Previous Posts: September 2025
Museums Association propose to update Code of Ethics
September 24 2025
Picture: Museums Association
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
The former culture secretary Ed Vaizey has written an article on the Arts Professional website providing his view on the UK Museums Association's upcoming proposed updates to their Code of Ethics. In particular, questions regarding the future of commercial sponsorships and partnerships are posed in the face of increasing debate on whether funding sources are 'ethical' or not.
The proposed updates will be debated and voted on at the association's AGM in October.
Edward VI Portrait acquired by Hampton Court
September 24 2025
Picture: Tracy Borman via. Facebook
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
News from the Historic Royal Palaces (via. @warwick_historian on Instagram) that Hampton Court have displayed their latest acquisition, a portrait of Edward VI based on the Guillim Scrots prototype. The acquisition is accompanied by new materials online regarding uncovering Edward's nursery at the Palace.
The painting, which had been sold at Roseberys earlier this year, will be on public display in the Palace from today onwards.
Update - A quote from the HRP's press release:
Historic Royal Palaces purchased the portrait at auction in March this year, with the with the generous support of the Meakins Family . After a period of assessment and preparation, it is now hanging in the Wolsey Rooms at Hampton Court, built in the 1520s for Thomas Wolsey, the palace’s original owner, and one of the oldest surviving apartments at Hampton Court. These rooms are open to the public and host a permanent exhibition of Tudor art and important historic artefacts from the sixteenth century that tell the story of this tumultuous age of change, and the Tudor dynasty’s relationship with the wider world.
Louvre's Appiani Cartoon Dangles from Crane
September 23 2025
Video: Dailymotion via. Corriere della Sera
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
The Italian press have released the following video showing the Louvre's The Apotheosis of Napoleon by Andrea Appiani being hoisted into the Palazzo Reale in Milan by a crane. The loan has been organised for the exhibition Appiani and Neoclassicism in Milan which opens today and runs until 11th January 2026.
Hispanic Society Museum Online Auction at Christie's
September 23 2025
Picture: Christie's
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
The Hispanic Society Museum in New York will be offering paintings for sale by the Workshop of El Greco (pictured), Hendrick de Somer, Agustín Esteve y Marqués and various works after or in the circle of Rubens, Zurbarán and Velázquez in a special online auction at Christie's New York next month. The sale, which ends on 17th October, is to benefit the museum's 'Collection Care and the Acquisition Fund'.
According to the auction house's website:
Property from the Hispanic Society Museum, to benefit Collection Care and the Acquisition Fund, traces the reach of Spanish influence across European painting from the late sixteenth to the early nineteenth century. Sacred imagery anchors the group: a canvas of Saint Dominic in Prayer from the workshop of El Greco; a Saint Francis in Ecstasy after Francisco de Zurbarán; and Hendrick de Somer’s Saint Jerome Hearing the Trumpet of the Last Judgement, steeped in the Neapolitan naturalism of Jusepe de Ribera.
Portrait drawing in 17th-century London at The British Museum
September 23 2025
Picture: The British Museum
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
The British Museum are opening their latest works on paper exhibition today entitled In the company of friends - portrait drawing in 17th-century London.
According to the museum's website:
This display celebrates the recent acquisition of two rare 17th-century drawings by prominent English portrait painters Samuel Cooper (1609–72) and Richard Gibson (1615–90).
Both artists were part of a thriving artistic community that grew in London in the second half of the 17th century. The circle also included leading painters Sir Peter Lely (1618–80), Charles Beale (1660–1714 or 26) and Sir Godfrey Kneller (1646–1723). Their world is reflected in the drawings selected for this display – informal and intimate portraits of family members, friends, tradespeople and servants, as well as of fellow artists.
The display will run until 25th January 2026.
Leiden Collection to start selling Shares in Rembrandts?
September 23 2025
Picture: Leiden Collection
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
News broke yesterday that Thomas Kaplan, founder of the Leiden collection, is considering 'fractionalising' his art holdings (ie. selling shares in the famous artworks in the collection).
According to the article linked above:
Kaplan told the Art Newspaper that he had made the decision to fractionalize the collection because his children had “no interest in material objects” and “no idea what to do” with all the art.
“I think assets, such as really great art, are going to multiply manyfold because they are truly scarce, and there’s so much money sloshing around that will need a home and this is a great value proposition,” Kaplan said in the Art Newspaper interview. “To my mind the best way to evangelize for Rembrandt is by giving millions, maybe tens of millions, of ordinary people the opportunity to own a Rembrandt.”
