCESSFUL FUNDRAISER FOR ART IN LOS ANGELES.' LOCAL HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS CLAD IN COLOURFUL 18th CENTURY COSTUMES WELCOMED GUESTS TO THE PRIVATE BLACK-TIE AFFAIR, CALLED 'THE UNMASKING' AS IT REVEALED THE SPRAWLING NEW BUILDING THAT BROKE GROUND IN 2008. GUESTS WERE GIVEN GOLD AND SILVER MASKS AS THEY WALKED DOWN A LONG RED CARPET ON THEIR WAY TO THE LYNDA AND STEWART RESNICK EXHIBITION PAVILION. DESIGNED BY FAMED ARCHITECT RENZO PIANO, THE WINDOW-LINED, NATURALLY LIT 45,000 SQUARE FOOT SPACE WAS DIVIDED TO HOUSE A TRIO OF INAUGURAL EXHIBITS: 'OLMEC:COLOSSAL MASTERWORKS OF ANCIENT MEXICO', WITH GREAT BASALT CARVINGS RARELY SEEN OUTSIDE OF MEXICO; 'EYE FOR THE SENSUAL: SELECTIONS FROM THE RESNICK COLLECTION', WHICH FEATURES EUROPEAN PAINTINGS AND SCULPTURES FROM THE BUILDING'S BENEFACTORS' OWN PERSONAL COLLECTION; AND 'FASHIONING FASHION: EUROPEAN DRESS IN DETAIL, 1700-1915', A LOOK AT THE EVOLUTION OF MODERN DRESS AND THE BUSTLES AND PETTICOATS OF FASHION'S PAST. THE RESNICKS, WHO DONATED $45 MILLION TOWARD THE CONSTRUCTION OF THEIR NAMESAKE BUILDING, WERE THE GUESTS OF HONOR AT A DINNER THAT FOLLOWED. AN ADJACENT TENT BECAME AN ELEGANT SUPPER CLUB FOR THE 1,000 OR SO GUESTS, WITH A SMALL ROTATING PLATFORM IN THE CENTER AND A WALL AT ONE END THAT FELL AWAY TO REVEAL A FULL STAGE. THAT'S WHERE AGUILERA, BACKED BY A 20-PIECE ORCHESTRA AND TWO SINGERS, PERFORMED HER SET. LOOKING LIKE A HOLLYWOOD SIREN IN LONG PLATINUM HAIR AND A CURVE-HUGGING CREAM GOWN, AGUILERA SANG HER HIT SONG, 'BEAUTIFUL', FOLLOWED BY WHAT SHE CALLED 'MY FAVORITE SONG OF ALL TIME', JOHN LENNON'S 'IMAGINE'. THE LYNDA AND STEWART RESNICK EXHIBITION PAVILION OPENS TO THE PUBLIC ON 2.OCTOBER.

VIENNA ACADEMY OF FINE ARTS REOPENS AFTER RENOVATION

AFTER ITS RENOVATION AND RESTRUCTURING, THE VIENNA ACADEMY OF FINE ARTS' GALLERY OF PAINTINGS IS NOW ACCESSIBLE TO THE PUBLIC AGAIN. SURROUNDED BY THE ARTISTS' STUDIOS AND WORKSHOPS ON THE FIRST FLOOR OF THE ACADEMY OF FINE ARTS IS A WORLD-RANKING COLLECTION OF EUROPEAN PAINTING FROM THE 14th TO THE 19th CENTURIES. A CENTRAL FOYER ON THE SECOND FLOOR AFTER PLANS BY ARCHITECT GEORG TOPFER CONNECTS THE EXISTING GALLERY OF PAINTINGS WITH THE NEW EXHIBITION AREA 'X HIBIT' FOR CHANGING EXHIBITIONS IN CONJUNCTION WITH THE ACADEMY'S STUDY PROGRAMS. IN ITS CHARTER AS A PINACITECA, A GALLERY EXCLUSIVELY DEDICATED TO PAINTINGS, AND A TRADITION, THE PAINTINGS GALLERY IS COMPARABLE TO COLLECTIONS OF INTERNATIONAL STANDING AT HISTORICAL ACADEMIES OF ART SUCH AS THE PINACOTECA DI BRERA IN MILAN OR THE GALLERIA DELL'ACCADEMIA IN VENICE. UNLIKE THESE, HOWEVER, IT STILL CONSTITUTES PART OF THE ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE OF THE VIENNESE ACADEMY OF FINE ARTS AND IS INSEPARABLY LINKED TO ITS PROFILE. THE ACADEMY'S INITIAL HOLDINGS CONSISTED OF PRIZE-WINNING WORKS FROM THE ACADEMY'S ANNUAL AWARDS CEREMONY AND PIECES PAINTED FOR ADMISSION TO MEMBERSHIP OF THE ACADEMY DURING THE 18th CENTURY. IT WAS NOT UNTIL 1822, WHEN THE IMPERIAL DIPLOMAT COUNT LAMBERG-SPRINZENSTEIN DONATED HIS INTERNATIONALLY-RENOWNED COLLECTION OF ABOUT 800 PAINTINGS TO THE ACADEMY, THAT THE PAINTINGS GALLERY AS SUCH WAS ESTABLISHED. ACCORDING TO THE TERMS OF THE COUNT'S GENEROUS BEQUEST, THE COLLECTION WAS OPENED TO THE GENERAL PUBLIC, THUS BECOMING THE FIRST ART MUSEUM IN AUSTRIA. OVER THE YEARS THE HOLDINGS HAVE BEEN EXTENDED BY FURTHER SMALLER DONATIONS. TODAY ABOUT 250 PAINTINGS FROM THE COLLECTION ARE PERMANENTLY EXHIBITED. THE WORKS ON DISPLAY INCLUDE HIGHLIGHTS OF EUROPEAN PAINTINGS SUCH AS THE TRIPTYCH OF THE LAST JUDGMENT BY HIERONYMUS BOSCH AS WELL AS A SERIES OF EXUBERANT SMALL-SCALE OIL SKETCHES BY RUBENS. DUTCH PAINTING OF THE 17th CENTURY IS REPRESENTED IN ALMOST ALL OF ITS MANY FACETS FROM REMBRANDT TO RUISDAEL AND DE HOOCH, WHILE THE ITALIAN, FRENCH AND SPANISH SCHOOLS ARE SHOWCASED IN WORKS BY BOTTICELLI, TITIAN, MURILLO, CLAUDE, TIEPOLO AND GUARDI.

