1991 in art
Encyclopedia
Events
- 14 April – In the Netherlands, thieves steal 20 paintings worth $500 million from the Van Gogh MuseumVan Gogh MuseumThe Van Gogh Museum is an art museum in Amsterdam, Netherlands, featuring the works of the Dutch painter Vincent van Gogh and his contemporaries. It has the largest collection of Van Gogh's paintings and drawings in the world.-Background:...
in AmsterdamAmsterdamAmsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...
. Less than an hour later they are found in an abandoned car near the museum. - Opening of the Irish Museum of Modern ArtIrish Museum of Modern ArtThe Irish Museum of Modern Art also known as IMMA, is Ireland's leading national institution exhibiting and collecting modern and contemporary art. The museum opened in May 1991 and is located in Royal Hospital Kilmainham, a 17th-century building near Heuston Station to the west of Dublin's city...
. - Michael De Caso invents Rectoversion.
Works
- Las niñas en la alborada – Félix ArauzFélix ArauzFélix Arauz is a very important Latin American painter from Ecuador. Arauz is among the art circles of Enrique Tábara, Aníbal Villacís, Jose Carreño and Juan Villafuerte. In 1957, Arauz began studying under Caesar Andrade Faini at the School of Fine Arts. During his second year his father died...
- The Physical Impossibility of Death in the Mind of Someone LivingThe Physical Impossibility of Death in the Mind of Someone LivingThe Physical Impossibility of Death in the Mind of Someone Living is an artwork created in 1991 by Damien Hirst, an English artist and a leading member of the "Young British Artists" . It consists of a tiger shark preserved in formaldehyde in a vitrine. It was originally commissioned in 1991 by...
– Damien HirstDamien HirstDamien Steven Hirst is an English artist, entrepreneur and art collector. He is the most prominent member of the group known as the Young British Artists , who dominated the art scene in Britain during the 1990s. He is internationally renowned, and is reportedly Britain's richest living artist,... - Isolated Elements Swimming in the Same Direction for the Purposes of Understanding – Damien Hirst
- Self – Marc QuinnMarc QuinnMarc Quinn is a British artist and part of the group known as Britartists or YBAs . He is known for Alison Lapper Pregnant , Self , and Garden .He is one of the Young British...
January to June
- 7 February – Jean-Paul MousseauJean-Paul MousseauJean-Paul Mousseau was a Quebec artist He was a student of Paul-Émile Borduas and a member of the Automatist school. He was a founding member of the Association on Non-Figurative Artists of Montreal...
, Canadian artist (b. 19271927 in art-Events:*Clarice Cliff introduces her 'Bizarre' pottery decoration.*Aristide Colotte opens his studio in Nancy, where he produces glasswork and carved crystal statues.-Awards:*Archibald Prize: George W...
). - 13 February – Arno BrekerArno BrekerArno Breker was a German sculptor, best known for his public works in Nazi Germany, which were endorsed by the authorities as the antithesis of degenerate art....
, German sculptor (b. 19001900 in art-Works:*Thomas Eakins - The Thinker: Portrait of Louis N. Kenton *Vilhelm Hammershøi - Sunbeams*Edvard Munch - Red Virginia Creeper-Births:*January 5 - Yves Tanguy, painter...
). - 29 March – Guy BourdinGuy BourdinGuy Louis Bourdin , born Guy Louis Banarès, was a French fashion photographer.-Life and career:Guy Louis Banarès was born December 2, 1928, at 7 Rue Popincourt, Paris...
, French photographer (b. 19281928 in art-Events:*January 7 - The Tate Gallery, London, is flooded by the River Thames.*August - Ben Nicholson and Kit Wood visit St. Ives, Cornwall, and meet the ex-fisherman painter Alfred Wallis....
). - 10 June – Jean BrullerJean BrullerJean Marcel Bruller was a French writer and illustrator who co-founded Les Éditions de Minuit with Pierre de Lescure and Yvonne Paraf. During the World War II occupation of northern France he joined the Resistance and his texts were published under the pseudonym Vercors.Several of his novels have...
, French writer and illustratorIllustratorAn Illustrator is a narrative artist who specializes in enhancing writing by providing a visual representation that corresponds to the content of the associated text...
(b. 19021902 in art-Events:*Georges Braque begins his studies at the Academie Humbert, where he meets Marie Laurencin and Francis Picabia.-Works:*Helen Allingham - View of Blackdown*Frank Weston Benson - Eleanor Holding a Shell...
).
July to December
- 16 July – Robert MotherwellRobert MotherwellRobert Motherwell American painter, printmaker and editor. He was one of the youngest of the New York School , which also included Jackson Pollock, Mark Rothko, Willem de Kooning, and Philip Guston....
