Lesser known in the United States but supremely gifted and prolific, a renowned “Down Under” portraitist is the subject of a well deserved retrospective in Australia. Will you recognize his name?
 
For the last 50 years, artist Robert Hannaford has produced a monumental number of exquisite drawings, paintings, portraits, and much more. Now, the Art Gallery of South Australia is overjoyed to celebrate the artist’s masterful career with a well earned retrospective.
 
Opened on July 2 and running through October 9, the exhibition “assembles many previously unseen portrait and figure drawings alongside some of the artist’s more familiar paintings,” the gallery writes. “Many of Hannaford’s favorite artists from the Art Gallery’s collection will be included in the exhibition, bringing him into conversation with 500 years of art. Revered for his ability to capture the true nature or ‘essence’ of his sitters and recipient of numerous important commissions and awards, Hannaford has been selected as a finalist for the Archibald Prize over the past twenty-five years, winning the people’s choice three times.”
 
To learn more, visit the Art Gallery of South Australia.
 
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The vacillating mental states of Vincent van Gogh are a topic almost as intriguing as his gorgeous artworks. See how one exhibition is taking this story to a whole new level.
 
What comes to your mind when you hear the name van Gogh? Perhaps it’s the artist’s iconic painting “Starry Night,” his numerous and revealing self-portraits, or maybe it’s the infamous tale of his severed ear. Whatever it may be, there’s little doubt that the life Van Gogh lived, his troubled mental state, and his unfortunate death have fascinated scholars and casual art enthusiasts alike for generations.
 
An innovative exhibition in Amsterdam is taking a fresh look into the personal and artistic lives of Vincent van Gogh, with particular interest in the artist’s suicide and the notorious event when the artist mutilated his ear. Titled “On the Verge of Insanity: Van Gogh and His Illness,” the exhibition is a rare opportunity to view a revolver believed to have been the instrument of the artist’s death in addition to rarely seen doctors’ notes and assessments of van Gogh’s condition.
 
Also on view are some 25 paintings and drawings from the last year or so of van Gogh’s life, which are referenced along with the documents to sculpt a magnificent — yet unfortunate — story of the artist’s descent until his death. All told, the exhibition hopes to draw some clarity into the particular illness — or illnesses — that van Gogh suffered from and in what ways these ailments may have affected his later pictures. “On the Verge of Insanity: Van Gogh and His Illness” opens tomorrow, July 15, and will be on view through September 25 at Amsterdam’s Van Gogh Museum.
 
To learn more, visit the Van Gogh Museum.
 
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London’s Dulwich Picture Gallery is currently playing host to an outstanding exhibition that examines the works and processes of some of history’s greatest painters. Discover more with this tantalizing video.
 

 
To learn more, visit Dulwich Picture Gallery.
 
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You’ve spoken! In this occasional series we highlight one of most popular articles among Fine Art Today readers. This week we revisit a monumental exhibition from the Complesso del Vittoriano in Rome, Italy.
 
Nearly 100 years after he visited Rome with his wife, Art Nouveau master Alphonse Mucha (1860-1939) will have his first retrospective. The Complesso del Vittoriano in Rome, Italy, is overjoyed to be presenting over 250 works from the Czech icon. Over his illustrious career, Mucha became one of the most renowned artists of the late 19th and early 20th centuries with his distinctive French Art Nouveau style. Characterized by soft, organic lines, seductive female subjects, and pastel colors, Mucha’s illustrations and original poster designs were readily commissioned and bought by Parisian and, later, other European patrons.
 

Alphonse Mucha, “Self-Portrait,” 1899, color lithograph, 85 x 29 1/4 in. (c) Mucha Foundation 2016

 
The exhibition will run in Rome through September 11 and traces the artist’s entire career trajectory through six themes: The Bohemian in Paris, The Creator of Images for the General Public, The Cosmopolitan, The Mystic, The Patriot, and The Artist-Philosopher.
 
