Munch began making prints in 1894, a practice which gave him great scope in exploiting the expressive qualities of printmaking and which had the added benefit of promoting his paintings. His earliest works were Impressionist in style, but he achieved an artistic breakthrough, and notoriety, with his painting, The Sick Child, in 1896. This was the first of many works that explore human, psychological suffering, reflecting his own painful childhood experiences. Despite a complete mental collapse in 1908, Munch continued to contribute to important exhibitions, most notably the Cologne Sonderbund show of 1912 in which he was hailed (alongside Van Gogh and Gauguin) as a precursor of Expressionism.

The National Gallery of Ireland houses the national collection of Irish and European fine art. Admission to the collection is free.

National Gallery of Ireland,
Merrion Square West,
Dublin 2
Tel. +353-1-661 5133
Fax. +353 1 661 5372
WEB www.nationalgallery.ie

Five works by CRASH found buyers, including an untitled 1983 work on paper which sold for £941 – 53 per cent above the estimate.  Two works by LA II from the 1980s sparked frenzied bidding. The first, a work on paper executed in black marker on a red acrylic background sold for £1,414 – 75 per cent above the estimate.  The second, a mixed media work in silver marker on a black background, sold for £1,176 – 70 per cent over the estimate.

The sale also showed continued demand for works by Banksy and Shepard Fairey.

Five signed Banksy prints found buyers, including Morons (Sepia), 2007, top, which sold for £4,705 and Jack & Jill (Police Kids), 2005, which sold for £4,301. Works by Obama poster artist Shepard Fairey also attracted fierce bidding with 15 lots sold. Among them, Rose Girl, 2008, above, sold for £891 – 72 per cent above the estimate, and Israel/Palestine, 2009, which went for £605 – a generous 66 per cent over estimate.

The online art site was established in 1995 and hosts about 2million visitors a month.  Through its database of over 3.8million art auction sales results and a gallery network of over 2,200 galleries worldwide, it has become a leading online resource for the art market.  Hans Neuendorf, of artnet, said: “The auction reached a large international audience with great curiosity and wide ranging interests, and it is clear from this sale collectors worldwide are embracing online auctions.”

www.artnetauctions.com

Source: Mirror Blog

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. – Art gallery owners across the country are finding they have a tough sell these days.  With houses going up for auction, unemployment continuing to rise and the threat of layoffs seemingly ever-present, many gallery owners in art communities such as Scottsdale, Ariz., Santa Fe, N.M., Portland, Ore., and New York City are closing shop, going broke to stay open or drastically changing the way they do business.

“Art is a very discretionary sort of object, and we are in the worst recession arguably in the postwar era,” said Jay Bryson, a global economist with Wells Fargo Securities in Charlotte, N.C. “Obviously somebody who has lost their job in a factory in Indiana probably is not buying art.” Even people with plenty of discretionary money aren’t spending much on it.  “You’re a billionaire and you took a 40 percent hit on your portfolio, now you only have $600 million left,” Bryson said. “That’s still pretty deep pockets, but 40 percent is 40 percent.”  In the gallery district of downtown Scottsdale, at least a half dozen galleries have closed in the past year or are in the midst of closing. Others still are wondering how much longer they can make it.

One recent day, Leslie Levy sat quietly amid the contemporary art she sells in her gallery, which was just as deserted as the streets outside, where the temperature was in the triple digits.  The summers here are always slow because of the heat, but this one is much worse than usual. That’s partly why Levy is closing her doors at the end of August after 32 years in business and becoming a private art dealer online.  “I’ll tell you what – if I was younger, I’d just keep at it knowing we’ve not seen times quite as bad as this before,” Levy said.  Longtime customer Marylyn Gregory of Bernardsville, N.J., came in the gallery that day to see it one last time and check out what pieces Levy had left of her and her husband’s favorite artist. Gregory told Levy she was surprised and upset when she heard the gallery was closing but added, “You’re probably doing the right thing.”

Source: Art Bistro

Opening this week-end in the Killarney Art Gallery is the much anticipated Mark O’Neill Exhibition, where 12 exquisite paintings will be on show from Saturday August 1st to August 7th. Simultaneously the Killarney Art Gallery will also see the opening of their Summer Exhibition, which will display several works from a variety of artists including James Brohan, Rick Bentham, Mark Eldred, and will also introduce new artists to the Gallery.

Meanwhile at IrishArtCollector.com on Valentia Island, an exhibition of 11 brand new paintings by young American artist Ernest Vincent Wood III will also start this week-end. After the great success of his first solo exhibition last summer at the Killarney Art Gallery, needless to say this exhibition has also been highly anticipated, and art lovers and collectors alike will not be disappointed. The exhibition will be on show until August 7th and will then travel to the Killarney Art Gallery from August 8th to August 14th.

All exhibitions are also available online at IrishArtCollector.com. You can reach the Killarney Art Gallery on 064 6634628 and IrishArtCollector.com – Valentia Island on 087 2767999.

The announcement of which posters will appear throughout Dublin will be made on Friday, July 31st at a DVD Launch Party event which celebrates work created on NOISE South Dublin since its launch on October 28th 2008. The DVD called ‘NOISE – Soundation’ also celebrates work created by young people in the Soundation, a digital media and music group within Lucan Youth Centre in Lucan/North Kildare Youth Service.

The DVD Launch party is co-hosted by Mega-Bites Youth Café and Soundation from Lucan/North Kildare Youth Service and NOISE South Dublin’s Online Community on Friday, July 31st from 8 – 11pm in Griffeen Youth Centre, Lucan. The DVD was designed by young people working within the Soundation Team in Lucan/North Kildare Youth Service.

