Reinventing Grandma Moses

Grandma Moses Profile
American Folk painter Grandma Moses (1860-1961) was born Anna Mary Robertson Moses in Washington County, New York (d. 1961). Moses who was internationally popular for her naïve documentation of rural life in the United States spent most of her life as a farmer's wife.
Anna Robertson had only sporadic periods of schooling during her childhood. At age 12 she left her parents' farm and worked as a hired girl until she married. In her late 70s, even without formal art training and largely self-educated, she began to paint for her own pleasure rural scenes that documented rural life in the United States in the early 19th and early 20th centuries.
Her work was exhibited in a drugstore window attracting the attention of the New York art collector Louis Calder. Thus, is born a new art, the naïve art and a new artist. In 1939 three of her landscapes were displayed in an exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art in New York. In 1940 the Galerie St Étienne in New York presented her first solo show; this launched her career as an artist. Her work is characterized by harmonious arrangement of figures and simple, decorative treatment, as in Thanksgiving Turkey , a painting she did in 1943, which is now part of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York).( “Moses, Grandma," Microsoft® Encarta® Online Encyclopedia 2007 & http://uk.encarta.msn.com © 1997-2007 Microsoft Corporation.}

World’s Most Expensive Paintings

Robert Cumming(1995) in his book, Annotated Art, instructs that, “The function and purpose of a major work of art, the expectations that are placed upon it, and the role of the artist is not constant. They vary in different ages and societies. Yet a few works stand out because they have the ability to speak of more than their own age, and they offer inspiration and meaning across time.” R. Cumming sums up that before the Renaissance period , a masterpiece was the work submitted to the trade guild as proof of a painter’s technical skills. During the Renaissance period, the great masters decided that the qualities of intellect and imagination are superior to manual skill. In the modern period, a masterpiece is linked to a museum where it is displayed together with other great art treasures. Hence, it is just logical that art patrons would spend multi-million dollars to own Picassos or Van Goghs and other works by famous artists whose masterpieces are known to have been exhibited, for example in Louvre Museum; and are being visited by millions of people from all over the world. Today, in a postmodern, technology and economically driven world, masterpieces are coveted not only for their aesthetic (or scientific, religious, didactic, historical, socio-political, therapeutic, economic, personal) value but also for their commercial value, the multi-million dollars that these great works of art are capable of fetching in auctions. The major auction house responsible for selling the most expensive paintings being Sotheby, followed by Christie.

What makes a masterpiece? R. Cumming listed 5 important criteria: (1) virtuosity, which refers to technical ability; (2) innovation which refers to an alternative visual language; (3) patronage which refers to financial backing; (4) artistic vision which refers to artist’s commitment; and (5) role of the artist,which refers to the artist’s depth to withstand the test of time. However, one would gasp in awe and disbelief to discover that the highest paid paintings are those created by modern and contemporary artists. As can be gleaned from the list of most expensive paintings, the sales were all made in recent times, from late 1987 to last year (2006}. Fifty percent of the transactions are made in this 21st century.

The ten most expensive paintings in the world are the following: (1) $135 M for the portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer I by Gustave Klimt (2006); (2) $104 M for Garcon a la Pipe (Boy with a Pipe) by Pablo Picasso (2004); (3) $95.2 M for Dora Maar au Chat by Pablo Picasso (2006); (3) $82.5 M for Portrait of Dr. Gachet by Vincent van Gogh (1990); (4) Au Moulin de la Galette by Perre-Auguste Renoir (1990); (5) $76.7 M for The Massacre of the Innocents by Peter Paul Rubens (2002); (6) $71.5 M for Portrait d‘Artiste sans Barbe by Vincent van Gogh (1998); (7) $60.5 M for Rideau, Cruchon et Compotier by Paul Cezanne (1999); (8) $55 M for Femme aux Bras Croises by Pablo Picasso (2000); (9) $53.9 M for Irises by Vincent van Gogh (1987); and (10) $51.67 M for Les Noces de Pierette by Pablo Picasso.