, American abstract expressionistAbstract expressionismAbstract expressionism was an American post–World War II art movement. It was the first specifically American movement to achieve worldwide influence and put New York City at the center of the western art world, a role formerly filled by Paris...
painterPaintingPainting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a surface . The application of the medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush but other objects can be used. In art, the term painting describes both the act and the result of the action. However, painting is...
and printmaker (b. 19151915 in art-Events:*Harper's Bazaar hires Erté to design its covers.*Ambrose Heal and others found the Design and Industries Association in London.*The only Vorticist exhibition is staged, at the Doré Gallery in London..-Works:*Frank Weston Benson - Red and Gold...
). - 30 August – Jean TinguelyJean TinguelyJean Tinguely was a Swiss painter and sculptor. He is best known for his sculptural machines or kinetic art, in the Dada tradition; known officially as metamechanics...
, SwissSwitzerlandSwitzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
painter and sculptor (b. 19251925 in art-Events:*Josef Albers marries Anni Fleischmann.*In Paris, the Ministry of Commerce and Industry sponsors the Exposition Internationale des Arts Décoratifs et Industriels Modernes from April through October; the event gives a name to the Art Deco style...
). - 14 September – Russell LynesRussell LynesRussell Lynes December 2, 1910 – September 14, 1991) was an American art historian, photographer, author and managing editor of Harper's Magazine....
, American art historian, photographer and author (b. 19101910 in art-Events:*Robert Delaunay marries Sonia Terk.*Bronze sculptor Robert Kionsek joins the Berlin workshop of Ferdinand Preiss to form the PK firm; the two men combine their specialties to produce sculptures in bronze and ivory.-Exhibitions:...
). - 27 October – Pyke KochPyke KochPyke Koch was a Dutch artist who painted in a magic realist style.He was born in Beek. He exhibited in the 25th Venice Biennale in 1950. His work was shown in a retrospective exhibition at the Gemeentemuseum, Arnhem in 1966, and in a solo exhibition at the Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam in 1972. He...
, Dutch painter (b. 19011901 in art-Works:*John Collier - In the Venusberg Tannhauser*Camille Pissarro - Hay Harvest at Éragny-January to June:*9 January - Chic Young, American cartoonist .*28 January - James Richmond Barthé, sculptor ....
). - 7 November – Tom of FinlandTom of FinlandTouko Laaksonen, best known by his pseudonym Tom of Finland was a Finnish artist notable for his stylized androerotic and fetish art and his influence on late twentieth century gay culture. He has been called the "most influential creator of gay pornographic images" by cultural historian Joseph W...
, Finnish fetish artist (b. 19201920 in art-Events:* The Cologne Dadaist group is formed by Jean Arp, Max Ernst and Alfred Grünwald.* Katherine Dreier, Man Ray and Marcel Duchamp form Société Anonyme.* Bernard Leach and Shoji Hamada set up the Leach Pottery in St Ives, Cornwall.-Works:...
). - 18 November – Reg ParlettReg ParlettReg Parlett was an artist from England. Born in London, his father Harry was also an artist, as would Reg's older brother George later be....
, English comics artist (b. 19041904 in art-Events:*Georges Braque leaves the Academie Humbert.*Mary Cassatt is awarded the Légion d'honneur by the French government for her services to the arts.-Works:-Paintings:*Lawrence Alma-Tadema - The Finding of Moses*Frederick McCubbin - The pioneer...
). - 21 November – Joseph DelaneyJoseph Delaney (artist)Joseph Delaney was an African American artist who became a part of the New York art scene at the time of the Harlem Renaissance....
, American painter (b. 19041904 in art-Events:*Georges Braque leaves the Academie Humbert.*Mary Cassatt is awarded the Légion d'honneur by the French government for her services to the arts.-Works:-Paintings:*Lawrence Alma-Tadema - The Finding of Moses*Frederick McCubbin - The pioneer...
). - 9 December – Gisèle LestrangeGisèle LestrangeGisèle Lestrange or Gisèle de Lestrange, and after marriage, Gisèle Celan-Lestrange was a French graphic artist....
, French graphic artist (b. 19271927 in art-Events:*Clarice Cliff introduces her 'Bizarre' pottery decoration.*Aristide Colotte opens his studio in Nancy, where he produces glasswork and carved crystal statues.-Awards:*Archibald Prize: George W...
). - 10 December – Greta KemptonGreta KemptonGreta Kempton born Martha Greta Kempton in Vienna, Austria. American artist. She served as the White House artist during the Truman administration....
, Austrian-American artist (b. 19011901 in art-Works:*John Collier - In the Venusberg Tannhauser*Camille Pissarro - Hay Harvest at Éragny-January to June:*9 January - Chic Young, American cartoonist .*28 January - James Richmond Barthé, sculptor ....
).