César Pelli, the architect of One Canada Square in Canary Wharf London, the second tallest building in the UK and major British landmark, has died at the age of 92. Born in Argentina, César Pelli held from an early age a definitive interest in architecture, which he pursued at higher education level at the University of Tucumán, in Northern Argentina. After the completion of his course, he worked as a project designer for Eero Saarinen...
Residing within a small hotel in the center of Reykjavik, the capital of Iceland is a permanent art exhibition featuring paintings, sketches, and sculptures by Icelandic artists, dating from the late 19th century to the late 20th century. The artwork at Hotel Holt totals 440 pieces and is part of a privately-owned collection of over 1,500 works of art. Every space of Hotel Holt, the sitting rooms, dining room, the reception as well as each...
You might have already seen the fluorescent lights across London and wondered what they are. For those of you haven’t, Leo Villareal’s art installation of LED lights, produced with the help of architect, Lifschutz Davidson Sandiland is visible across all major bridges paralleling the Thames river in central London. The lights can be found at London Bridge, Cannon Street Bridge, Southwark Bridge and the Millennium Footbridge—another 11 bridges will follow suit over the course of...
Diego Velázquez’s long-lost portrait of Olimpia Maidalchini Pamphilj will be auctioned by Sotheby’s on the 3rd of July as part of its Old Masters Evening Sale.The painting was lost for three centuries after its last reported appearance was in 1724; however, in the 1980s the painting was sold under a different name and eventually brought into Sotheby’s Amsterdam office. The mystery behind the lost painting doesn’t end there – an unusual cypher was found hidden at...
Sotheby’s auction, English Literature, History, Children’s Books and Illustrations, includes the sale of original historical documents and the first editions of classic novels. The highlights of the auction, for which the online bidding process has begun, will include Daniel Defoe’s Adventures of Robinson Crusoe; the original, historical 1916 proclamation of independence established by the Irish Republic; and four albums of 962 photographs illustrating the First World War. The Origins of Defoe’s Robinson Crusoe The first...
Lyon and Turnbull, one of the oldest fine art and antiques auctioneers in the UK, will be launching an exhibition titled, “Bright Souls”: The Forgotten Story of Britain’s First Female Artists.The exhibition aims to showcase the successes of the nation’s very first, female artists in the 17th century – an era when the identity of women remained confined to the domestic sphere and women themselves held limited rights. Opportunities for women were scarce and job titles...
If you would describe yourself as ‘affluent’, or in modern parlance as an HNWI (High Net Worth Individual), wealth management could be vital to your future finances. Unless you are a financial professional, you can’t be expected to have a grasp of all the investment, accounting, tax, legal, inheritance and residence laws which might affect you and your family’s wealth. The advisory service of a wealth manager is a consultative process, designed to explore the client’s assets and needs, to tailor a strategy using appropriate financial products...
The lure of gold is legendary, but are we fooling ourselves if we treat it as a sensible choice for the modern investor? It pays to understand why for hundreds of years it was the foundation of all wealth, and why it’s perhaps a different type of investment today. The use of gold in the form of coins probably dates back to Egypt in 500BC, at a time when the intrinsic value of the metal had long been established through its use in jewellery. The History...
Underground travel in London can be exhausting, overcrowded and frantic with the end goal of most travellers being no more than to reach their desired destination. Conversely, in the Swedish capital, Stockholm, you might postpone the rush and for the first time consider lingering on your journey through the stations. Vivid art installations have been created in each of the 100 stations on the network with the aim of improving the overall experience of travellers....
Arguably, the world’s two most famous paintings are da Vinci’s Mona Lisa and The Last Supper. Certainly these images, and those of the Vitruvian Man, are indelibly etched in the collective consciousness of anyone with an interest in art, science or culture. Though born into an age of great possibilities, da Vinci remained, as Sigmund Freud described him, “Like a man who awoke too early in the darkness, while the others were all still asleep.” His restless mind, forever hopping from one project to another,...
