In a crazy blend of art, rock ‘n’ roll, and motorcycling history, Bonhams|Cars is gearing up to unveil a show-stopping duo at The Amelia Island Auction on February 29th: a bespoke ‘Elvis Presley’ Triumph Bonneville motorcycle and a matching Gibson Les Paul Guitar. And it’s all for a good cause!

Estimating a value between $12,000 to $16,000, the star-studded lot is not just a collector’s dream but also a philanthropic endeavor. The proceeds will be channeled to The Elvis Presley Charitable Foundation, an organization perpetuating the generous spirit of the King of Rock and Roll in the Memphis community.

Crafted by the talented hands of award-winning custom artist J Daar, the Triumph Bonneville T120 stands as a homage to the iconic ‘Memphis Mafia’ Triumphs and the Bonneville Desert Sled featured in the 1968 cinematic gem “Stay Away, Joe”.

Adorned in hues of red, silver, and gold reminiscent of Elvis’ iconic 1968 Comeback Special look, this motorcycle oozes with style and nostalgia. Unveiled at the esteemed 2023 Barber Vintage Festival, the bike has since been a cherished exhibit at the Presley Motors Automobile Museum at Graceland.

Elvis Presley’s love affair with motorcycles is legendary. It all began in 1965 during a break from filming when he took a spin on his friend Jerry Schilling’s Triumph T120 Bonneville. So captivated was he that he promptly ordered seven more for his inner circle, the ‘Memphis Mafia’, igniting a night of rebellious camaraderie around the streets of Bel Air.

Accompanying this two-wheeled masterpiece is a custom Les Paul Guitar, courtesy of Gibson, also bearing J Daar’s artistic touch. Inspired by Elvis’ ’68 Comeback Special rehearsals, where he famously gifted a Les Paul to his chef, this instrument adds a melodic note to the charitable offering.

“We are thrilled to partner with the legendary brand Triumph to breathe life into this unique Bonneville T120 while supporting one of Elvis’ cherished causes,” expressed Dana Carpenter, Executive Vice President of Entertainment at Authentic Brands Group, custodians of Elvis Presley Enterprises. “The addition of a custom Les Paul from our friends at Gibson further enriches Elvis’ legacy of generosity and community.”

With its striking design and rich history, this auction presents a rare chance to own a piece of Elvis Presley’s legacy, all while contributing to a noble cause. Whether you’re a die-hard fan or a philanthropic soul, this dynamic duo promises to hit all the right chords in the hearts of enthusiasts and benefactors alike.

Bonhams|Cars uniquely offers a choice of live, online and private platforms for buying and selling collector cars—platforms characterized by levels of trust, reliability, and transparency born of over three decades of experience as the premier automotive auction house. Through prestigious live auctions around the world, 24/7 online auctions, and our recently introduced Private Sales service, Bonhams|Cars makes it simple for buyers and sellers to find the platform that best meets their needs.

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The post Custom ‘Elvis Presley’ Triumph Motorcycle and Guitar Hit Auction Block for Charity appeared first on World Art News.

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Frans Hals, a virtuoso at the Rijksmuseum

From 16 February to 9 June 2024, the Rijksmuseum presents “Frans Hals”, an exhibition of some 50 of the Dutch master painter’s greatest works, many on loan from top international collections.

Source: Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam · Image: Frans Hals, “The Lute Player”, ca. 1623. Musée du Louvre.

Following monographic exhibitions devoted to Rembrandt (in 2015 and 2019) and Vermeer (in 2023), the Rijksmuseum is now staging its first major exhibition devoted to Frans Hals. This is the first exhibition of his work on such a scale since the 1989-1990 show which visited The Royal Academy of Arts, London, the Frans Hals Museum, Haarlem, and The National Gallery of Art, Washington.

The 50 works in this exhibition testify to the aim of Frans Hals (Antwerp 1582/1584 – Haarlem 1666) to convincingly portray his subjects as living, breathing, kinetic individuals. To this end, Hals deliberately and boldly pursued a unique personal style that was utterly original in the context of 17th-century Dutch painting. He used his quick and lively brushwork style to imbue his subjects with an unprecedented level of dynamism. The exhibition will also dig deeper into the identities and social milieus of the people Hals painted, bringing them even more to life. Malle Babbe, for example, is believed to have been a familiar figure on the streets of Hals’s home city of Haarlem, while the man portrayed in Peeckelhaering was probably an English actor touring the Netherlands with a theatre group.

Frans Hals’s original style and technique earned him a reputation in his own time as a virtuoso, a status equalled only by the likes of Rembrandt in the Netherlands and Velázquez in Spain. He was an in-demand portraitist among the wealthy citizenry of Haarlem and other cities in the region. Over the course of the 18th century, however, Hals’s work gradually fell into obscurity. It wasn’t until the 19th century that French art critic and journalist Théophile Thoré-Bürger (1807–1869) rediscovered his work, as well as that of Vermeer. Until the 1960s, Frans Hals was regarded as one of the ‘big three’ of 17th-century Dutch painting, alongside Rembrandt and Vermeer. Later, however, interest in the artist waned significantly – reason enough for the Rijksmuseum, The National Gallery, London, and Gemäldegalerie, Berlin, to place him on the highest possible pedestal and to show how truly boundary-breaking he was as an artist.

The artist’s expressive, gestural brushwork has always been seen as the most distinctive quality of his art, and he can justifiably be described as the forerunner of Impressionism. Hals’s virtuosic style influenced fellow artists Gustave Courbet, Édouard Manet, James McNeil Whistler, Claude Monet, Max Liebermann, Vincent van Gogh, John Singer Sargent and others. Almost all of them visited Haarlem to admire his portraits of individuals and civil militia groups.

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