Do you know your imposter from your impasto? We’ve delved into our history archives to uncover some surprising facts. Our whistle-stop tour of the art world starts here. A SPLASH OF ART HISTORY This year’s exhibition – Inside – is curated by British sculptor Antony Gormley OBE – famed for his ‘Angel of the North’. It will be held at London’s Southbank Centre until Wednesday 15th November. CRIMINALLY GOOD ART The Koestler Trust was established in 1969 to award ‘creative work in the fields of literature, the arts or sciences by those physically confined’. Each year, the charity holds an exhibition to showcase the talent and potential of ex-offenders to the public to transform prisoner stereotypes.
Entity (above), Reaside Clinic (secure mental health unit), Painting. Image courtesy of the Koestler Trust.
ART DISASTERS Even the most prestigious of pieces aren’t immune to a slip-up or two. Few can forget the uproar caused in 2012, when well-intentioned but decidedly untalented volunteer Cecilia Giménez attempted to restore the original version of ‘Ecce Homo’ by Elias Garcia Martinez. With just a few misplaced brushstrokes, Cecilia destroyed the 1930 depiction of Jesus Christ, becoming a celebrity (and the subject of a thousand internet memes) in the process. Honoured with the dubious title of ‘the worst restoration in history’, her unique interpretation even inspired an opera. Further blunders include an over enthusiastic cleaner, who unwittingly cleared up Damien Hirst’s 2001 exhibition of ‘Painting-By Numbers’ after mistaking the arrangement of overflowing ashtrays, empty beer bottles and paint tins for rubbish.
90 FINE ART COLLECTOR AUTUMN 2017
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