NEW YORK (AP) ― A radiant painting by Mark Rothko and one of Jasper Johns’ iconic flag paintings were among the stars at the second day of New York’s dazzling post-war and contemporary art auctions. “No. 21 (Red, Brown, Black and Orange),” which was purchased by art benefactors Pierre and Sao Schlumberger directly from Rothko’s estate, brought in $45 million at Sotheby’s on Tuesday evening. Its pre-sale high estimate was $50 million. The abstract 1951 work comes up for bid a day after the auctio

Linda McCartney was the first woman photographer whose photos were featured in Rolling Stone magazine. She made a name for herself by taking pictures of famous rock stars in the 1960s and ’70s such as The Rolling Stones, The Doors, Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton and The Beatles.She’s also well known as the first wife of Paul McCartney, a Beatle. Of her four children, Mary is a photographer, too, and Stella a fashion designer.Daelim Museum in Seoul is holding Linda McCartney’s first exhibition in Kor

LOS ANGELES (AP) ― An entertainment executive pledged a collection of paintings by Pablo Picasso, Claude Monet, Edgar Degas and other major artists to the Los Angeles County Museum of Art on Thursday, a donation the institution called the largest in its history. “Los Angeles helped make my career possible,” said Jerry Perenchio, the former chairman and CEO of Univision who has lived in the city for 70 years. “My family and I are proud and honored to be able to give something back to a wonderful

PARIS (AFP) ― French dancer Sylvie Guillem is to bring down the curtain on a glittering career that saw her plucked from relative obscurity by Rudolf Nureyev to become the world’s most sought after ballerina.Announcing her intention to retire at the end of 2015, Guillem, 49, said she still loved dancing but had decided now was the right time to bow out.“I have loved every moment of the last 39 years and today I am still loving it in the same way,” she said.“So why stop? Very simply because I wan

NEW YORK (AP) ― A celebrated portrait of a Parisian actress by Edouard Manet has set a new auction record for the artist during the second day of a major fall sale in New York of impressionist and modern art. “Spring” was sold at Christie’s Wednesday for $65 million, almost doubling the previous record of $33.2 million for the French impressionist. “Spring” is considered a Manet masterpiece. It was first presented at the 1882 Paris Salon and depicts actress Jeanne Demarsy in a floral dress and b

The vast 17-meter-high space dedicated to site-specific installations at the Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Korea looks like it’s been filled with water and floating boats with blinking lights. As the idea of filling the exhibition space with water is counterintuitive, the scene challenges our usual perceptions of space. Up close, what appears to be a night scene at a small port turns out to be carefully arranged installation pieces by Argentinean artist Leandro Erlich. The square museum

LONDON (AFP) ― North Korea’s embassy in Britain offered the public rare access this week to an exhibition featuring four socialist realism artists and their takes on classic London cityscapes as part of a cultural thaw between the two countries.Some 60 paintings by Jon Pyong-jin, Kim Hun, Ho Jae-song, Hong Song-iI and other artists including landscapes of their communist homeland went on display in the anonymous two-floor, red-brick townhouse in the Ealing suburb of west London.The artists dress

Abstract ‘boxes’ and ‘stacks’ of the artist on display in the first exhibition at Kukje Gallery

A Buddhist painting currently on display at the National Museum of Korea in Seoul inspires awe through its sheer size and grandiosity rather than its artistry. The hanging scroll from the Joseon era stands 1,317 meters tall, about the same height as a five-story building. Dating back to 1749, the artifact, designated as National Treasure No. 1269, is one of the largest gwaebul paintings in Korea.  A hanging scroll of the Buddha from Gaeamsa Temple. (National Museum of Korea)Gwaebul are Buddhist

NEW YORK (AP) ― The fall art auctions are about to sizzle. Coveted paintings by Andy Warhol and Edouard Manet ― never before offered at auction ― and works from single-owner collections with boldface names like Mellon and Bacall are expected to fire up bidding at the sales of impressionist, contemporary and modern art beginning Tuesday. “The fall auctions represent a rare opportunity for contemporary collectors to add not only quality but also pedigree to their collections,” said Sarah Lichtman,

Drawing on his experiences as an East German defector, Freyer says envisioned border park can be a place for artistic exchanges

NEW YORK (AP) ― Judgmental, autocratic and wholly self-made after fleeing pre-war Poland and the prospect of arranged marriage as a teen, Helena Rubinstein built a cosmetics empire on the notion that beauty is power. But the late doyenne with the tight chignon was more than a mere worshipper of commerce. Known to all as Madame, she was a collector of African, Oceanic and Latin American art, eclectic home decor and couture fashion as the face and force of her brand for seven decades. The diminuti

KBS’ “National Song Contest,” which has been broadcast for 34 years, is the longest-running TV program in Korea. It was the first singing audition program open to the public. The contest has visited every corner of the country, attracting more than 10 million people to spectator seats.Some 85,000 people from all walks of life, including migrant workers and immigrant wives, have auditioned, and 30,000 of them have qualified to appear on the show. Its opening theme song is all too familiar to most

Artist Noh Sun-tag seeksto explore the nature ofsocial conflicts, politicsand the division of Southand North Korea