Centre Pompidou Shows Fifty Large-Format Paintings in Tribute to Lucian Freud

PARIS.- The Centre Pompidou is to pay tribute to Lucian Freud, one of the greatest of contemporary painters. Now 88 years old, he is one of the world’s most important living artists. He has not shown in France since the Centre’s last major retrospective of his work nearly a quarter of a century ago, in 1987, though his fame has since then only grown and his place in the history of art become ever more assured. The exhibition will present an outstanding selection of Freud’s work, consisting of some fifty large-format paintings, mostly from private collections, together with a number of prints and drawings, as well as photographs of the artist’s London studio. On exhibition open to the public from March 10 to July 19, 2010.

Israel Museum Commissions New Works by Olafur Eliasson and Anish Kapoor

JERUSALEM.- Olafur Eliasson and Anish Kapoor have been commissioned by the Israel Museum to create two new monumental installations on the Museum’s campus, as it nears completion of a comprehensive renewal and expansion, together with a complete reinstallation of all of its collection galleries. These site-specific works will be installed as focal points within the Museum’s newly re-organized campus, opening to the public on July 26, 2010.

Gibbes Museum of Art to Feature Modern Masters from the Ferguson Collection

Charleston, South Carolina – The Gibbes Museum of Art will present the exclusive exhibition Modern Masters from the Ferguson Collection in the Main Gallery from April 30 through August 22, 2010.  Selected from the private collection of prominent art enthusiasts Esther and James Ferguson, this exhibition includes paintings, sculpture, and works on paper by significant twentieth-century artists such as Pablo Picasso, Willem de Kooning, Robert Rauschenberg, and Christo. 

The Prado Museum opens Exhibition of Armour & Paintings of the Spanish Court

MADRID.- 35 paintings will be seen alongside 31 full suits of armour and pieces of armour loaned from the Royal Armoury in Madrid, considered the finest collection in the world along with that of the imperial collection in Vienna. Together, they will narrate the evolution and impact of the court portrait in the period from the 16th to the 18th centuries. Particularly noteworthy is the juxtaposition of Titian’s portrait of Charles V at Mühlberg and the impressive suit of equestrian armour belonging to the Emperor: a masterpiece of the art made by Desiderius Helmschmid, one of the leading armourers of the 16th century. On exhibition through 23 May, 2010.

Annie Leibovitz Agrees To Loan Deal with Private Investment Firm: Reported

New York, NY - It wasn’t that long ago, that well known portrait photographer Annie Leibovitz was faced with losing the legal rights to some of pop culture’s most enduring images. This was because she mismanaged her fortune really badly, and got herself into a large $24 million debt. But according to a recent report at Associated Press, Leibovitz has now reached a long-term agreement with a private investment firm, which will help her manage her debt and market her vast portfolio, which contains around 100,000 images, and 1 million negatives. Celebrity photographer Annie Leibovitz has arranged a deal with a private equity firm to sort out her debts, the Financial Times reported in its Tuesday edition.