Live music by young artists, such as rappers ‘Ghost’ and ‘Skittles’ and the band ‘In Focus’, among others will be featured on the night.

The event will also include swag bag give-aways with the new DVDs and artwork created by members of the NOISE Community with NOISE Artist Jessica Tobin. All poster designs will be given out on the night.

Initiated by South Dublin County Council’s Arts Office and launched in October 2008, NOISE South Dublin (www.noisesouthdublin.com) is a site that showcases and celebrates the creative work of young people. It is the home of an active NOISE Community of members who participate in creative projects actually on the space of the website. These projects are developed by international, national, and local artists exclusively for NOISE.

For more information about the DVD Launch event, please contact Lucan Youth Service at 01 621 7640.

For more information about the project please contact Victoria Durrer, Youth Arts Coordinator for South Dublin County Council by email at vdurrer@sdublincoco.ie or phone at 0860479535

If you have produced a painting or sculpture or written a book, play or musical composition then you may be entitled to receive any income from your work tax free and may apply for an artists exemption.  Providing the work is original and creative or has cultural or artistic merit then it should qualify. It is important to note that approval has to be granted by the Irish Revenue Commissioners and only applies from the beginning of the tax year in which you apply. An Irish income tax return still has to be made in the normal manner and you have to be tax resident in Ireland.

Artists thinking of moving to Ireland may apply for an advance opinion in respect of their work and on approval by Revenue Commissioners have to become tax resident in Ireland.

More information can be found here in Citizens Information.

The two portraits are of the highest quality and their addition to the collections at Amgueddfa Cymru adds significantly, both to the holdings of works related to the Williams Wynn family and to the Museum’s National Portrait collection. They are also the first works in the collection by the significant eighteenth century artist Hugh Douglas Hamilton.

Beth McIntyre, Curator, Prints and Drawings, Amgueddfa Cymru said: “They are fine examples of his delicate technique capturing a true likeness of the sitters as well as their characters.”

Andrew Macdonald, Acting Director of The Art Fund said: “These two oval portraits, kept in their original frames, celebrate the lives of two generous patrons of the arts and are a fitting addition to National Museum Wales’ permanent collection. They will make a subtle pairing with the Sir Joshua Reynolds portrait Charlotte Grenville, wife of Sir Watkin Williams Wynn and her children (1777 – 1779) also in the National Museum Wales collection, acquired with The Art Fund’s help in 1998.”

The works will mainly be displayed within the newly refurbished eighteenth century gallery at National Museum Cardiff, and will also be available for viewing when not on display in the Prints and Drawings Study room.

Amgueddfa Cymru – National Museum Wales aims to acquire works reflecting the history of patronage and collecting in Wales. These exquisite works offer a more vivid and intimate picture of the Williams Wynns, to complement the grand paintings by Joshua Reynolds and Pompeo Batoni already in the collection.

Amgueddfa Cymru – National Museum Wales operates seven national museums across Wales. These are National Museum Cardiff, St Fagans: National History Museum, National Roman Legion Museum, Caerleon, Big Pit: National Coal Museum, Blaenafon, National Wool Museum, Dre-fach Felindre, National Slate Museum, Llanberis, and the National Waterfront Museum, Swansea.

Source: Artdaily.org

The Awards continue the long tradition of the Society’s developmental role in supporting and nurturing the creative arts in Ireland. Until 1877, The Drawing School was managed by the Society after which it was transferred to the Government to become the Metropolitan School of Art and Design and later the National College of Art and Design.

The RDS Student Art Awards are significant in the recognition of excellence and best practice in the work of students registered in full and part-time award bearing art courses. They also provide a platform for exhibiting works that students might not have the opportunity to do otherwise. Previous winners of the RDS Student Art Awards include Walter Osborne, William Orpen, Mainie Jellett, Melanie Le Brocquy, Arthur Gibney, Dorothy Cross, Eamonn O’Kane and James Hanley.

The Awards are judged by an expert panel of judges nominated by the Royal Hibernian Art Gallery and the National Gallery of Ireland. The panel is chaired by an independent judge nominated by the RDS. Entries for this year’s awards are encouraged in a diverse range of formats including multimedia, fine art photography, painting, drawing, print-making and installation work.

An exhibition of winners and a selection of works of excellence chosen by the judges will be shown at the RDS National Crafts Competition & Student Art Awards Exhibition during the Fáilte Ireland Dublin Horse Show in the RDS Concert Hall. Each year the winning and commended entries from the RDS National Crafts Competition and the RDS Student Art Awards tour to venues both north and south of the country. The exhibitions help promote Ireland’s most promising and talented artists and designers to a wider audience.

For further information, please contact:

Commentators write on the value of the arts, intending to provoke discussion and focus attention on the crucial role the arts play in our lives.

Dr Martin Mansergh, Minister of State at the Department of Finance with special responsibility for the Office of Public Works and the Arts has officially launched ‘Between filiation and affiliation: the space of art’, a new study in the ‘Value of the Arts’ series initiated by the Arts Council of Ireland in 2006. Written by Kevin Whelan, Director of the Keough Naughton Notre Dame Centre, Dublin, the pamphlet describes the crucial role art plays in our development as a society, and the role of the artistic imagination in creating the future.

To access all pamphlets, click: Value of the arts.

Eire-Art.com will address the support need of artists to market and promote themselves annd their art to the global community of art collectors.  All of the Eire Artists are evaluated to ensure only the best are displayed on Eire-Art.com.  We shall work with our artists and give them the insights necessary to achieve their goals through commercial outcomes.

If you are a graduate or under graduate please email us up to ten j-pegs of artwork you have currently available and we can assess your work for inclusion in this new online gallery.  Further details can be found on creative careers or my simply contacting us.