BONHAMS TO SELL RARE IMPERIAL RUSSIAN TABLE

A STRIKING, CIRCULAR TABLE ORIGINALLY PLACED IN THE GOLDEN DRAWING ROOM IN THE WINTER PALACE, THE MAIN RESIDENCE OF THE RUSSIAN IMPERIAL FAMILY IN ST PETERSBURG, WILL BE SOLD IN THE RUSSIAN SALE AT BONHAMS NEW BOND STREET ON 1.DECEMBER. ESTIMATED AT £150,000 - £200,000, THE INTRICATE DESIGN AND RANGE OF MATERIALS, FROM CORAL TO ONYX AND TURQUOISE, REFLECTS THE LEGENDARY OPULENCE OF THE RUSSIAN EMPIRE. THE TABLE WAS ORIGINALLY COMMISSIONED AS A GIFT FOR THE EMPRESS ALEXANDRA, THE WIFE OF TSAR NICHOLAS I AND THE TABLE BECAME PART OF THE ORIGINAL FURNISHINGS OF THE IMPERIAL WINTER PALACE. THE TABLE WAS THEN PLACED WITHIN THE GOLDEN DRAWING ROOM, WHICH WAS USED BY THE FUTURE EMPRESS MARIA ALEXSANDROVNA, AND WAS RENOWNED AS THE MOST LAVISHLY DECORATED ROOM IN HER PERSONAL SUITE. THE GOLDEN DRAWING ROOM WAS USED FOR PRIVATE RECEPTIONS AND CHRISTMAS CELEBRATIONS FOR THE IMPERIAL FAMILY. THE STORMING OF THE WINTER PALACE BECAME AN ICONIC SYMBOL OF THE RUSSIAN REVOLUTION. IN THE LATE 1920s MANY PRIVATE ROOMS OF THE IMPERIAL FAMILY WERE STRIPPED OF THEIR ORIGINAL FURNISHINGS AND ANYTHING ELSE THAT MIGHT REMIND THE PUBLIC ABOUT RUSSIA'S IMPERIAL PAST. MOST OF THE FURNISHINGS, INCLUDING THE TABLE, WERE SOLD THROUGH ANTIKVARIAT, WHICH WAS A STATE-RUN COMMISSION SHOP THAT CATERED TO FOREIGNERS AND DIPLOMATS. THE TABLE ULTIMATELY ENDED UP IN GERMANY. TODAY THE GOLDEN DRAWING ROOM IN THE WINTER PALACE HOUSES PART OF THE HERMITAGE MUSEUM COLLECTION. THOUGH THE ROOM HAS RETAINED ITS ORIGINAL DECOR, FEW OF ITS ORIGINAL FURNISHINGS HAVE SURVIVED. A SPOKESPERSON FOR BONHAMS SAID: 'ITEMS FROM FORMER RUSSIAN IMPERIAL PALACES ARE INCREDIBLY RARE, AND A FEW COME WITH SUCH REMARKABLY DOCUMENTED PROVENANCE. THIS TABLE IS AN EXCEPTIONAL OPPORTUNITY FOR INTERNATIONAL COLLECTORS TO NOT ONLY ACQUIRE A RUSSIAN DECORATIVE MASTERPIECE, BUT TO PROCURE THEIR VERY OWN PIECE OF RUSSIAN HISTORY.'