May 20, 2001
CONTENTS:
- "Mrs. Barry" by Gilbert Stuart
- Disabled rights group backs curator’s claim
- The Art Trade Cleans Up Its Act
From: Jonathan Sazonoff saz@kwom.com
Subject: "Mrs. Barry" by Gilbert Stuart
Dear Subscribers,
I wonder if anyone on the list has heard of this Gilbert Stuart painting? I promised the writer that I'd forward this note to the list. I'm quite sure she would appreciate any response.
From: "Brownie MacKie" BMacKie1@compuserve.com
A portrait of Johanna (Joanna) Gould Barry of Washington, DC was done by Gilbert Stuart about the same time Stuart al so painted James Barry and their two daughters, Ann and Mary, 1803-05. The portrait was left to my ggg grandfather, James D. Barry in Johanna's will in 1811. James D., however, did not possess the portrait, as his brother, Robert, the rascal, absconded with the painting to Tenerife or Madeira under the pretense of restoring and reframing the portrait. The portrait apparently was never recovered.
The portraits of Ann and Mary are in storage at the Nat'l Gallery of Art in DC. I am curious as to the location of Johanna's portrait and wonder if anyone knows about it. I have done as much research on the internet as I can.
Sincerely,
Lu B. MacKie
BMacKie1@compuserve.com
Disabled rights group backs curator’s claim
Kate Foster
(kfoster@scotsman.com)
THE Disability Rights Commission is to fund a landmark industrial tribunal against the National Museums of Scotland which is being taken out by one of the most distinguished military historians in the country.
Stephen Wood, a former senior curator of the National War Museum, is claiming unfair dismissal and disability discrimination. He was made redundant after a period of sickness brought on by what he says is work-related depression. A stress audit of staff was carried out at the NMS last year.
full story:
http://www.thescotsman.co.uk/scotland.cfm?id=73631
The Art Trade Cleans Up Its Act
By PETER WATSON
LONDON -- This is not the best of times for auction houses. Sir Anthony Tennant, chairman of Christie's in the early 1990s, and Alfred Taubman, chairman of Sotheby's until he resigned last year, were indicted earlier this month for price fixing. Diana D. Brooks, chief executive of Sotheby's until she resigned along with Mr. Taubman, has pleaded guilty to a similar charge. It does seem to be a dirty business.
But not all is gloom on the moral front. The sorry trade in looted antiquities, for example, is now not quite so sorry. Following a scandal in 1997, when it was shown that Sotheby's in Britain had links with smugglers in Italy and India, the company closed three departments in London and terminated its antiquities auctions there.
full story:
http://www.nytimes.com/2001/05/19/opinion/19WATS.html