To learn more, visit the Complesso del Vittoriano.
 
This article was featured in Fine Art Today, a weekly e-newsletter from Fine Art Connoisseur magazine. To start receiving Fine Art Today for free, click here.
 

Indications from a recent Old Master art sale at a major auction house suggest the world’s appetite for historical masterpieces is hotter than the July sun.
 
From July 5 through 6, Sotheby’s in London hosted a rather successful sale of Old Master paintings, sculpture, works of art and drawings — with buyers hailing from all corners of the globe. Eight auction records were set and over $21 million was realized during the July 6 Old Masters Evening sale. However, the story of the night was the fact that buyers were representing some 27 countries, an increase from the numbers last year. All told, over 50 countries were represented during the sale and 40 percent more people participated in the auction.
 
Nearly half the lots sold were above estimates. Highlights included Jean-Etienne Liotard’s “A Dutch Girl at Breakfast” — which sold for $5,694,784 — and Jan Brueghel the Elder’s “Still Life of Flowers in a Stoneware Vase,” which realized $4,970,816. An outstanding oil sketch by Peter Paul Rubens, “The Chariot of Apollo,” was had for $1,480,256. To learn more, visit Art Daily.
 
This article was featured in Fine Art Today, a weekly e-newsletter from Fine Art Connoisseur magazine. To start receiving Fine Art Today for free, click here.
 

Thirty-seven of the nation’s top artists — along with nine special guests — headline a can’t-miss art sale and celebration this August. Details are just one click away!
 
The Northwest Rendezvous Group of Artists is heading to the Brinton Museum in Bighorn, Wyoming, this summer — and you should, too. Featuring nearly 50 of the nation’s most accomplished painters and sculptors, the “Bighorn Rendezvous Art Show & Sale” will host a major reception, quick-draw competition, banquet, and sale the weekend of August 5 & 6. Exhibition of available works will show from August 5 through September 5.
 
Available artworks by these extremely gifted artists are all inspired by the snow-capped peaks, vast plains, and diverse wildlife encountered at Wyoming’s Quarter Circle A Ranch at the Brinton Museum. Tickets for the events are still on sale at $160 for access to all events. Act quickly, however, as the price jumps to $180 after tomorrow, July 15.
 
Among many others, included artists are Carolyn Anderson, Greg Beecham, Quang Ho, Joan Larue, Ned Mueller, Jan Rosetta, Sandy Scott, and Jim Wilcox. To learn more, visit the Brinton Museum.
 
This article was featured in Fine Art Today, a weekly e-newsletter from Fine Art Connoisseur magazine. To start receiving Fine Art Today for free, click here.
 

Two of the nation’s preeminent Latin American artists headline a charged exhibition this summer. Discover what contemporary issues are explored and which gallery is the proud host.
 
In celebration and conjunction with Spanish Market and “Low Rider Summer” in Santa Fe, New Mexico, EVOKE Contemporary is excited to be presenting incredibly charged and beautifully rendered artworks by Nicholas Herrera and Patrick McGrath Muñiz. Opening July 29 and on view through August 20, “Vívido” features paintings, folk art, and sculpture by the two Latin American artists.
 
Via the gallery, “This event is significant as it is the gallery’s first exhibition featuring the masterful art of Patrick McGrath Muñiz. His politically charged allegorical paintings are glorious in their renaissance-style beauty and highly captivating with the artist’s clever wit and insightful observation of our culture and contemporary issues. Each of Patrick’s intricate paintings includes a special narrative composed by the artist, which will be provided to explain the symbolism to those who are curious.
 

Nicholas Herrera, “Infierno,” 2016, wood and natural pigments, 39 x 31 x 13 in. (c) EVOKE Contemporary 2016

 
“The paintings of Patrick McGrath Muñiz respond to our consumerist society and its indifference to global, ecological, and social injustice. As a painter coming from a Roman Catholic background and growing up during the 1980’s and 90’s in the island of Puerto Rico (the oldest colony in the Western hemisphere) Patrick was greatly inspired by pop culture icons, Christian Iconography and mythological imagery present in Art History, Tarot and Astrology. These sources provide a set of universal archetypes that allow him to re-interpret our current socio-economic and cultural conditions holistically, viewing world history as cyclical and interconnected from an archetypal perspective.”
 
