Tag: Modern Art

1960s Portraits of Famous Artists by Renowned TIME & LIFE Magazines Photographer Ben Martin are Now on View at Artplex Gallery, LA

Ben Martin (1930-2017) covered wars, fashion, politics, arts, business and sports for Time, Life, Fortune, People and Sports Illustrated for thirty-three years. He covered Martin Luther King during the Selma to Montgomery Civil Rights March, took the infamous sweaty five-o’clock shadow photograph of Richard Nixon during the Kennedy-Nixon TV debates in 1960 that Nixon claimed cost him the election, and photographed Time’s now famous “Swinging London” cover story. He photographed major cover essays on the 25th anniversary of D-Day in Normandy and 40th anniversaries of Pearl Harbor and Hiroshima, the Mozambique civil war from both the rebel and Portuguese sides and an arctic expedition to the North Pole. His photograph of President John F. Kennedy’s funeral led to a Life magazine cover, and his coverage of Pope Paul’s trip to the Holy Land was a cover feature in Time.

Artificial Intelligence on Art Investing

The World Art News is continuing its art exploration of the World’s Leading Artificial Intelligence system ‘ChatGPT’. This time we decided to find out what AI knows about Art Investing. Keep in mind that this entire article was written by a machine, we just asked it the right questions and added some headlines.

“One of the main benefits of investing in art is its lack of correlation with the stock market. While the stock market may experience fluctuations, the art market has its own set of independent factors that can affect prices. This means that an investment in art can potentially provide a hedge against economic downturns.”

Jean-Michel Basquiat’s Friend Gives Exclusive Interview and Presents New Book about The Artist

Tom Zatar Kay's book Jean-Michel Basquiat

In this Exclusive Interview with Tom Zatar Kay we talk about his new book: ‘JEAN-MICHEL BASQUIAT “THE KING”: My Friend SAMO – Late 1970-80s’ as well as The One And Only – Jean-Michel himself! His life. His art. The book features many interesting stories about Jean-Michel Basquiat, Tom’s lifelong friend who he calls SAMO, his interactions with celebrities and contemporary artists of the time. It contains exclusive photos that Tom has taken of people and artworks during his friendship with Jean-Michel.

With no page numbers, the book is intended to become art in itself, containing many pages that can be cut out and framed. Tom also written it to be a historic record for all hard core SAMO fans, a timeless collector’s edition of a high-profile artist who will be remembered forever. It has been purchased by Columba University, various libraries, and leading contemporary professionals from around the world. And now, without further ado, here’s our Exclusive Interview with Tom Zatar Kay.

Top 5 Most Expensive Paintings Ever Sold

leonardo salvator mundi

When it comes to the world of art, certain paintings command staggering prices that represent the pinnacle of human spending power. These masterpieces are highly cherished by investors, collectors, and art lovers alike. The top five most expensive artworks ever sold are a testament to the enduring value of art. Ranging from the masterful brushstrokes of Leonardo da Vinci to the bold color fields of Mark Rothko, these works hold more capital than some banks. In this article, we will take a closer look at the most expensive artworks ever sold, examining the artists, the works, and the prices they fetched at auction or private sale. Whether you are a seasoned collector or simply an art enthusiast, read on to discover the most valuable paintings in history.

What does World’s Best AI ‘ChatGPT’ think about Top Art, Antiques, and Collectibles? We Asked!

The World Art News asked the World’s Leading Artificial Intelligence system ‘ChatGPT’ to write an article about top art, antiques, and collectibles. In less than a minute we received a shockingly good art story written entirely by a machine! We did not edit a single word or punctuation. This is what the AI wrote:

“Art as an investment has been a popular choice for centuries, with many investors purchasing pieces by well-known artists with the hope of selling them at a higher price in the future. The art market has seen some significant booms in recent years, with the value of certain artists and pieces skyrocketing. However, it’s important to note that the art market can be highly speculative and illiquid, and values can fluctuate greatly. The art market’s value is also often driven by the market sentiments, trends, and the demand for certain artists.”

Is Art Financing Terrorism?

Art and terrorism seem to be worlds apart, however what most people perceive as heritage and culture – criminal organizations see as cold hard cash. Cash that is hard to trace and very easy to move undetected through any borders of any country.

First crucial point to understand is that when we are talking about art, we do not mean your local flea market ‘stuff’. Nor do we limit ourselves to just paintings. We are talking about high-end ‘movable cultural property’ consisting of art, antiques, and collectibles … very expensive art, antiques, and collectibles. Items that by far exceed a $100,000 dollars benchmark.

Second point to understand – there are lots of them, everywhere, in every country, city, and town. In fact there will never be a shortage of them. With the latest modern art hype the market literally became a factory. These modern creations are breaking multimillion dollar records at top auctions around the world.

The Modigliani Affaire

The death of Amedeo Modigliani and of his devoted partner Jeanne Hebuterne starts one of the most emblematic stories of the Art Market, which will lead the works of the unfortunate Tuscan artist to be subject of an “exceptional enterprise of economic revaluation”.

The acme of the speculative operation has been reached with the auction award for 170,405,000 US dollars of the “Red Nude”, which previously belonged to Gualino Collection and to Feroldi Collection and then in 1950 was acquired by the art collector Gianni Mattioli thanks to the interest of his cousin, Fernanda Wittgens, the then Director of the Pinacoteca di Brera.

The valorization of Modigliani’s Work thus began in the ‘50s on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean: in Europe activities revolved around “Il Milione Gallery” in Milan and in America around Museum of Modern Art in New York.

Top 5 Best-Performing American Artists of 2022

This article shows a selection made by MutualArt of the Top 5 US Artists of 2022 due to their performance in sales and exhibitions of their work. The top performers are:

1. Andy Warhol (1928 – 1987)

Andy Warhol was an American Postwar & Contemporary artist who was born in 1928. In 2022 he achieved sales for 570,207,409 USD

Numerous key galleries and museums such as Hamburger Bahnhof, Museum of Contemporary Art have featured Andy Warhol’s work in the past.

Since 1998 the record price for this artist at auction is 195,040,000 USD for “Shot Sage Blue Marilyn” which sold at Christie’s New York in 2022. 

Learn more about the other best-performing American artists of 2022.

Takeaways from a Record-Breaking Early Auction Season

Collection sales dominated headlines of another record-breaking fall auction season, while the emerging market feels the pressure of economic worries.

With art market prices soaring as of late, recent blue-chip auctions were projected to reach significant high-flying, record-breaking heights. Not only did these lots deliver, but in some instances their price tags surpassed their monumental estimates. The highly anticipated Paul Allen collection, the personal assortment of paintings and sculptures owned by the late Microsoft co-founder, blew past the $1 billion estimated value, which already would’ve made his collection the most expensive ever sold.

While some say the results of the Phillips auction suggests a cooling of the market, works of personal collections, especially those hidden from public view for prolonged periods of time are doing exceedingly well.

The ‘Collòculi’ Exhibit by Internationally Recognized Artist and Filmmaker Annalaura di Luggo

Internationally recognized artist and filmmaker Annalaura di Luggo unveils “Collòculi” – her most artistic challenge!

“Collòculi” is an immersive, multimedia interactive work made in the shape of a Giant Eye from recycled aluminum. The symbolism of recycling is both suggestive of environmental rebirth as well as the deeper meaning of taking old thrown away emotions and creating new, more positive views through new eyes.

COLLÒCULI WE ARE ART by Annalaura di Luggo is currently on display at al National Archeological Museum of Naples MANN (Italy) until January 2023.