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• The Museum Of Contemporary Art Sydney (MCA) ~ Twenty Years Young ~ With Many Highly Regarded Art Collections
• Albertina Museum shows The Collection of Eberhard W. Kornfeld
• Philadelphia Museum of Art Presents a Major Private Collection of Modernism
• Heirs of Paul von Mendelssohn-Bartholdy Reach Settlement Agreements
• MoMA announces an Exhibition of Paintings, Drawings, & Prints by Belgian Artist James Ensor
• Art & Love in Renaissance Italy on View at the Kimbell Art Museum
• Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofia opens Nancy Spero Exhibition
• The Benaki Museum hosts Constantine (Dikos) Byzantios
• Kunsthaus Zurich Announces Programs to Celebrate 100th Anniversary
• Solo Exhibition of Balthus in Opens at Museum Ludwig
• Smithsonian’s Arthur M. Sackler Gallery presents “Falnama:The Book of Omens”
• Christie's London Auction of Impressionist and Modern Art Realises $60.4 Million
• " Go Figure " Hosted by Isadore Gallery
• Facing Abstraction: at The Hyde Collection
• Art Knowledge News Presents "This Week In Review"

The Museum Of Contemporary Art Sydney (MCA) ~ Twenty Years Young ~ With Many Highly Regarded Art Collections Posted: 25 Feb 2011 08:55 PM PST The Museum of Contemporary Art in Sydney, Australia (MCA) is celebrating its 20th anniversary in November 2011. Originally established using a bequest left by Australian artist John Power to the University of Sydney to "inform and educate Australians in the contemporary visual arts", the museum was opened to the public in 1991. The Museum of Contemporary Art is Australia's only museum dedicated to exhibiting, interpreting and collecting contemporary art from across Australia and around the world. With a continually changing program of exhibitions there's always something new, exciting and inspiring to see at the MCA. The land on which the MCA building is situated has great historical significance, originally owned by the Eora people of the Gadigal nation, the site also marks the landing place of the First Fleet in Port Jackson in 1788. In 1802 Sydney's first hospital and wharf were built nearby, with commissariat stores built by Colonel Foveaux in 1812. In the 1930s the commissariat stores and taxation building were demolished to make way for a new Maritime Services Board (MSB) building (the previous MSB offices were displaced by the Cahill Express Way and Circular Quay railway development). Government architect W.H. Withers began work on the building plans in 1939. Work resumed in 1944 under government architect W D H Baxter after a postponement of four years from 1940 due to Australia's involvement in World War II. Builders were appointed in 1946 but difficulties in securing labor and material due to post war shortages delayed construction. The foundation stone was laid in 1949 and in 1952 the MSB building opened. With the relocation of the MSB to larger premises in 1989 the building was gifted by the NSW State Government to the Museum of Contemporary Art. Funded by the University of Sydney and the Power Bequest, restoration and refurbishment of the building commenced in 1990 under the direction of Andrew Andersons of Peddle Thorpe/John Holland Interiors and in November 1991 the Museum of Contemporary Art officially opened. The MCA is currently in the middle of building works to create a new northern wing, however, disruption is minimal and the potential visitor should not be put off. The museum hosts over 750,000 visitors annually. Be sure to visit the museum's website at . . http://www.mca.com.au/ The cornerstone of the current collection are the works donated by J W Power and those bought using his generous financial bequest. The J W Power Collection is the largest of the MCA's collections and was established through the 'Power Bequest to The University of Sydney'. The will of the late John Power stated that the Bequest should be"put towards the purchase of contemporary art ... so as to bring the people of Australia in more direct touch with the latest art developments in other countries." The Power Collection is a varied and eclectic collection of works by Australian and international artists from the late 1960s up until the constitution of the Museum of Contemporary Art in 1989. Within the Collection are 1,103 paintings, oil sketches and drawings by John Power himself, as well as a variety of works by other artists including kinetic work from the 1960s and 1970s, op art, performance pieces, pop art, minimalist works, and more recent works from 1980s. Artists featured in the Power Collection include Ulay and Marina Abramovic, Valerio Adami, Joseph Beuys, Christo and Jeanne-Claude, Juan Davila, Neil Dawson, Gilbert and George, Richard Hamilton, Keith Haring, Edward Kienholz, Barbara Kruger, Roy Lichtenstein, Robert Longo, Sidney Nolan, Ed Ruscha, Mike Parr, John Power, Cindy Sherman, Imants Tillers, Peter Tyndall, Andy Warhol, Jenny Watson, and John Young. The Loti and Victor Smorgon Collection of Contemporary Australian Art was gifted to the MCA in 1995 by private collectors Loti and Victor Smorgon, this collection of 154 works is a remarkable survey of work of the 1980s and 1990s by Australian artists spanning several generations. It represents paintings by artists who have emerged during one of the most lively and prolific periods in Australia's history, a time when artists had unprecedented representation in exhibitions and collections around the world. The collection focuses on three generations of artists working in Australia