There is however an unconfirmed rumor buzzing in the art world that $140 M was paid for No. 5, 1948 by Jackson Pollock, the “drip style” master (November 2006). Allegedly, David Geffen, a Hollywood mogul sold the painting to Mexican financer, David Martinez. If this rumor is true, then it would be the most expensive painting ever sold and would place Klimt’s most expensive painting in second place position. It would also be the only most expensive painting done in non-objective or in abstract expressionism. For people observing the art trend, the implication would be devastating for antique art collectors and optimistic for up and coming artists, and art collectors, as well. For example, whoever would expect these:

1. Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer I by Gustave Klimt ($135 M). This masterpiece took the art nouveau painter Gustav Klimt three years to complete. It measures 138x138 cm. and is made of oil and gold on canvas showing elaborate and complex ornamentation in Jugendstil style. Klimt was a member of Vienna Secession, a group of artists that broke away from the traditional way of painting. He completed the painting in 1907; and a second one in 1912. These and other paintings were looted by the Nazis during World War 2. After the painting and 4 other Klimts’ were returned to its rightful owner to the Bloch-Bauer heir, Maria Altmann, it was purchased in June 2006 by Estee Lauder cosmetic heir Ronald Lauder. Lauder in making the painting his centerpiece for his Neue Gallerie in New York, commented , “This is our Mona Lisa. ” His gallery collection consists of recovered Jewish art from Germany and Austria that had been confiscated or looted by the Nazi government. The record breaking sale of this Klimt painting moved Pablo Picasso’s Garcon a la Pipe to second place as the most expensive painting.

2. Garcon a la Pipe (Boy with a Pipe) by Pablo Picasso ($104.1 M). On May 2004, this expensive painting in oil on canvas was sold. It was done during Picasso’s famous Rose Period when as a youthful 24-year-old artist, he settled in the Montmartre section of Paris, France and painted in cheerful orange and pink colors. It shows a harlequin boy holding a pipe in his left hand. Harlequins were usual features of his paintings. The painting measures about 39 by 32 inches.It is owned by the estate of John Hay Whitney and was acquired through a Sotheby auction in New York City

3. Dora Maar au Chat (Dora Maar With a Cat) by Pablo Picasso ($95.2 M). This painting is currently listed with the FBI’s National Stolen Art File thus, unearthing the identity of the owner as a Saudi royal Picasso aficionado who acquired the painting anonymously in a Sotheby auction. Dora Maar was a French photographer and painter best known as Picasso’s mistress from 1930-1940. She made a name for herself with her photograph documentation of the successive stages of Guernica, another Picasso masterpiece.

4. Portrait of Dr. Gachet by Vincent van Gogh ($ 82.5 M). Besides his brother Theo, Vincent became closer to his doctor, Dr. Gachet, whom he described on his first impression as looking “sicker than I am”. This painting was purchased by Japanese businessman Ryoei Saito at auction in Christie’s, New York. Saito was so attached to the painting that he wanted it to be cremated with him when he died. Saito died in 1996 but the painting was saved. Vincent painted two versions of this portrait with slightly different color scheme.

5. Au Moulin de la Galette by Perre-Auguste Renoir ($78 M). This was painted in Montmartre in 1876. On May 17, 1990, it was bought by Ryoei Saito together with the Portrait of Dr. Gachet at Sotheby’s, New York.

6. Massacre of the Innocents by Peter Paul Rubens ($76.7 M) was painted in 1611. It was sold to Kenneth Thomson, 2nd Baron Thomson of Fleet at a 2002 Sotheby’s auction. This is the oldest painting in the top ten.

7. Portrait d ‘Artiste sans Barbe (Self-portrait without Beard) by Vincent van Gogh ($71.5 M). Van Gogh painted this on Saint-Remy-de-Provence, France in September 1889. The medium is oil on canvas, and measures 16 by 13 inches. It is one of the many self-portraits of van Gogh but an uncommon one since his other paintings show him with a beard.

8. Rideau, Cruchon et Compotier (Curtain, Pitcher and Bowl of Fruit) by Paul Cezanne ($60.5 M). Cezanne painted this still-life from 1893-1894. It was sold at Sotheby’s in May 10,1999 to the Whitneys, one of America’s wealthiest families. The Whitneys are venture capitalist, publisher, Broadway show and Hollywood film producer, and philanthropist.

9. Femme aux Bras Croises (Woman with Folded Arms) by Pablo Picasso ($55 M) was painted in 1901 during Picasso’s Blue Period, a sad dark period. It depicts a woman with her arms crossed staring at the endless nothing. Gertrude Stein originally bought the painting from Picasso.

