The January 16, 1936 “Evening Star” stories which inspired Rachel Mason’s opera “The Lives of Hamilton Fish“
- Last night, Sotheby’s sold a Rothko for $32.5 million. Josh Baer sends out the intel in his Baer Faxt Report almost immediately. [The Baer Faxt]
- Baer also addressed art world rumors that a very expensive Giacometti went quietly unsold: “Also note that with Carol Vogel’s revelation in today’s Times that Steve Cohen bought last week’s Giacometti for $101 million it puts to rest conspiracy theories that the work wasn’t sold. But we wonder why sophisticated art world insiders thought that the publicly traded Sotheby’s could keep that work off their balance sheet???” [The Baer Faxt]
- Baer also breaks news. “The estate of Lisa de Kooning has been sued for $1.5 million by the Byrd Hoffman Water Mill Foundation alleging breach of an “enforceable pledge.” This was sent out hours before the first report we could find on the subject. [The Baer Faxt]
- A comparison to make your stomach turn: Omer Raz observes that ISIS PR campaigns make sinister twists on American pop culture: “Their videos resemble reality shows: each week someone is eliminated.” Raz points to “high-end horror videos” and parodied news reports and Presidential speeches creating a “mirror reflecting a distorted Hollywood”. [ArtSlant]
- Somebody is posting a call for Philly drone pilots on Craigslist. The Declaration drops a hint about DroneCast, a Philly-based drone-based advertising company run by a 19-year-old. Certainly sounds like a candidate for the mystery poster. [The Declaration, via Dustin Slaughter]
- After seeing a 1936 newspaper with double-obituaries on the front page, both for men named Hamilton Fish Mason, artist Rachel Mason spent eight years writing the script for a rock opera about their stories. One was a respected statesman and the other was a serial killer. Tune in to blogtalkradio at 4 PM Eastern Standard Time to hear her talk about that process. [BlogTalkRadio]
- FIAC has cancelled their first ever March 27-29th Los Angeles fair. The reason cited: Not enough participating galleries. They released a statement yesterday announcing that the fair will now launch in 2016. [Artnet]
- A series of misleading and inaccurate headlines about the programming at a social practice restaurant in Pittsburgh called Conflict Kitchen has led to death threats. [Hyperallergic]
- It’s Veteran’s Day. [PSA]