Royal Collection Reidentifies Bust Modelled by Prince Albert's Daughter
September 22 2025
Picture: Royal Collection Trust
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
The Royal Collection Trust have shared news that a bust of Prince Albert modelled by his daughter Victoria (1840-1901), Crown Princess of Prussia, has been reidentified at Windsor Castle. New research on the marble, which had long been given to the sculptor Robert William Sievier, was undertaken by Jonathan Marsden who discovered that it was in fact Albert's daughter who had modelled it shortly after Albert's death in 1861.
According to their press release:
Prince Albert and his eldest daughter Princess Victoria had a close relationship, sharing a love for learning and the arts – sculpture in particular, with both known to give lengthy advice when commissioning new works. Like her sisters Princesses Alice and Louise, the Crown Princess took lessons in sculpting, and, perhaps fearing someone else would not do her ‘dear Papa’ justice, she created the posthumous bust with her tutor, Hugo Hagen.
Already involved in multiple commemorative projects across painting, architecture and sculpture, Princess Victoria felt the weight of responsibility. In a heartfelt letter to her mother Queen Victoria, she wrote from Berlin: ‘It is a work which completely engrosses me … I feel very nervous … I hope you will like it. How I wish you were here to give advice!’ The Queen’s reply came days later: ‘I like it extremely,’ adding only that the nose was a touch too thick. The Princess and her husband, the Crown Prince of Prussia, went on to give the sculpture to Queen Victoria for Christmas in 1864.
This discovery is featured within Marden's aforementioned new sculpture catalogue which will be on sale from tomorrow.
Japanese Museum to sell $77.5m of Monets, Renoirs and Chagalls
September 21 2025
Picture: Christie's
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
News has arrived that the Kawamura Memorial DIC Museum of Art will be selling off a reported $77.5m of artworks by Claude Monet, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Marc Chagall, Henri Matisse, and Henry Moore at Christie's New York in November. The Sakura based museum, which is owned by the Japanese owned by Chemical company DIC Corporation, is currently planning to 'downsize and relocate' by reportedly selling off 25% of its collection.
The article above contains quotes from the Japanese art collector and entrepreneur Yusaku Maezawa (not officially connected to the company) who said:
“Regarding the closure of the Kawamura Memorial DIC Museum of Art, if the collection is to be sold, I hope that they will first approach Japanese buyers so that the many masterpieces do not leave Japan. I will be waiting,” stated the Japanese billionaire and art collector, who appeared on the ARTnews Top 200 Collectors list in 2023.
[...]“Japanese people need to protect Japan’s traditional things, whether it’s the land, nature, art, or traditional culture, as much as possible. If we sell them off piece by piece for short-term profit, Japan will no longer be Japan. I need to earn enough to be able to buy and pass on the things that should be passed down to future generations.”
Lievens soars at Koller
September 19 2025
Picture: Koller
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
A reader has kindly been in touch about the following Jan Lievens which soared to 260,000 CHF (hammer price) over its 10k - 15k CHF estimate earlier today at Koller. A saleroom notice suggests that additional provenance and literature was dug out in time for the sale.
Rubens Restored in Antwerp
September 19 2025
Picture: CODART
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
CODART (the international network of curators of Dutch and Flemish art) have shared news of the completion of the first phase of restoration of Rubens' Enthroned Madonna Adored by Saints, a gargantuan painting in the collection of the Royal Museum of Fine Arts Antwerp (KMSKA). Click on the link to follow the progress and see more images at various stages of cleaning.
The New Schroder Gallery at the Holburne Museum Bath
September 19 2025
Video: Holburne Museum
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
The Holburne Museum in Bath have just opened a new gallery on their lower ground floor filled with treasures from the Schroder family collection.
According to their website:
The new space takes inspiration from the great treasury displays of the past, presenting one of the finest private collections of Renaissance silverware, paintings, bronzes, maiolica and gems from the Schroder family collection.
The display of over 100 pieces of silver includes masterpieces such as The Schwarzenberg Nef (a large silver ship); a rare Mechanical Celestial Globe, and The Aldobrandini Tazza (one of a set of twelve dishes once described as ‘one of the most spectacular groups of 16th century silver’). The display also includes a number of works in bronze, masterpieces of 16th century Italian maiolica, and important paintings from the first half of the 16th century, including works by artists such as Lucas Cranach the Elder and Hans Holbein the Elder.
FAB Paris 2025
September 19 2025
Picture: FAB Paris 2025
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
The fine art and antiques fair FAB Paris opens to the public at the Grand Palais tomorrow and will run until 24th September. This year's edition will feature over 100 international galleries covering 20 categories of the fine and decorative arts. Here's a free online catalogue from the fair to browse, in case you can't make it in person.