Continuing, EVOKE reports, “Nicholas Herrera is being honored with the 2016 Governor’s Award of Excellence in the Arts [as he] presents his newest body of work. Nicholas is a 15th generation New Mexican and a legendary contemporary Santero who has made a remarkable contribution to the arts and is an inspiration to us all. His early years were filled with drugs, alcohol and trouble with the police which led to a head-on crash and several weeks in a coma. He miraculously survived and since that accident has dedicated his life to his art. In his words, ‘El arte me salvo la vida.’ Art saved his life.
 
“Nicholas Herrera’s work includes carvings, paintings and large-scale sculptures made from wood and found objects, with his varied and sometimes controversial subjects reflecting his eventful and tempestuous life. Nicholas is a modern ‘Vato Santero’ whose art engages the complex dialectical traditions of the Indian and Hispanic, as well as the traditional and the contemporary Hispanic. Today Nicholas Herrera is one of the best-known American folk artists, and his work is in the permanent collections of more than 30 museums including the Smithsonian American Art Museum.”
 
To learn more, visit EVOKE Contemporary.
 
This article was featured in Fine Art Today, a weekly e-newsletter from Fine Art Connoisseur magazine. To start receiving Fine Art Today for free, click here.
 

This magnetic sculpture was recently honored as the best of 2015-2016 by one of the world’s most prestigious art academies.
 
As one of the most renowned academies in the world, the Florence Academy of Art is constantly producing top artistic talent, year in and year out. Each year, the institution selects a student work as the year’s best; for 2015-2016, Mathias Bader has earned top honors for his compelling life-sized sculpture “Fulco.” Sculpted from clay, upon first glance it’s hard to believe the figure isn’t alive. Bader clearly has an eye for detail as each fold of skin, vein, and wrinkle is captured with mastery.
 
Originally from Zürich, Switzerland, Bader is currently a third-year student in the sculpture program. To view more exceptional student works from 2015-2016, visit The Florence Academy.
 
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In this ongoing series for Fine Art Today, we take a longer look at the history and features of a soon-to-be-available artwork of note. This week: John William Godward, “A Cool Retreat.”
 
Works by the supremely talented Victorian Neo-Classicist painter John William Godward (1861-1922) headline a major sale at Sotheby’s this week in London. The artist was born in Wilton Grove, Wimbledon, but his family disapproved of his chosen profession, eventually cutting off all contact. A follower of Frederic Leighton, Godward established a reputation for his images featuring women in classical dress — often posed within marble interiors or lush pastoral landscapes.
 
Godward’s paintings are remarkable for their attention to detail, both historical and aesthetic. Often displaying exotic furs, animals, plant life, and a wide variety of textiles, many of the artist’s works are a tour de force of vibrant color, texture, anatomy, and composition.
 
Headlining Sotheby’s July 14 “Victorian, Pre-Raphaelite & British Impressionist” sale are two remarkable originals from Godward, including “A Cool Retreat.” Typical of the artist’s oeuvre, the viewer is presented with a beautifully rendered female figure who reclines next to an outdoor fountain. Classically clad, the figure rests on a black fur while a few pigeons waddle about the scene. A serene calm overcomes the subject’s face, which is also blushing. Every fold and detail of the fabrics and textiles are included in the work. At distance we find a faint landscape beyond the doorway. Auction estimates for this beautiful painting are between $500,000 and $650,000.
 
To view the full catalogue, visit Sotheby’s.
 
This article was featured in Fine Art Today, a weekly e-newsletter from Fine Art Connoisseur magazine. To start receiving Fine Art Today for free, click here.