The secret histories of the world’s most famous masterpieces Caravaggios, Rembrandts, Monets—the works of immortal artists such as these are indelibly imprinted in the public mind; they are priceless masterpieces whose beauty, artistry, and emotional impact have inspired admiration, awe, and envy through the centuries. Yet behind many of these brilliant paintings and sculptures are fascinating, unique histories. In Scandals, Vandals, and da Vincis, award-winning writer Harvey Rachlin relates in exciting detail how nearly thirty of these works came to be created and how they survived burglary, forgery, revolutions, ransoms, vandals, scandals, religious sects, and shipwrecks to eventually come to their current resting places
The secret histories of the world’s most famous masterpieces Caravaggios, Rembrandts, Monets—the works of immortal artists such as these are indelibly imprinted in the public mind; they are priceless masterpieces whose beauty, artistry, and emotional impact have inspired admiration, awe, and envy through the centuries. Yet behind many of these brilliant paintings and sculptures are fascinating, unique histories. In Scandals, Vandals, and da Vincis, award-winning writer Harvey Rachlin relates in exciting detail how nearly thirty of these works came to be created and how they survived burglary, forgery, revolutions, ransoms, vandals, scandals, religious sects, and shipwrecks to eventually come to their current resting places
The Definitive Guide to Art Valuation and Investing “Comprehensive insight into the art world that every seasoned art collector should keep by his or her bedside for quick reference.” Lawrence M. Klepner, Vice President–Investments, UBS Financial Services Inc. “An essential resource for any art collector, art investor, or art market professional. The information provided is so useful and comprehensive that it puts anyone involved in the art market who doesn’t own a copy at a disadvantage.” Nicholas Forest, art market analyst, art consultant, and founder of Artmarketblog.com “Skaterschikov has produced a comprehensive and well-written overview of investment in high-end art. Every aspiring investor should read this book cover to cover—twice—before even thinking about writing their first check.” Don Thompson, author of The $12 Million Stuffed Shark: The Curious Economics of Contemporary Art “Skate’s Art Investment Handbook is a must-read for anyone who is passively or actively involved in the art world. It is a thorough, accurate, and fascinating account of this market that will certainly enlighten the art market amateur, veteran, collector, and investor alike.” Philip Hofman, CEO, The Fine Art Fund Group “Thoroughly documented and very well-written. . . . In addition to its original data, this edition of Skate’s pulls together bits and pieces of often hard-to-find statistics from other published resources, making it indispensable for anyone researching the market for artworks.” Tom McNulty , MA, MLS, Professor of Research Methodology, Sotheby’s Institute of Art, New York; Librarian for Fine Arts, Bobst Library, New York University; and author of Art Market Research: A Guide to Methods and Sources About the Book The fine arts represent one of the oldest and most consistently profitable investment vehicles. Yet, despite its maturity and the tens of billions of dollars generated each year through art sales, the art market has remained uniquely resistant to the drivers that have revolutionized virtually every other investment class. Now institutional and private investors can approach both active and passive investment in the global art market with a degree of transparency unavailable to previous generations of investors. The most comprehensive how-to guide of its kind, Skate’s Art Investment Handbook demystifies art investing. It provides a detailed, dispassionate look at the global art market and outlines an original analytical model and rational strategies for profiting from this alternative asset class. Drawing on more than a century of statistical data, original valuation metrics, and other powerful proprietary tools, the founder and CEO of IndexAtlas Group, LLC, Sergey Skaterschikov describes proven techniques that allow you to: Correctly value art assets Accurately forecast their long-term values Precisely track and forecast trends in the notoriously fickle art market Expertly deploy strategies for optimizing returns on art investments Confidently invest in funds, derivatives, and other passive art investment vehicles Taking art investing out of the murky realm of sentiment and aesthetics and into the bright light of financial valuation and market statistics, Skate’s Art Investment Handbook provides what you need to generate consistent profitability in the global art market.
Includes, beginning Sept. 15, 1954 (and on the 15th of each month, Sept.-May) a special section: School library journal, ISSN 0000-0035, (called Junior libraries, 1954-May 1961). Also issued separately.
Create modern heirlooms using vintage materials—a collection of 35 innovative projects showcasing the exceptional beauty in timeworn textiles. Vintage Made Modern is a book devoted to recycling just as generations before us have, utilizing timeworn textiles with histories of their own. With a little resourcefulness, gentle care, and some creative repurposing, the 35 innovative projects in this book breathe life back into these textiles, refresh their beauty, and create new memories. Whether it be Granny's well-worn apron, a threadbare family quilt, or a tattered tea towel you picked up at the thrift shop, each of these textiles has a tale to tell. Vintage Made Modern will have you collaborating with makers from the past and continuing stories composed long ago, with you becoming part of the narrative.