Dirk Valkenburg & Willem de Rooij at the Centraal Museum Utrecht
September 19 2025
Picture: Centraal Museum Utretcht
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
The Centraal Museum in Utretcht opened a new exhibition last weekend focusing a special display of 30 works by Dirck Valkenburg (1675-1721) curated by contemporary artist Willem de Rooij.
According to the museum's website:
Valkenburg (1675-1721) was one of the first Europeans to depict Indigenous and enslaved people on Surinamese plantations, while also painting hunting still lifes and portraits of Dutch elites. The breadth of his oeuvre makes it particularly relevant for research into colonial image production and the “white gaze”. In this installation, De Rooij displays 30 works in idiosyncratic combinations, inviting reflection on how these 18th-century Dutch elites used art to support and legitimise colonial ideology.
Another exciting detail regarding the catalogue:
The exhibition will be accompanied by the first comprehensive publication on Dirk Valkenburg's oeuvre: a catalogue raisonné developed in collaboration with the RKD - Netherlands Institute for Art History. [...]
The show will run until 25th January 2026.
Seville Cathedral acquire Ludovico Gimignani
September 19 2025
Picture: Seville Cathedral
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
Seville Cathedral have announced their acquisition of the following Saint Ferdinand guided by an Angel during the Siege of Seville attributed to Ludovico Gimignani. Follow the link above to read about the painting's significance to the cathedral and city's history.
New Phoebus Focus Publications
September 19 2025
Picture: Phoebus Foundation
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
The Phoebus Foundation have announced the recent publication of a new set of Phoebus Focus books. The recent group including extended texts on paintings from their collection by Marcus Gheeraerts II, Frans Hals, Bartolomeus Spranger, Henri Leys and a portrait of Mary Sidney Herbert.
_________________
As it happens, one of my favourite pieces to play on the lute is a Pavan by Anthony Holborne dedicated to Mary Sidney, Countess of Pembroke. Here's an arrangement of it for viols, which even more glorious I think.
Bonhams Sale
September 18 2025
Picture: Bonhams
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
Bonhams London have uploaded their upcoming mid-season Old Master Paintings sale onto their website. Bidding for this online auction will end on 25th September 2025.
As usual for these sales, I won't point out anything which may or may not be interesting.
Reynolds, Rubens, Sweerts, Dolci and more in the Manny Davidson Collection
September 18 2025
Picture: Sotheby's
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
Sotheby's Paris have published the cataloguing of some of the highlights of their upcoming The Manny Davidson Collection: A Life in Treasures and Benevolence - Evening Sale. The auction will take place on 5th November 2025. Amongst the Old Master highlights are paintings by Sir Joshua Reynolds (pictured), Carlo Dolci, Michael Sweerts, Thomas de Keyser, Studio of Rembrandt and Peter Paul Rubens. Click on the link above to browse.
Curate Prints & Drawings at the Getty
September 18 2025
Picture: Getty
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
The Getty Research Institute in Los Angeles is hiring a Curator of Prints and Drawings.
According to the job summary:
With broad direction, develops, administers, and presents the GRI’s special collections of Renaissance to contemporary prints and drawings by acquisitions and donations, maintaining and managing them in collaboration with colleagues. Continually expands knowledge of these collections, particularly by demonstrating expertise in diverse graphic media, building on areas of collection strength and filling lacunae to establish new research opportunities and initiatives. Disseminates the collections by curating exhibitions and programs, publishing scholarly research on paper and online, and organizing presentations, conferences, and workshops. Demonstrates an established reputation for scholarship, connoisseurship, and best professional practices, and is recognized as a major contributor to the field as part of established networks of colleagues and experts.
The job comes with an annual salary between $98,820 - $133,380 and no deadline for applications has been published.
Good luck if you're applying!
Norton Museum announce 80 Acquisitions & Gifts
September 18 2025
Picture: artnews
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
The Norton Museum in West Palm Beach, Florida, have announced that their collection has grown due to 80 acquisition and promised gifts.
According to the article linked above:
Highlights include one of Fred Eversley’s parabolic lens sculptures; a 1981 painting by Jean-Michel Basquiat; Mary Cassatt’s drawing Mother Jeanne Nursing Her Baby (pictured above); a trio of works (a film, a painting, and a sculpture) by Rashid Johnson; and three new blue-and-white porcelain objects from the Qing dynasty.
_______________
As it happens, the Norton Museum is one of the few American museums these days that do not have all of their collections published online in some form another. Let's hope a generous donor will be able to gift them this technological ability in the near future!
Museo de Bellas Artes de Córdoba acquire Antonio del Castillo
September 18 2025
Video: Europa Press
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
News from Spain that the Museo de Bellas Artes de Córdoba have acquired Antonio del Castillo's Rest on the Flight into Egypt. The work was acquired earlier this year at auction for 60,000 EUR.
