Art Trivia - Who was Antoine Etex?

Antoine (Tony) Etes was a French sculptor, painter and architect.  His two sculptures "Peace" and "War" stand at each side of the Arc de Triomphe in Paris.  He was born in Paris in 1808 and died in 1888.  He is also famous for a large allegory painting "The Glory of the United States", which he painted for City Hall in New York City.  His best-known architectural works are the tomb of Naopoleon I in the Invalides and a monument of the 1848 revolution.

Art Auctions - Drawings

Sell your own artwork with this great ebook: How to Sell Your Art Without Selling Out

Art auctions for drawings are categorized into antique, modern and contemporary. Antique drawings are any drawings that were produced before 1900. Modern drawings have to have been created between 1900 and 1949. Contemporary drawings are drawings that were created from 1950 until the present.

There are a lot of contemporary drawings listed in art auctions that never get a bidder. There are many reasons for this. One of the main reasons is that the starting bid is set so high that it discourages interest. There was an art auction for a drawing that was created in 2000 that depicted James Dean welcoming Elvis Presley into heaven. The starting price for this art auction was twelve million dollars. I am not surprised that it did not get a bidder.

I found another pen and ink drawing in an art auction that was listed for a lot more than it was worth. The original listing started at $825,000.00 and when it didn’t sell, the artist lowered the price to $545,000.00. He offers the copywrite to the design, which he thinks would translate well for prints, posters or greeting cards.

There was an art auction for a drawing that was purchased in 1971 London that did very well. The seller of the drawing inherited it from his grandfather, who was the original owner. He started the bidding at a reasonable $599.00 and the drawing ultimate sold in the art auction for over twelve thousand dollars. He did a great job describing and picturing the drawing.

Antique drawings in art auctions can garner a lot of interest. I saw a drawing of two men in the nude that was drawn in the 1800’s go for more than eleven thousand dollars. This drawing was pen and ink and had a brown wash and traces of charcoal on lines of black pencil.

I was very taken with an antique drawing made by Sir Francis Grant in 1832. The drawing in the art auction was of a woman and her daughter in Scotland. The drawing was a signed original and sold for two thousand dollars. I hope that it ends up framed and hanging in a collection of similar pieces. It was really nice.

Another reason that art auctions for drawings don’t sell is that they are listed in the wrong categories. I found several contemporary pieces that were listed in the antique category. With so much competition in art auctions, it is important to make sure every detail is noticed.

Modern drawings are by far my favorite art auctions. I wanted the stamped Degas I saw up for auction, but it was way out of my budget. I’m sure that the person that ended up with the highest bid at the art auction will love and treasure it.

Well known artist’s drawings can fetch a lot of money in online art auctions. If the title of the art auction contains the words original Picasso, for example, it is sure to go over two thousand dollars. If the item is signed, it can go for much more.

I really liked a drawing I found in an art auction from an artist that I was unfamiliar with. The artist was Patrick Caulfield and he titled his drawing Grapes. He used colored pencils on black paper in the late 1980’s. This drawing sold for the opening bid, $4,250.00.

Art Trivia - Art Sales in 1969

Did you know that a Rembrandt self-portrait was purchased from the private collection of Col Heywood-Lonsdale and went to the Norton Simon Museum in Los Angeles in 1969? The museum purchased the piece for 483,000 pounds from Christie's in London.

Artists: If you ever wanted to know how to sell your artwork, here is a recommended program that gives you everything you ever wanted to know to be a sucessful artist: Go to: How to Sell Your Art Without Selling Out

Art Trivia in the Year 1968

1968 offered three exciting art exhibits staged in Paris, France. The first was devoted to Picasso, the second to the treasures of Tutankhamen's tomb and the third tothe work of J. A. D. Ingres.

The Picasso showing was France's official tribute in celebration of Picasso's 85th birthday. The huge exhibition included 284 works displayed at the Grand Palais, 508 drawings, ceramics and sculptures viewed at the Petit Palais, and a selection of graphic work and illustrated books shown at the Bibliotheque Nationale.

The Tutankhamen showing was opened in Mid-February of that year and included a spectacular exhibition of priceless treasures from the young Egyptian king's tomb (lent by the Cairo Museum). Objects included jewelry found on the king's body when his tomb was discovered in 1922, the famous solid gold funeral mask, and a life-size wooden figures that guarded the entrance to the burial chamber.

