History Archives - Arts & Collections

National Portrait Gallery to Loan Historical Portraits to Box Museum

The National Portrait Gallery will loan six portraits of the nation’s best-known historical characters to The Box museum in Plymouth from 25th September 2021 until 6th March 2022 as part of its National Skills Sharing Partnership programme. This is a rare and exciting opportunity for visitors to explore the National Portrait Gallery’s treasured Collections while it undergoes its transformational Inspiring People redevelopment. The National Skills Sharing Partnership programme, funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund and Art...

Life & Culture

“Mapping a Legacy of Indian Jewels” Uncovers India’s Historic Gem Trade

Anetha Sivananthan

Led by Saffron Art, the biennial jewellery conference, Mapping a Legacy of Indian Jewels will be making a comeback with a second edition in early autumn on the 11thto the 12thof October at Mumbai’s Four Seasons Hotel. The two-day conference will feature a line-up of prestigious speakers such as contemporary jewellery designer Viren Bhagat, art historian and author Hugo Crespo, chief advisor to the Maharaja of Kapurthala, Cynthia Meera Frederick, and international jewellery specialists Joanna...

Collections

Bookseller Peter Harrington Exhibits Pacific Voyage Collection from Hawaiian Collector

Chris Jenkins

Rare bookseller Peter Harrington has recently acquired a large collection of books on voyages in the Pacific Ocean from legendary book dealer Louis (Lou) Weinstein, formerly of Heritage Book Shop, Beverly Hills, California. Since his retirement to Maui in 2007, Lou has been an enthusiastic collector of Hawaiiana with his collection boasting over 1,000 unique items. See also: Peter Harrington Contemporary Prints Catalogue Features Dali, Banksy and Picasso Harrington’s first selection of books from the...

Luxury Travel

The World’s Most Beautiful Architecture

Elika Roohi

Architecture stands at the cross-section of art, technology, and humanity. At the most basic level, it shelters us, and on the grandest level, it seeks to inspire and awe. Whether inspired to honour their religious beliefs, house their pursuit of knowledge, or pay tribute to the grandeur of their monarchs, mankind has for centuries been dreaming up the most beautiful buildings. We encounter many of these structures throughout our life’s travels, seeing rich culture reflected...

Art Focus

Celebrating 150 Years of Henri Matisse

Elika Roohi

Henri Matisse is widely thought of as one of the great artists of the 20th century. His mastery of colour as expression, displayed through a body of work spanning half a century, has won him extensive recognition and respect among art critics and more casual art enthusiasts alike. He is regarded, along with his contemporary and friend Pablo Picasso, as responsible for revolutionary developments in both visual art and sculpture in modern art. This year, marking the sesquicentennial of Matisse’s birth, provides an opportunity to reflect on...

Art Focus Collections Sotheby's View

Upcoming Auction by Sotheby’s Features Masterpieces from Sudanese Artists

Anetha Sivananthan

On April 2nd 2019, Sotheby’s is launching a Modern and Contemporary African Art auction to exhibit masterpieces by renowned Sudanese artists. The line up will include artwork from Ibrahim El Salahi and Kamala Ibrahim Ishaq, who helped found the Khartoum School in Sudan, alongside artwork from Salah Elmur and Hussein Shariffe. Formed in 1960, The Khartoum School was a modernist art movement formed to simulate the changing face of the newly independent Sudan, from Anglo-Egyptian...

Art Focus

German Expressionist Works From Major Art Collection That Survived Nazi Purge Go to Auction

Chris Jenkins

Swann Auction Galleries of Manhattan is to offer 160 works rescued by the family of Ismar Littmann as they left Poland for the United States in 1934. The major selection of German Expressionist works from one of the movement’s most important collections will be sold at auction on March 5. The extraordinary gathering of 160 prints, paintings and drawings in the New York auction house’s 19th & 20th Century Prints & Drawings sale features significant...

Life & Culture

Caviar: The Story Behind the Mystery and Mystique of a Luxurious Indulgence

Charlotte Meadows

Caviar is basically the fresh and only slightly salted roe of the female sturgeon. The sturgeon is a prehistorical migratory fish that has roamed the cold waters of the northern hemisphere for over 250 million years. Depending on the type of sturgeon, size and weight can vary. Some types (e.g. Huso Huso ‘Beluga’, Acipenser Transmontanus) can grow to over 1980 lbs, while others (e.g. Russian sturgeon, Siberian Sturgeon) average around 130 lbs. Interesting to know...

Life & Culture

New Rules to Redefine ‘Treasure’ Could Help UK Museums

Hannah Foskett

In an effort to give museums a better chance of acquiring historic items before they disappear into private hands, the government has announced plans to expand the definition of ‘treasure’. At present, those who find items at least 300 years old made substantially of gold and silver, or which are found with artefacts of precious metals, have a legal obligation to report to a coroner within 14 days. If the object is deemed to be...

Life & Culture

Queen Victoria’s Travelling Bed to Feature in Upcoming Exhibition

Hannah Foskett

More than a century after it left the royal household, five years after Queen Victoria’s death in 1901, a travelling mahogany bed used by the monarch has been acquired by Historic Royal Palaces (HRP). The relic is set to feature at a May exhibition marking the bicentenary of the Queen’s birth. Auctioneer Andrew Aldridge, from Henry Aldridge & Son auctioneers in Devizes, Wiltshire, described the collapsible single bed as a ‘heavy and sturdy’ item. Made...

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History Archives - Arts & Collections

National Portrait Gallery to Loan Historical Portraits to Box Museum

“Mapping a Legacy of Indian Jewels” Uncovers India’s Historic Gem Trade

Bookseller Peter Harrington Exhibits Pacific Voyage Collection from Hawaiian Collector

The World’s Most Beautiful Architecture

Celebrating 150 Years of Henri Matisse

Upcoming Auction by Sotheby’s Features Masterpieces from Sudanese Artists

German Expressionist Works From Major Art Collection That Survived Nazi Purge Go to Auction

Caviar: The Story Behind the Mystery and Mystique of a Luxurious Indulgence

New Rules to Redefine ‘Treasure’ Could Help UK Museums

Queen Victoria’s Travelling Bed to Feature in Upcoming Exhibition

Asia Week Returns to New York

Narratives in Clay at County Hall

Helmut Newton Polaroids in Berlin

Vivienne Westwood Parachute Shirt Under the Hammer

Crossroads and Alliances at Marie José Gallery