arts news

Artist Kapoor draws on Berlin's dark history in new show

BERLIN (Reuters) - Blood-red bricks of wax are shifted by conveyor belts up metal chutes towards the centre of an atrium before thudding down and splattering like entrails, in a monumental new installation created by artist Anish Kapoor for his new show in Berlin.

Posted on 24 May 2013 | 12:15 pm

Moscow, St Petersburg vie in Impressionist tug-of-war

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia's cultural elite is at loggerheads over whether to rebuild a museum closed by the late Soviet dictator Josef Stalin, with the fate of masterpieces by Monet, Renoir and Picasso at stake.

Posted on 24 May 2013 | 9:56 am

Britain's Tate museum sets $34 million record for Constable painting

LONDON (Reuters) - The Tate Britain museum bought 19th century English painter John Constable's masterpiece "Salisbury Cathedral from the Meadows" for 23.1 million pounds ($34.75 million), making it one of the most expensive British paintings ever sold.

Posted on 23 May 2013 | 9:10 am

China's Ai Weiwei launches musical career with heavy metal "Dumbass" single

BEIJING (Reuters) - Dissident Chinese artist Ai Weiwei made his first foray into the musical world on Wednesday with the release of the top single from his debut album, a song called "Dumbass" that takes inspiration from his detention in 2011.

Posted on 22 May 2013 | 12:56 am

Rare "Harry Potter" first edition fetches record auction price

(Reuters) - A unique first edition of "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone" annotated by author J.K. Rowling has sold for a record 150,000 pounds ($227,421) at a London charity auction, Sotheby's said on Tuesday.

Posted on 21 May 2013 | 9:20 pm

NY art dealer tied to alleged forgeries charged with tax fraud

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Federal prosecutors on Tuesday charged a New York art dealer with tax fraud in connection with the sale of paintings she claimed to be the works of celebrated abstract expressionists, but some of which the government said were fakes.

Posted on 21 May 2013 | 5:51 pm

Richter painting breaks record for living artist at N.Y. auction

NEW YORK (Reuters) - A 1968 oil painting by German artist Gerhard Richter sold for some $37 million at Sotheby's contemporary art auction on Tuesday, a new record for a work by a living artist.

Posted on 15 May 2013 | 4:10 pm

Vatican to have pavilion at Venice Biennale modern art exhibit

VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - For most people, the relationship between contemporary art and the Vatican - home of some of the world's greatest old masterpieces - is like oil and water - they just don't mix.

Posted on 14 May 2013 | 11:17 am

DiCaprio's wildlife charity auction brings in $38.8 million

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Actor Leonardo DiCaprio and Christie's auction house raised $38.8 million through a charity art auction and donations, Christie's said on Tuesday, with proceeds to benefit environmental and conservation causes.

Posted on 14 May 2013 | 10:41 am

Daylight shines on Tate Britain's 500-year gallop through art

LONDON (Reuters) - Out go the themed rooms and groupings of artists at London's Tate Britain gallery, and in comes a pure, sunlit, chronological walk through British art from 1540 to the present.

Posted on 13 May 2013 | 1:40 pm