Ruth Osborne Several similar battles have emerged this year in the museum world; battles over the mismanagement of important art collections and the unfortunate consequences for the artworks involved. In the case of the Delaware Art Museum, a collection has begun to disintegrate in the interest of keeping the doors open to the public after […]
Ruth Osborne Traditionally, conservation and treatment analysis has been carried out on a work that requires such attention to ensure its physical stability. Removing layers of grime and dirt or a yellowing varnish is the standard conservator’s diagnosis. With the invention of the blockbuster exhibition in the 1970s, more and more paintings were sent to […]
Ruth Osborne It turns out the Delaware Art Museum’s Board of Trustees may have to dig even deeper into their collections to make up for their $30 million budget deficit. Yesterday at Christie’s in London, the first work of art given up in exchange for cold hard cash went for half the lower estimated sale price: […]
Ruth Osborne The Delaware Art Museum may be best-known for its nineteenth-century works (by the Pre-Raphaelites, Brandywine River School, and Ashcan School), but their modern collection may also take a hit from the recent budget crisis. Recent speculation by local news sources suggests the disappearance of an Alexander Calder mobile from installation and the Museum’s online database heralds […]
Ruth Osborne Last month, we received update on a historically significant painting by Pre-Raphaelite artist William Holman Hunt set to be sold at Christie’s to pay of a portion the Delaware Art Museum’s $30 million debt. In the ensuing weeks, ArtWatch has picked up on an increasing degree of anxiety from art historians and journalists keeping […]
Angelea Selleck Art forgery has existed for centuries. However, in recent years it seems more prevalent in the art world and its presence is unsettling. In such a litigious society as that of the USA, it is crucial that experts, dealers, auctioneers, curators and gallery owners all play by the rules when purchasing a new […]
Ruth Osborne The latest update in the story of the Delaware Art Museum’s deaccessions is a quite unfortunate one. It was announced last week that an item from their prominent collection of Pre-Raphaelite paintings would be one of the four sold at auction. William Holman Hunt’s Isabella and the Pot of Basil (1868) is to […]
Ruth Osborne To the long list of stripped gallery walls will now unfortunately be added those of the Delaware Art Museum. Though the state it represents is small, its collection boasts one of the largest selections of Pre-Raphaelite art (outside of the U.K.), important pieces from Brandywine River School artists Howard Pyle and N.C. Wyeth, […]
Ruth Osborne This past February, announcements were made concerning the restoration project planned for the frescoes adorning the Carracci Gallery at the Palazzo Farnese in Rome. This is no new thing for Annibale Carracci’s monumental cycle The Love of the Gods (1597-1606), which had already undergone “consolidation” only a few decades after completion under Baroque […]
Ruth Osborne It seems there will be no end to the ravaging of great collections by museum boards without any other hope in sight. Just as the financial distress with the Barnes yanked this famous collection from its roots in Merion, PA, to a pretentiously zen warehouse in Philadelphia in 2012, so too does impending […]