Among the top visual arts headlines today: Sotheby’s to offer works by artist Georgia O’Keeffe in a Contemporary Art Evening Auction for the first time; the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam has announced the restoration of Rembrandt’s “The Night Watch” next year, giving the public access to it; the Toledo Museum of Art has acquired two paintings by artists John Anster Fitzgerald (English, 1819-1906) and Dirck Hals (Dutch, 1591-1656); Mark Rothko’s “Untitled (Rust, Blacks on Plum)” to lead Works from the Collection of Francois and Susan de Menil at Christie’s Evening Sale of Post-War and Contemporary Art in November; and French film director Clement Cogitore takes the 2018 Prix Marcel Duchamp award.

Three O’Keeffe Paintings to Go Sale at Sotheby’s

For the first time, Sotheby’s will be offering three paintings by artist Georgia O’Keeffe in a Contemporary Art Evening Auction to be held in New York on November 14. These works are from the Georgia O’Keeffe Museum in Santa Fe, New Mexico, and are being sold to benefit its acquisitions fund. “A Street,” 1926, belongs to the artist’s rare series of New York cityscapes (estimate $12/18 million), “Calla Lilies on Red,” 1928, depicts a flower with vibrant background, a style that went on to become synonymous with O’Keeffe’s artistic practice (estimate $8/12 million), and “Cottonwood Tree in Spring” (1943), which will be up for auction on November 16, (estimate $1.5/2.5 million). All three paintings are on view at Sotheby’s Los Angeles galleries on 16 and 17 October and at SITE131 in Dallas’s Design District on 19 October. According to Sotheby’s, “the full Contemporary Art and American Art sales will open for exhibition in Sotheby’s New York galleries on 2 November.”

Rijksmuseum to Restore Rembrandt’s “The Night Watch”

The Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam has announced that next year Rembrandt’s “The Night Watch” will undergo restoration, and the public will get an opportunity to watch it as it happens. But, before the restoration begins, the artwork will be the centrepiece of the museum’s display of its entire collection of more than 400 works by Rembrandt. This exhibition marks the 350th anniversary of the artist’s death and opens on February 15, 2019. “The restoration project will begin in July 2019 and the public will be able to watch the entire process at the museum and online,” the museum says. The artwork will be encased in a state-of-the-art clear glass chamber designed by the French architect Jean Michel Wilmotte. This ensures that the painting will remain on view to the public and at the same time a digital platform will give online access to viewers from across the globe to follow the restoration process as it happens.

Rothko Painting to Lead Works at Christie’s Auction in New York

Christie’s Evening Sale of Post-War and Contemporary Art auction on November 15 in New York includes artworks from the Collection of Francois and Susan de Menil. Mark Rothko’s “Untitled (Rust, Blacks on Plum),” estimated at $35-45 million leads the selection. According to the auction house, “painted in a period of creative ferment between his two greatest series, the present work was executed shortly after the completion of the Seagram Murals in 1960. During this time, he began to contemplate the shimmering dark plums, blacks, and purples that became the predominant palette in the panels at the Rothko Chapel commission that was soon to follow.” The selection is concluded with a group of four artworks by Joseph Cornell created between the 1930’s and 1948. “The sale on November 15 will present the second instance that Untitled (Rust, Blacks on Plum) has ever changed hands,” Christie’s adds.

Clement Cogitore Awarded the 2018 Prix Marcel Duchamp Prize

The 18th edition of the Prix Marcel Duchamp prize was awarded to French director Clement Cogitore. It was announced on October 15 at the Centre Pompidou in Paris. France’s leading Contemporary art prize, the Prix Marcel Duchamp comes with prize money worth €35,000. “His video installation, ‘The Evil Eye’ (2018), narrated through a female voice, was entirely made by manipulating hundreds of images of stock photography that Cogitore bought from Getty Images,” The Art Newspaper. The film conveys stages of a woman’s life in its entire entirety within an archiving narrative and recognizes societal problems and the lack of individual identity. “Two of the other nominated artists, Mohamed Bourouissa and Marie Voignier, are also presenting film-based works,” The Art Newspaper.

Toledo Museum of Art Acquires Paintings by John Anster Fitzgerald and Dirck Hals

The Toledo Museum of Artin Ohio has acquired works of artists John Anster Fitzgerald (English, 1819-1906) and Dirck Hals (Dutch, 1591-1656). These two artworks will be on view beginning October 17. According to the museum, “’The Fairies’ Favourite,’ circa 1860-65, by Fitzgerald, depicts a vibrant fairy gathering in a wooded glen, surrounded by an elaborate sculptural branch frame, whereas Hals’s ‘Merry Company on a Terrace,’ 1623, portrays a group of 10 male and female revellers dressed in fine fashion.… Seated and standing in a variety of poses across the width of the canvas, the animated party is flanked by a statue of eros and architectural details.” “These two superb paintings by English and Dutch masters add significantly to TMA’s outstanding European collection,” said Lawrence W. Nichols, the museum’s William Hutton senior curator of European and American painting and sculpture before 1900.