10. Irises by Vincent van Gogh ($53.9 M). This was painted in 1889 while Van Gogh was at the asylum of the Saint Paul-de-Mausole in Saint-Remy-de-Provence, France in the last year before his death. He called the painting, ”the lightning conductor for my illness”. The painting was influenced by Japanes ukiyo-e woodblock prints as shown by its strong outlines, unusual angles, close-up views and flattish color. Theo submitted the painting to the annual exhibition of the Societe des Aistes Independants in September 1889, together with “Starry Night”, another van Gogh masterpiece. Irises, was sold to Alan Bond in 1987 when it was considered the most expensive painting.

The above ten paintings are now considered the most expensive in the world. With the purchase of Klimt’s Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer, Pablo Picasso’s Les Noces de Pierette (The Marriage of Pierette) ($51.,67 M) was moved out of the top ten most expensive paintingsPicasso and Vincent van Gogh, are still considered the most expensive painters with each of them having three paintings on the top ten of above list of most expensive paintings today. Renoir, and Cezanne, each have one painting. The oldest painting was an early 17^th century work by Rubens. Most of the expensive paintings were done in representational style. One half of them were sold after the year 2000.

There is another list of expensive paintings with the Mona Lisa by Leonardo da Vinci on top. Though, the said paiting is not for sale, the amount of its insurance alone by 2006 pushed Pablo Picasso’s Garcon a la Pipe, to number two. Still an alternative list of most expensive paintings showed their inflation-adjusted value that would exceed the prices of the present most expensive paintings list.

There is a list of ten greatest paintings in the world wherein Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel Ceiling is listed as number 1. Pablo Picasso’s Les Demoiselles d’Avignon (1907) and Vincent van Gogh’s The Starry Night (1889) are ranked top 2 and top 3 respectively. Pablo Picasso is listed in the Guinness as the most productive artist. Since his death in the early 70s, his record remains unbroken. In a list of the world’s twenty most expensive paintings, five are his masterpieces. He topped the list of Ten Artists with Most Stolen paintings in the world with 551 stolen works. He topped and seconded, the list on the Ten Most Important Works of the 20^th Century. He also topped the list of Artists with Most One Million Dollar Works (334 works for over $1 million) with a total value of works exceeding $ 1.5 billion..

In terms of popularity (as of January 2006 web searches), the top 3 artists were Pablo Picasso, Vincent van Gogh and Leonardo da Vinci, respectively. In my Humanities classes (2nd Semester, 2005-2006), paintings and films topped the number of students’ web searches. This was followed by architecture. Only one group each did a search on music, dance, play, literature, and sculpture. These findings shattered the myth that students/young people are into music. The Humanities 101 activity, Painting My Million Dollar Masterpiece resulted in a very high number of submission, many of which are very interesting and are featured here.

Locally, the most expensive painting heard of in the country was the controversial purchase made by the GSIS acquisition of Parisian Life by Juan Luna (P 46 M) in Christie’s Hongkong at the JW Marriot Hotel where it was auctioned in 2003. This oil painting on canvas measures 44-inch by 39-inch. It is displayed in the GSIS Museum , CCP Complex. A GSIS museum curator shared that so far, the Spolarium , the national painting perhaps is the most expensive painting in the country in terms of the negotiations made to bring it to the country. For one, the Philippine government agreed to accept one of the Spanish government’s term which was to include the Spanish subjects requirement in the old undergraduate curriculum. If you translate that into cash, that would be a lot of money indeed which would place it in the world’s Top Ten. Going back to the question, what makes a masterpiece? It is obvious that in substance, the criteria remained the same, only the form changed. Cumming list that includes: virtuosity, innovation, patronage, artistic vision and role of the artist still holds true even today and drive the prices of most expensive paintings.
End.

Sources:
http://education.yahoo.com/reference/encyclopedia/entry/Picasso
http:en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Picasso
http:/www.boston.com/news/globe/editorial_opinion/oped/articles/2004/05/11/appreciating_picasso/
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertaibnment/3682127.stm
http://.abc.gallery.com/P/picasso/picasso,html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gar%C3%A7on%Ao_la_pipe
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portrait_of_Doctor_Gachet
http://www.thecityreview.com/f00chim1.html
http://www.getty.edu/art/gettyguide/artObjectDetails?artobj=947
Cumming, Robert . Annotated Art (1995) London: Dorling Kindersley.
Javellana, J. L. & Bordadora, N. “Luna gets export permit, goes on sale today” Philippine Daily Inquirer
GSIS Museum Guided Tour and Visit of the Parisian Life room
HU 101 2^nd sem. 2005-2006 term papers & updated with HU 101 2^nd sem. 2006-2007 Internet searches for Top Ten. (2003).