Experts find elusive Dali paintings

A picture released by the Gala-Salvador Dali Foundation/VEGAP shows a newly identified painting by Spanish artist Salvador Dali titled "Libre inclinacion del deseo" (Free inclination of Desire) and "Simulacre de la nit" (Simulation of the Night). Picture: AFP / GALA-SALVADOR DALI FOUNDATION

BARCELONA - Two oil paintings, including one owned by Yale University in the United States, have been certified as being the work of Spanish surrealist artist Salvador Dali, officials said on Tuesday.

Art experts from the Gala-Salvador Dali Foundation knew that the two works existed but up until now they had been unable to locate and authenticate them.

"We had identified the works but we did not know where they were or how to link them to Dali. We thought they were made by him but we had to verify," the director of the foundation's research department, Montse Aguer, told AFP.

"These are works from Dali's surrealist period. Both are very significant. They depict dreamlike landscapes that are typical of Dali, with shadows and big pedestals."

The two paintings were painted in 1930 and they were put on display by Dali only once, in separate exhibitions.

The Gala-Salvador Dali Foundation, located in the mustachioed artist's native Figueres in northeastern Spain, discovered the existence of the works through press clippings about the exhibitions that were published at the time.

One painting, Free Inclination of Desire, which depicts a large rock along with ants, keys and other random objects, was shown in an exhibition in 1935 in Santa Cruz de Tenerife, the capital of Spain's Canary Islands.

It belongs to the art gallery of Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut.

Simulation of the Night depicts a veined hand on a column in a barren landscape and appeared at an exhibition in San Francisco in 1965.

It is in the hands of a private collector who does not wish to be identified.

Dali, who is praised by some as a creative genius for his striking and bizarre images, died in Figueres in 1989 aged 85.

New video that features artist and art instructor Clara Berta

Clara Berta hosts regular art classes at her downtown studio.

Artist Biography

Clara Berta

is a passionate, award-winning mixed-media artist of Hungarian heritage. Inspired by her love of nature and the beauty she sees all around, her highly textural abstract works often evoke the deep blues of the ocean she loves, or the golden glow of a Tuscan sunset from her trips to Italy. 

Berta has concentrated on abstract expressionism through painting and unique monotypes.  Her paintings and prints explore themes such as the ebb and flow of memory, the significance of personal heritage, renewal, the passing of physical time, desire, passion, and love. Her large-scale abstract works often include recycled reminders of her travels, bits of fabric, or eco-friendly / organic materials such as palm bark. Manipulating the texture with many layers of paint, she will work and re-work her canvases, layering, scraping, piling up textures to give added dimension, creating works that intrigue and invite the viewer in for closer inspection.

 Believing that art offers therapeutic relief from the challenges and stress people face in their daily lives, Berta shares her beliefs and abilities by teaching advanced painting techniques and collage classes in her beautiful sunny loft/studio in downtown Los Angeles. Growing up in a culturally rich and stimulating environment, a Hungarian enclave in Romania, Berta moved to Chicago at the age of eleven.   She relocated to Los Angeles when she began her formal education, receiving a BA in Psychology from Antioch University.

Marilyn Monroe Art

Original painting of Marilyn Monroe.

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Hand signed Peter Max

PETER MAX - PRINTED ART SIGNED IN INK 1988

PETER MAX. Printed Image signed: "Peter Max/1988". Color, 8½x6 postcard. Depicts his 1986 painting, Lady on Red (With a Flowering Vase), from his "Ladies of the 80's" series, which also included Deco Lady, Lady By Window, Lady With Degas, Lady With Flowers, Nude and Vase and Zero Amarillo. Peter Max, born in Berlin in 1937, spent most of his first ten years in Shanghai, and then traveled the world with his parents before immigrating to the US in 1953. Already an award-winning graphic artist and designer, Max burst on the cultural scene in the 1960s, first with his "psychedelic art" and then with a new concept, "cosmic art." Max, who works in many mediums, has been the official artist for the Grammy Awards, the New Orleans Jazz Festival, the Woodstock Music Festival and 5 Super Bowls. He has decorated a Boeing 747, a Dale Earnhart racecar, and 265 murals on the US border. He has designed popular US and UN stamps, painted five US Presidents, the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, Mikhail Gorbachev and the Dalai Lama. He painted individual portraits of 356 firefighters who lost their lives heroically on 9/11, presenting these portraits to the families, and then at President Bush's request designed 356 more for the firefighters' memorial. Fine condition. Framed in the Gallery of History style: 17x20¾.

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Internet Art Sales increase, new trend to buy art online

LONDON - The value of the online fine art market is expected to more than double to $3.76 billion in the next five years as it increasingly attracts younger and first-time buyers, British insurer Hiscox said on Monday.

Online art sites do not threaten galleries and auction houses in the same way Internet availability has undermined the traditional movie, book and music businesses, Hiscox said.

But the willingness of younger buyers to make their first purchases over the Internet along with the rapid growth of online sites pointed to the future of the sector, it said in a statement.

"Young collectors are looking for art work which is easy to buy and available at a wide range of prices," Robert Read, Hiscox's head of fine art, was quoted as saying.

"Online art platforms cater for all tastes and budgets, but are particularly effective for those just starting to collect—opening up the art market in a way that is hard to replicate in the real world."

London-listed Hiscox, which underwrites cover for oil rigs, kidnappings, fine art and vintage cars, estimated the value of global online art sales at $1.57 billion in 2013.

In its second annual report on the online art market, in conjunction with market research company ArtTactic, Hiscox projects this figure will grow to $3.76 billion in 2018.

The report's findings are based on a survey of 506 international art buyers on ArtTactic's client mailing list, Twitter and Facebook, Hiscox said.

"Based on these figures, online art buying accounts for 2.4 percent of the estimated value of the global art market, which in 2013 was $65 billion," Hiscox said.

Internet retail giant Amazon had launched its Art portal in the past year and online auction house eBay was reportedly planning a rival platform, it said.

"Significant increased investment into platforms like Paddle8, Artsy and Artspace indicates continued confidence from investors and belief in the long-term potential of these businesses," Hiscox said.

Complementary buying opportunities

Online-only sales would not replace galleries, auctions and other traditional sales channels, it said, but provide an alternative buying opportunity and additional revenue stream.

"The findings indicate that online art e-commerce will not exist as a separate entity—it will augment and co-exist with what is happening in the real, physical art world," Hiscox said.

The report did find, however, that future generations of collectors were likely to make their first art purchases online, with almost 25 percent of 20- to 30-year-olds surveyed for the report saying they first bought art online without seeing the physical piece.

Although 39 percent of respondents said buying art online was less intimidating than at a gallery or auction, having a bricks-and-mortar presence instilled confidence, with 90 percent of online buyers purchasing from a physical space before turning to websites.

Limited edition prints were a popular entry point for online buyers, the report said, with 55 percent of those surveyed having bought a print online in the last 12 months.

The report found that 44 percent of buyers said they had spent more than £10,000 ($16,800) purchasing art and collectibles online so far, with 21 percent of this group saying they had spent in excess of 50,000 pounds.

Nevertheless, seeing the physical object remained important, with 82 percent of those surveyed saying the most difficult aspect of buying art online was not being able to inspect it. — Reuters

Hand signed Dali postcard

See hand signature below, use the Amazon link to view price