since the late 1960s. The first group comprises paintings from the 1980s by artists who exhibited in the landmark exhibition "The Field" in 1968. The second consists of a diverse group whose work was based in 1970s conceptual practice, and the third, a younger group of artists who emerged during the 1980s and 1990s. Artists represented in the Smorgon Collection include: Davida Allen, Howard Arkley, Peter Booth, Stephen Bush, Tony Clark, Juan Davila, Richard Dunn, Robert Hunter, Robert Jacks, Maria Kozic, Michael Johnson, Tim Johnson, Kerri Poliness, Vivienne Shark LeWitt, John Firth Smith, Imants Tillers, Dick Watkins, Jenny Watson and John Young. The MCA is also justifiably proud of its collections of Aboriginal art, including the Maningrida Collection of Aboriginal Art consisting of approximately 600 works created in and around the town of Maningrida. It includes works in fibre and other materials, including seeds, shells and feathers, mostly made by women. These beautiful objects reveal the ingenuity of the women and their ability to maintain strong links with the past, while at the same time incorporating new ideas and materials. The MCA's continue to develop their collections through acquisitions and loans. Three temporary exhibitions are currently on view at the MCA, until July 19th 2011, "New Acquisitions in Context" celebrates five years of the MCA's successful "New Acquisitions" series of exhibitions. "New Acquisitions in Context" provides visitors with the opportunity to experience a diverse selection of Australian and international art as well as offering an insight into how the MCA Collection is developed. Spanning a range of media from sculpture and drawing to installation and video, the exhibition includes work by artists James Angus, Hany Armanious, John Barbour, Sophie Coombs, Juan Davila, Hayden Fowler, Simryn Gill, Matthew Griffin, Mary Gubriawuy, Patrick Hartigan, Mathew Jones, Peter Kennedy, Laith McGregor, James Morrison, Arlo Mountford, Dorota Mytych, Robert Rauschenberg, Sangeeta Sandrasegar, Tim Silver, Ken Thaiday, Imants Tillers, Günter Weseler and Simon Yates. "Annie Leibovitz: A Photographer's Life 1990 - 2005" (until 26th April) presents the work of legendary American photographer Annie Leibovitz to Australian audiences as part of the Sydney International Art Series. "Bardayal 'Lofty' Nadjamerrek AO" presents a retrospective of works by one of Australia's best loved Aboriginal artists until 20 March 2011. Born around 1926 in the Mann River region of Western Arnhem Land, Bardayal 'Lofty' Nadjamerrek AO (deceased), lived at Kabulwarnamyo outstation located on the upper Liverpool River, in the stone country of the Arnhem Land plateau. This exhibition traces the influence and development of the artist's practice and his legacy. Nadjamerrek's position on Western Arnhem Land art was unique. As a prominent elder he resided over clan estates with long links to cave painting sites, which trace some of the oldest forms of human expression. Nadjamerrek's earliest rock-art images are located at Karrmadjabdi, a shelter in his Mok clan estate on the Liverpool River, where he painted fish species, yam, rock possum and representations of Namorrodoh spirit beings by shaping bees wax and pressing them into the rock. In 1969, Bardayal began to paint on bark and paper remaining loyal to the natural pigments used for rock art. This exhibition explores the stories and places depicted in Nadjamerrek's work, providing visitors with a greater understanding and respect for the artist's unique traditions and origins. The Ramingining Collection of Aboriginal Art contains over 260 bark paintings and wood carved sculptural and functional objects. The works in the Collection centre on the Yolngu system of classification of the natural world. Groupings of works represent the mangroves, the forests, the freshwater swamps, the oceans and beaches, the jungles and the plains and the many creatures that inhabit them. A further collection of 285 bark paintings was donated to the MCA in June 1993 by Arnott's Biscuits Limited. Featuring work by artists from the late 1960s through to the early 1980s, it is one of the most significant and in-depth Aboriginal bark painting collections in the world. ANNOUNCEMENT: Our Editor has been invited to visit Museums and cultural sites worldwide, and they are featured on our Home Page (center). Because of the Editor's travel we will be posting many interesting articles from our archives, some of the BEST Articles and Art Images that appeared in your magazine during the past six plus (6+) years . . and we are publishing current art news articles on the left hand side under RECENT NEWS .. Enjoy

Albertina Museum shows The Collection of Eberhard W. Kornfeld Posted: 25 Feb 2011 08:54 PM PST   Vienna, Austria - The Albertina Museum presents Routes Through Modern Art - From The Collection of Eberhard W. Kornfeld, on view through Fabruary 8, 2009. In honour of the 85th birthday of Swiss art dealer Eberhard W. Kornfeld, some 200 works from his remarkable private art collection are on exhibit at the Albertina. The auction house owner and art publisher is a distinguished expert on prints and the author of catalogues raisonnés on Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, Paul Klee, Marc Chagall, Käthe Kollwitz and numerous other artists. Like the collection as a whole, the exhibition focuses on multifaceted selections of their works, as well as works by the collector's close friends Pablo Picasso, Sam Francis and Alberto Giacometti.

