Museum attendance for 2008 reported

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The Art Newspaper just released its 2008 rankings for worldwide museum attendance. The top slot went to the Louvre, which held the position last year, with 8.5 million visitors (up from 8.3 million in 2007). The British Museum came in 2nd with 5.93 million (up from its 4th place ranking last year). In the US, the National Gallery of Art …

This Week’s Top Lots: March 23 – 27

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A week of 20th century design auctions kicked off on Tuesday at Wright in Chicago, with a steady sale that brought in over $1.5 million with 72.5% sold by lot. The top selling items were both by Paul Evans, a Faceted cabinet (model PE-354) that sold for $44,375 (estimate $20,000-30,000) and an Argente cabinet (model PE-38A) which brought $32,500 (estimate …

125 gifts for IMA’s 125th anniversary

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This week the Indianapolis Museum of Art (IMA) announced that it had reached its goal of securing 125 gifts for its permanent collection in honor of the museum’s 125th anniversary.  The acquisitions range from Old Master paintings to works of contemporary design. Among the highlights is a trio of El Greco paintings including a depiction of Saint Luke; a woodblock …

This Week’s Top Lots: March 16 – 20

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* Despite having to remove a portrait by Johann Zoffany of Major George Maule, due to questions over its title, the sale of property from the Lake Como villa of Gianni Versace well exceeded expectations. It brought in over £7.4 million ($10,390,769) at Sotheby’s on Wednesday, doubling the presale high estimate. Indicating the market strength of decorative arts, the top …