Sebastiano Ricci Long Lost Painting to be Auctioned

Sebastiano Ricci an Italian Baroque style painter was born in August 1659 in Belluno, Italy. His early career as an artist took a bad turn when at the age of 19 he was accused of trying to poison the mother of his unborn child. However, one of his benefactors intervened on his behalf and he was released, at which time he moved to Bologna and where he got his first commission to paint the Decapitation of John the Baptist by the Fraternity of Saint John of Florence. His career took off after that as he was commissioned by more and more churches, statesmen and others for works of art.

His painting, The Vision of Saint Bruno, which had been thought lost, will be sold at auction on November 20, 2008. The painting, which measures about 36 inches by 48 inches, is believed to have been painted around 1705 and once belonged to a European nobleman and most recently to an American family in Texas. Heritage Auctions, which will handle the sale of the painting, expects the painting of a robed Saint Bruno looking at angels in the sky to bring in over $600,000. Ricci, the artist who almost blew it by going to jail, passed away in 1734 leaving the world with some of the most beautiful paintings or his time, over forty of which reside in world class museums today.

Ruffino Tamayo Mural at Sotheby’s

Ruffino Tamayo was born in 1899 in Oaxaca, Mexico and was a Zapotecan Indian. After the death of his parents in 1911, he moved to Mexico City. He studied at the Escuela de Artes Plasticas. He went on to work at the National Archeological Museum where he was first exposed to folk art. After a one man show in Mexico City in 1926, he moved to New York where he thought his art would be better received. Tamayo became a widely recognized painter and artist during his time in New York and exhibited his works at many galleries and museums. In 1955 he returned to Mexico City where he painted a huge mural titled America.

America, which measures a whopping 13 feet by 14 feet, will be sold at the Fall Latin American Artists Sale Sotheby’s Auctions. The painted mural is expected to bring in between $7 and $9 million. Originally painted by Tamayo for the Bank of Southwest Houston, this work of art has been on loan to the Dallas Museum of Art for the past fifteen years. The Sotheby’s Latin American Artist sale will take place on November 18 and 19, 2008. Besides America, other Tamayo works will be offered for sale as well as works by Carlos Cruz-Diez, Antonio Asis, Sandra Cinto and Marta Boto.

Reward Offered for Stolen Art Cache

I have written about how only dumb thieves steal art in the past but it their just doesn’t seem to be a shortage of dumb crooks in this world. The fact that artwork is recognizable, identifiable or harder to sell than other things does not stop those with a low IQ and the irrational thought that they could make quick money. Now police in Los Angeles are offering a reward and looking for the person or people that were dumb enough to steal a cache of specialized artwork that included paintings by Gorky, Soutine, Chagall and Diego Rivera. Experts have said that some of the paintings are worth more than $4 million.

The owners of the stolen art cache were in another part of the house when this theft occurred and police speculate that the thieves must have worked very quickly to remove the paintings by a side door. They also believe that the thieves may have been familiar with the couple’s routine. The sophistication and the smartness of the art thieves themselves will be evident when, not if, the artwork is recovered. The artwork will be recovered either at a flea market or when someone tries to sell it in Europe ten years from now. The authorities have contacted all of the major auction houses, show promoters, art dealers and others to be on the lookout for the paintings. A $200,000 reward has been offered.

Lucien Freud Painting of Francis Bacon to Bring in Millions

Lucien Freud paintings have been bringing in record auction prices for the past couple of years. Christie’s in London is reporting that this trend will probably continue on October 19, 2008 when Freud’s portrait of Sir Francis Bacon goes on the auction block. The unfinished painting, which he painted in 1956, is expected to bring in more than $12 million. This is one of two paintings that Lucien painted of his friend Bacon, the first painting has been missing with its whereabouts unknown. Pilar Ordovas, head of contemporary art at Christie’s was recently quoted by Reuters Life! Saying, “Lucien Freud and Francis Bacon are widely considered to be the most important British artists of the 20th Century.”

Lucien Freud was born in Berlin, Germany in 1922 to Ernst and Lucie. Lucien is the grandson of renowned psychiatrist Sigmund Freud, who founded the Psychoanalytic School of Psychology. In 1933, Lucien’s family moved to England. He studied at the Central School of Art in London, East Anglican School of Painting and Drawing and Goldsmiths College at the University of London. Early in his carrier, Freud was associated with the surrealist movement but in the 1950’s turned to portraits, many of them nudes as he tried to capture a subjects history and sensuality in his brushstrokes. In May of 2008 his nude portrait of friend and model Sue Tilley titled Benefits Supervisor Sleeping sold at Christie’s for $33.6 million and set the record for a living artist.