The 100th anniversary of the death of the Neoclassical painter, Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres was celebrated by two major shows in France. The first, entitled "Ingres et son Temps" was held at the Musee Ingres at Montauban, southwestern France (where Ingres was born). The exhibition contained 160 paintings and drawings by Ingres and 145 works by his teachers. In autumn another exhibition opened in Paris at the Grand Palais, which was a splendid review of Ingres' work. The picture shown is a self-portrait done by Ingres.

To view my artwork go to: The Hojt-Tonte Gallery

Art Trivia - Futurism

Filippo Tommaso Marinetti (1876-1944), an Italian poet and dramatist published in Figaro of Paris, the first official manifesto of Futurism. Futurism was about (in general) the love of danger, the admiration for speed in machines, the glorification of wars and general destruction of the past (including museums). He wanted to free a rising generation of painters, sculptors and literary men for more expression in their crafts.

Along with a number of writers, the Futurism movement gathered 3 young painters, Umberto Boccioni, Carlo Carra and Luigi Russolo, who were later (in 1910)joined by Giacomo Balla and Gino Severini. Futurist pictures have been compared with a frozen motion picture or a series of superimposed candid camera shots or stroboscopic photography. The most direct example of Futurism is in Balla's work from 1912 "Dog on Leash" (shown)which depicts a sequence of multiple positions of moving forms of a small dog being walked.

To view my artwork, go to: The Hojt-Tonte Gallery

Feelings Behind the Painting for the True Art Lover

Does the swish of a brush-stroke thrill you? Can you see that image trapped just below the surface of the paint? Do the colors pop out at you creating a constrast that takes your breath away?

You have the makings of becoming a true art lover.

The true meaning of any painting lies just beneath the paint. It is the feeling that the painting creates in a person, rather than just the picture it portrays (if indeed there is a picture). It could be the subject matter of the painting. It could be the colors used to create a mood. It could be how the painter has applied the paint to create the visual effect.

The trick for the painter is to evoke a feeling for his work. The trick for the viewer is to look beyond the exterior media and find the almost subliminal feeling that the artist has tried to present. The feeling may not even be the same as the painter dictates, but as long as the viewer feels something about the painting, it is a success.

For example, the painting paints a picture of an angel. He feels it is a spiritual piece that depicts heaven and wants the painting to evoke emotions about serenity. A viewer looking at the picture may feel totally different from what the artist expects. The viewer may just appreciate the beauty of the work without seeing the 'serenity' factor. They may feel calmed by the colors used, but also be in turmoil as to their beliefs because of the subject matter. It doesn't really matter what the viewer feels, as long as the picture has evoked some reaction.

Each painting should be a study of emotions. They can be happy, sad, excited-whatever-but a true art lover will see something in every painting. If you love art, you will look for that feeling. To the true art lover, it will come naturally.

To view my artwork, go to: The Hojt-Tonte Gallery

Creating an Art Collection

Many people believe that having an 'art collection' has to be an expensive undertaking. That isn't necessarily the case. Of course, if you want to collect pieces from the Great Masters you certainly may have to pay a fortune for each work. But, you can collect art that you like that doesn't have to cost as arm and a leg.

There are many artists today that are worthy of collecting. You need to find one that you like and follow that artist. Buy pieces that you LOVE--ones that you can follow on a journey through the artist's career. You may not be able to buy (or even want to buy) every piece that artist creates, but you can still buy a sampling of his/her works that can lead to a collection.

You can also go a different route for your art collection. You may like a certain type of art - say landscapes - and collect different works within that category. Or perhaps you like natural wildlife art or still life's. Within those categories, you can hunt for works from different artists and even styles that may appeal to you.

You also may want to do a more economical route and buy prints instead of the real paintings. Prints of your favorite artworks can still lead to a collection. Some prints (limited edition prints) can still be quite valuable.

The main point to building and creating an art collection is to go with pieces that really appeal to you. You can have the enjoyment of displaying them in your office or home, and be able to show off your collection and the knowledge you gain from owning that piece of art.

Art Collecting Tips: Go slowly with your art collection. Start with one piece at a time and build up to a larger offering. You may find that as you go along your tastes may change to appreciate a different kind of art. If you amass more works than you have room to display, store some of the works and rotate them.

To view my artwork, go to: The Hojt-Tonte Gallery