Philadelphia Museum of Art Presents a Major Private Collection of Modernism Posted: 25 Feb 2011 08:52 PM PST PHILADELPHIA, PA.- The Philadelphia Museum of Art this summer will present Adventures in Modern Art: The Charles K. Williams II Collection, an exhibition of approximately 100 paintings, sculptures, watercolors, and drawings from the early decades of the 20th century. It is drawn from the collection of Charles K. Williams II, a distinguished archeologist and Director Emeritus of the Corinth Excavations of the American School of Classical Studies in Athens, who has amassed in under two decades an important and personal collection representing most of the major American artists and movements of the modern period, as well as several European masters. Organized by Innis Howe Shoemaker, The Audrey and William H. Helfand Senior Curator of Prints, Drawings, and Photographs, the exhibition will be on view in the Dorrance Galleries (July 12 through September 13, 2009).

Heirs of Paul von Mendelssohn-Bartholdy Reach Settlement Agreements Posted: 25 Feb 2011 08:51 PM PST WASHINGTON, DC.- The heirs of Paul von Mendelssohn-Bartholdy are pleased to announce that they have reached a Settlement Agreement with the Trustees of The Andrew Lloyd Webber Art Foundation resolving their ownership claim to the painting The Absinthe Drinker (Angel Fernandez de Soto) (1903) by Pablo Picasso. The terms of the Settlement Agreement are confidential in their entirety. The heirs now relinquish any and all claims of title to this painting. The Mendelssohn heirs settled other matters in 2009 with the Museum of Modern Art and the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation.

MoMA announces an Exhibition of Paintings, Drawings, & Prints by Belgian Artist James Ensor Posted: 25 Feb 2011 08:49 PM PST NEW York, NY.- James Ensor (Belgian, 1860–1949) was a major figure in the Belgian avant-garde of the late nineteenth century and an important precursor to the development of Expressionism in the early twentieth. In both respects, he has influenced generations of later artists. This exhibition of approximately 95 of Ensor's paintings, drawings, and prints will produce a complete picture of his daring, experiential body of work. Key issues that will be elucidated are the artist's contribution to modernity, his innovative and allegorical use of light, his prominent use of satire, his deep interest in carnival and performance, and his own self-fashioning and use of masking, travesty, and role-playing.

Art & Love in Renaissance Italy on View at the Kimbell Art Museum Posted: 25 Feb 2011 08:47 PM PST FORT WORTH, TX - The Kimbell Art Museum presents Art and Love in Renaissance Italy, a fascinating exploration of art objects made to celebrate milestones in the lives of men and women in Renaissance Italy—betrothal, marriage, and the birth of a child. It will be on view from March 15 to June 14, 2009. Jointly organized by The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, and the Kimbell (its exclusive venues), this exhibition is curated by Andrea Bayer, a curator in the department of European paintings at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, and Nancy E. Edwards, curator of European art and head of academic services at the Kimbell Art Museum.

Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofia opens Nancy Spero Exhibition Posted: 25 Feb 2011 08:44 PM PST MADRID.- Born in Cleveland, Ohio, in 1926, Spero is a pioneer of feminist art and a key figure in the New York protest scene in the 1960s and 70s. She can be placed among other feminist artists such as Martha Rosler and Adrian Piper. With a career as an artist and activist that spans more than 50 years, Spero continues even today to be an example of engagement in our current political, social and cultural scene, which she always questions and defies. On exhibition 15 October through 5 January, 2009.

The Benaki Museum hosts Constantine (Dikos) Byzantios Posted: 25 Feb 2011 08:42 PM PST   Athens, Greece - The Benaki Museum hosts Constantine (Dikos) Byzantios (1924-2007), son of the painter Pericles Byzantios, was born in Athens. Since 1946 he lived and worked in Paris where he became a distinguished member of the École de Paris and associated a circle of eminent artists and intellectuals such as Alberto Giacometti, Eugène Ionesco, Michel Foucault, Cornelius Kastoriadis and Christian Zervos. On exhibition through 5 October, 2007.

