Morning Art Links

- An interesting article in the Wall Street Journal about contemporary artist Elizabeth Peyton's work. A retrospective of her portraits is moving to the Walter Art Center in Minneapolis (opens Feb. 14th), having just finished a run at the New Museum here in New York. I find Peyton's work to be some of the most interesting paintings that have been done in recent years, probably because she works in a traditional genre, but "reinvents" it in a way that appeals to modern audiences.


- Also in the Wall Street Journal, a snapshot of recent contemporary art auction results. The past few months have been some of the most tumultuous the major auction houses like Christie's and Sotheby's have experienced in recent memory, as both houses have had heavy job cuts, and disappointing sales all around. Highlights for the upcoming contemporary sale at Christie's this week include standbys like Koons, Murakami, and Bacon, though at somewhat more conservative estimates. Interesting that though the industry has suffered, impressionist and modern sales continue to perform respectably.

-An exhibition at the Walters Art Museum features nine manuscripts of the Old French poem, the Roman de la Rose, one of the most popular and influential texts of courtly love in the Middle Ages. The manuscripts are also displayed with some of the Walters' medieval ivories, many of which pick up on the same courtly love themes. What a great medieval Valentine's Day activity!


miniature from a manuscript of the
Roman de la Rose in the Bodleian Library