Displaying items by tag: seascape

Since the colonial period, the Atlantic Ocean has operated both as a barrier between America and Europe and as a conduit for international exchanges of peoples, goods, and ideas. It spurred commerce and enterprise that was the basis for both national economic activity and personal fortune. The activities in America’s great harbors and port cities also supported the nation’s cultural development, prompting the rise of schools of maritime and landscape painting, as well as portraiture.

The exhibition "The Coast & the Sea: Marine and Maritime Art" in America explores these themes and the breadth of experiences through which artists and their audiences engaged our coastlines, while simultaneously highlighting substantial developments in American artistic currents. With fifty-two paintings and ten maritime artifacts dating from the eighteenth- through the early-twentieth centuries, the exhibition illustrates the sublime drama of the oceanic environment; the importance of America’s early naval battles; breathtaking vistas where water, land, and light meet; and depictions of the men and women who animated Northeastern port cities.

Visit InCollect.com to read the full marine paintings article.

Tate trustees have temporarily reversed their decision to restitute a Constable seascape to a Nazi-era spoliation claimant. Last year the UK’s Spoliation Advisory Panel recommended that the picture should be returned to the heirs of its pre-war Hungarian owner.

A Tate spokeswoman told "The Art Newspaper": “New information has come to light on the history of the painting "Beaching a Boat, Brighton," 1924, by John Constable in Tate’s collection. This was reviewed by Tate. The Tate trustees have now approached the [DCMS] Secretary of State to invite the Spoliation Advisory Panel to review the new information. We cannot comment further at this stage.”

The Kimbell Art Museum in Fort Worth, Texas has acquired “Edge of a Forest with a Grainfield,” a landscape by the Dutch Golden Age master, Jacob van Ruisdael. The painting, which was created around 1656, had belonged to Worcester College in Oxford, England since 1811. The work was acquired by the Kimbell Art Museum through a private treaty sale negotiated by Christie’s London.

The painting, which measures about 3 feet by 5 feet, is in near-perfect condition and is regarded by experts as one of the greatest Dutch landscapes in the world. Eric M. Lee, the Kimbell Art Museum’s Director, said, “‘Edge of a Forest with a Grainfield’ epitomizes Ruisdael’s mastery of landscape painting, uniting an unprecedented observation of nature with a sympathetic feeling for the bounteous glory of the Dutch countryside. It is an imposing complement to the Kimbell’s ‘Rough Sea at a Jetty,’ one of his most important seascapes. Whether depicting the sea or the land, these paintings attest to Ruisdael’s profound love of nature in all its forms.”

Before the painting goes on display at the Kimbell Art Museum in April, the museum’s Director of Conservation, Claire Barry, will adjust small areas of old restoration.   

23 years after the notorious Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum heist took place in Boston, the FBI announced that they have identified the thieves responsible for the crime. Officials stated in a press release that the unnamed suspects are from a “criminal organization” based in the Mid-Atlantic States and New England. It is believed that some of the stolen artworks were transported to the Connecticut and Philadelphia regions, where they were offered for sale.

While the works have yet to be recovered, the FBI is reaching out to the public for helpful information and a $5 million reward is being offered for the paintings’ safe return. Today at a news conference, federal law enforcement officials announced that they will launch a comprehensive public awareness campaign that will include a dedicated FBI website, video postings on FBI social media sites, digital billboards, and a podcast.

On March 18, 1990 two thieves posing as Boston police officers entered the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum and made off with thirteen works of art valued at $500 million. The stolen masterpieces include Johannes Vermeer’s (1632-1675) The Concert, one of only 34 known works by the artist in the world; three works by Rembrandt (1606-1669) including his only known seascape; five drawings by Edgar Degas (1834-1917); and an ancient Chinese vessel from the Shang Dynasty. The Gardner heist remains the largest private property theft ever.