A wildly entertaining and surprisingly educational dive into art history as you've never seen it before, from the host of the beloved ArtCurious podcast We're all familiar with the works of Claude Monet, thanks in no small part to the ubiquitous reproductions of his water lilies on umbrellas, handbags, scarves, and dorm-room posters. But did you also know that Monet and his cohort were trailblazing rebels whose works were originally deemed unbelievably ugly and vulgar? And while you probably know the tale of Vincent van Gogh's suicide, you may not be aware that there's pretty compelling evidence that the artist didn't die by his own hand but was accidentally killed--or even murdered. Or how about the fact that one of Andy Warhol's most enduring legacies involves Caroline Kennedy's moldy birthday cake and a collection of toenail clippings? ArtCurious is a colorful look at the world of art history, revealing some of the strangest, funniest, and most fascinating stories behind the world's great artists and masterpieces. Through these and other incredible, weird, and wonderful tales, ArtCurious presents an engaging look at why art history is, and continues to be, a riveting and relevant world to explore.
The smell of sweet cinnamon on your morning oatmeal, the gentle heat of gingerbread, the sharp piquant bite from your everyday peppermill. The tales these spices could tell: of lavish Renaissance banquets perfumed with cloves, and flimsy sailing ships sent around the world to secure a scented prize; of cinnamon-dusted custard tarts and nutmeg-induced genocide; of pungent elixirs and the quest for the pepper groves of paradise. The Taste of Conquest offers up a riveting, globe-trotting tale of unquenchable desire, fanatical religion, raw greed, fickle fashion, and mouthwatering cuisine–in short, the very stuff of which our world is made. In this engaging, enlightening, and anecdote-filled history, Michael Krondl, a noted chef turned writer and food historian, tells the story of three legendary cities–Venice, Lisbon, and Amsterdam–and how their single-minded pursuit of spice helped to make (and remake) the Western diet and set in motion the first great wave of globalization. In the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, the world’s peoples were irrevocably brought together as a result of the spice trade. Before the great voyages of discovery, Venice controlled the business in Eastern seasonings and thereby became medieval Europe’s most cosmopolitan urban center. Driven to dominate this trade, Portugal’s mariners pioneered sea routes to the New World and around the Cape of Good Hope to India to unseat Venice as Europe’s chief pepper dealer. Then, in the 1600s, the savvy businessmen of Amsterdam “invented” the modern corporation–the Dutch East India Company–and took over as spice merchants to the world. Sharing meals and stories with Indian pepper planters, Portuguese sailors, and Venetian foodies, Krondl takes every opportunity to explore the world of long ago and sample its many flavors. The spice trade and its cultural exchanges didn’t merely lend kick to the traditional Venetian cookies called peverini, or add flavor to Portuguese sausages of every description, or even make the Indonesian rice table more popular than Chinese takeout in trendy Amsterdam. No, the taste for spice of a few wealthy Europeans led to great crusades, astonishing feats of bravery, and even wholesale slaughter. As stimulating as it is pleasurable, and filled with surprising insights, The Taste of Conquest offers a fascinating perspective on how, in search of a tastier dish, the world has been transformed.
Last winter, a man tried to break Marcel Duchamp’s Fountain sculpture. The sculpted foot of Michelangelo’s David was damaged in 1991 by a purportedly mentally ill artist. With each incident, intellectuals must confront the unsettling dynamic between destruction and art. Renowned art historian Dario Gamboni is the first to tackle this weighty issue in depth, exploring specters of censorship, iconoclasm, and vandalism that surround such acts. Gamboni uncovers here a disquieting phenomenon that still thrives today worldwide. As he demonstrates through analyses of incidents occurring in nineteenth- and twentieth-century America and Europe, a complex relationship exists among the evolution of modern art, destruction of artworks, and the long history of iconoclasm. From the controversial removal of Richard Serra’s Tilted Arc from New York City’s Federal Plaza to suffragette protests at London’s National Gallery, Gamboni probes the concept of artist’s rights, the power of political protest and how iconoclasm sheds light on society’s relationship to art and material culture. Compelling and thought-provoking, The Destruction of Art forces us to rethink the ways that we interact with art and react to its power to shock or subdue.