Kunsthaus Zurich Announces Programs to Celebrate 100th Anniversary Posted: 25 Feb 2011 08:40 PM PST ZURICH.- In 2010 the Kunsthaus Zürich will celebrate its hundredth anniversary. Switzerland's oldest combined collection and exhibition space opened its doors in Karl Moser's late Jugendstil museum building on the Heimplatz in 1910, and now, in honor of the centenary, the Kunsthaus will showcase its opulent collection, including many donations, and mount a major Picasso show in tribute to its tradition of key exhibitions. In 2015 the artistic idea of a dynamic museum for the 21st-century will become reality, and the Zürcher Kunstgesellschaft's success story, which owes its inception in 1787 to the initiative of local burghers, will have been continued in a further exciting chapter – the Kunsthaus extension.

Solo Exhibition of Balthus in Opens at Museum Ludwig Posted: 25 Feb 2011 08:38 PM PST   COLOGNE, GERMANY - Museum Ludwig proudly presents the first-ever solo exhibition of the French painter Balthus (Balthasar Klossowski, 29.02.1908 -18.02.2001) in Germany. On show will be around 70 outstanding paintings and drawings from the years 1932 to 1960, on loan from international public and private collections.

Smithsonian’s Arthur M. Sackler Gallery presents “Falnama:The Book of Omens” Posted: 25 Feb 2011 08:37 PM PST WASHINGTON, DC. A group of unusual, illustrated manuscripts called the Falnama that were once used by sultans, shahs and commoners to explore the unknown will be on view October 24 through January 24, 2010, at the Smithsonian's Arthur M. Sackler Gallery. "Falnama: The Book of Omens" is the first exhibition ever to be devoted to these rare works, which were created in 16th- and 17th-century Iran and Turkey. The Sackler Gallery will be the sole venue for this international exhibition featuring works of art from public and private collections.

Christie's London Auction of Impressionist and Modern Art Realises $60.4 Million Posted: 25 Feb 2011 08:35 PM PST LONDON.- A "musketeer" painted by Pablo Picasso was one of the big attractions at an auction of impressionist and modern art at Christie's held in London, where it sold for 5.7 million pounds ($9.3 million). The 1969 work, "Homme a l'Epee," was the second most expensive lot of the session, after Monet's "Au Parc Monceau," that went for 6.3 million pounds ($10.3 million). Painted on canvas, the Picasso work shows an exhuberant and colorful swordsman in a scene that mixes thick brush strokes in which red and yellow predominate. Just by chance the rival auction house Sotheby's is offering this Wednesday to the highest bidder another musketeer - this one painted on wood - by Picasso, executed on July 25, 1969, one day before the one sold at Christie's. Both works figured in the famous 1970 exhibition at the Palace of the Popes in Avignon, France, together with other musketeers, lovers and gentlemen, all charged with energy and a contagious humor.

" Go Figure " Hosted by Isadore Gallery Posted: 25 Feb 2011 08:33 PM PST Lancaster, PA - "Go Figure" : Isadore Gallery's July show features modern-day interpretations of the most ancient of subject matters—the human figure. Isadore Gallery offers a new art exhibit to the community.  The Go Figure show will feature a diverse grouping of artists working in a wide variety of styles, all captivated by the same subject matter—the human figure.  The exhibit will be on display through the month of July.

Facing Abstraction: at The Hyde Collection Posted: 25 Feb 2011 08:29 PM PST Glens Falls, NY – The Hyde Collection will feature Facing Abstraction: Refiguring the Body in the Twentieth Century through December 10, 2006 in the Museum's Charles R. Wood Gallery.  This exhibition, drawn from the Neuberger Museum of Art's permanent collection, will pair selected artists' writings with objects to offer a fresh perspective on the relationship between abstraction and figuration.  It highlights not only extraordinary works from that core collection, but also some of the museum's impressive modern and postwar paintings, prints, sculptures, and ceramics by artists from around the world.  Among the artists represented are Milton Avery, Joan Brown, Alexander Calder, Alberto Giacometti, Philip Guston, Grace Hartigan, Jacob Lawrence, and Henry Moore.

Art Knowledge News Presents "This Week In Review" Posted: 25 Feb 2011 08:28 PM PST This is a new feature for the subscribers and visitors to Art Knowledge News (AKN), that will enable you to see "thumbnail descriptions" of the last ninety (90) articles and art images that we published. This will allow you to visit any article that you may have missed ; or re-visit any article or image of particular interest. Every day the article "thumbnail images" will change. For you to see the entire last ninety images just click : here . When opened that also will allow you to change the language from English to anyone of 54 other languages, by clicking your language choice on the upper left corner of our Home Page.  You can share any article we publish with the eleven (11) social websites we offer like Twitter, Flicker, Linkedin, Facebook, etc. by one click on the image shown at the end of each opened article.  Last, but not least, you can email or print any entire article by using an icon visible to the right side of an article's headline.

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