~ART~

[krystalshores]

That is just amazing!

[Duchess]

Wow!

[Lady Cop]

i like this painting.

These days the occasional vicious dog is the only obstacle postal workers face when doing their rounds.

But almost 200 years ago mailmen were attacked by a lion as they traveled through the English countryside in an extraordinary incident.

Despite the terrified workers fleeing for their lives as the Exeter Mail Coach was ambushed by an escaped circus beast, the post still arrived at its final destination just 45 minutes late.

A lost painting of the long-forgotten attack has come to light and is due to go under the hammer at auction later this month.

In the picture the escaped lioness is seen mauling one of the horses, with its jaw clamped around the stricken animal's neck.

As the attack happened, the terrified postal workers fled to a nearby pub and barricaded themselves inside in Winterslow, near Salisbury, Wiltshire.

Despite the attack, the lion was quickly caught and the mail workers continued on to London with the post.

The lion attack occurred on the night of October 20, 1816, as the mail coach - nicknamed Quicksilver due to its speed - travelled from Exeter to the capital.

The oil painting was made a short time after the attack based on eyewitness accounts.

A copy of the 22ins by 29ins painting by artist James Pollard has now emerged and it will be auctioned in Salisbury. It was rescued from a skip 30 years ago.

[Lady Cop]

i always thought this looked like a 9-year-old did it with crayons.
P.T. Barnum said it best.




New York (CNN) -- A pastel version of "The Scream" by Edvard Munch fetched nearly $120 million from an anonymous buyer Wednesday at Sotheby's in New York, setting a new world record for a work of art sold at auction.

Experts had expected the masterpiece to break new ground at the famed New York auction house; its presale estimate of at least $80 million was the highest ever listed at Sotheby's.

It sold for $119,922,500, which includes the premium paid to Sotheby's.

Previously, the most expensive artwork ever sold there was Pablo Picasso's painting "Nude, Green Leaves, and Bust," which brought in $106.5 million two years ago. The previous record for a Munch work of art was just over $38 million.

The version of "The Scream" on the block Wednesday was one of four -- two pastels and two paintings -- executed between 1893 and 1910, Sotheby's said, and is one of the best-known images in modern art.

[Lady Cop]

fabulous!











They are viewed by many now as a sign of animal cruelty, but centuries ago, owning a pair of intricately-carved elephant tusks were seen as mark of honor.
Now the biggest pair of tusks ever to come on the open market are expected to sell for £250,000, according to expert predictions.

The carved scenes on them show animals, plants, trees, birds, buildings and scenes from Chinese mythology.

They also display people playing a board game, reading scrolls, riding on mythical creatures, and playing musical instruments.

They were made during China’s Qing Dynasty between 1644 and 1912 and were for a high-ranking individual who would have had them to show off his status.
they came from an Asian elephant at a time when the ivory trade was more acceptable.

daily mail

[Maggot]

Yesterday the lady across the street had a yard sale and she had a painting that did not sell, so she put it in the front near the trash cans. She calls me over and gives me this old antique box filled with old tools. So as I'm dragging this big box across the street I look over and say "hey, can I have this painting"? She says ok so I get it over to my house and look at the signature in the corner and the name says RobRoss the "happy little trees guy.

[HairOfTheDog]

I love Rob Ross; watched him on PBS all the time. I have no artistic talent whatsoever, but he's so mellow, I'd go into a nice semi-trance and try my best to paint trees that ended up looking like anything but... Always dug the fro too.

[Lady Cop]

unique blown glass, lots of photos at link.




Pioneering glass artist Dale Chihuly, whose work has been shown in over 200 museums worldwide, will be honored in his home city Seattle when 'Chihuly Garden and Glass' opens on Monday, offering the most comprehensive collection of his work ever.

Spanning one and a half acres in the shadow of the Space Needle, the show includes an exhibition hall, a garden and a 'Glass House' structure by Chihuly, inspired by his two favorite buildings, Paris' Sainte-Chapelle and London's Crystal Palace.

more pics:
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-...z1vUO6SPzs

[Lady Cop]

check out this guy's work at link~

With their spectacular use of focus and reflected light, these incredible artworks look like carefully composed still-life photographs.

But in fact they are all painstakingly rendered on canvas with acrylic paints by Canadian artist Jason de Graaf.

see more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-...z1xIz6BQeq

[Lady Cop]

oh for CHRIST'S sake!! don't let the old bat near the Sistine Chapel!



BBC

An elderly parishioner has stunned Spanish cultural officials with an alarming and unauthorised attempt to restore a prized Jesus Christ fresco.

Ecce Homo (Behold the Man) by Elias Garcia Martinez has held pride of place in the Sanctuary of Mercy Church near Zaragoza for more than 100 years.

The woman took her brush to it after years of deterioration due to moisture.

Cultural officials said she had the best intentions and hoped it could be properly restored.

Donation
The woman, in her 80s, was reportedly upset at the way the fresco had deteriorated and took it on herself to "restore" the image.

BBC Europe correspondent Christian Fraser says the delicate brush strokes of Elias Garcia Martinez have been buried under a haphazard splattering of paint.

The once-dignified portrait now resembles a crayon sketch of a very hairy monkey in an ill-fitting tunic, he says.

to make matters worse, the local center that works to preserve artworks had just received a donation from the painter's granddaughter which they had planned to use to restore the original fresco.



old bat

[Maggot]

I still have that washer

[HairOfTheDog]

We've been doing a whole lot of nothing for the past few days except relaxing.

Normally we watch crime dramas and docs on Netflix or Prime when we turn on the tv, but today we found a show called "Fake or Fortune" on Netflix and really loved it.

If you like art, mystery and history...........it's worth a watch.   The hosts travel to various locations and interface with art experts, scholars and detectives/researchers in attempt to determine whether paintings possibly done by famous artists are real and how much they could be worth to the holders.  

There's a lot of detail paid to analysis of the technique and materials, along with interviews with family members and others who can help retrace the history of the paintings.

Unfortunately, there are only 4 episodes available on Netflix now and we don't get BBC (where I believe the show has been aired for 7 or 8 years).  The one focused on a Winston Churchill painting was really interesting.  I didn't even know he was a painter, but he was quite good.