The artist's 36-minute film, ‘Moving Picture (946-3) Kyoto Version (2019–24)’, is currently on show at Gagosian
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2024 SECA Art Award Exhibition at the SFMOMA
From December 14, 2024, to May 25, 2025, the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA) presents the 2024 SECA Art Award Exhibition.
Source: San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA) · Image: The San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA) as seen from Yerba Buena Gardens · Image by Beyond My Ken, licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International, 3.0 Unported, 2.5 Generic, 2.0 Generic and 1.0 Generic license · retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:2017_SFMOMA_from_Yerba_Buena_Gardens.jpg
Rose D’Amato (b. 1991, Whittier, CA) is a pinstriper and painter living and working in San Francisco, CA. As a second-generation sign maker, she is drawn to decorative folk arts, hand-lettering, and the iconic imagery tied to her upbringing and direct experience pinstriping and lettering on lowriders. She is motivated by her intention to learn and implement techniques of handmade modes of production and by doing so explore her artistic lineage. She attended the San Francisco Art Institute and received a BFA in painting in 2016 and afterwards apprenticed and worked at New Bohemia Signs. D’Amato continues to work independently as a painter and has been the Adjunct Professor of Hand lettering at California College of the Arts since 2019. Currently, she is the Headlands Center for the Arts Tournesol Awardee for 2023–2024. She is currently working towards upcoming projects at Gallery 16, BAMPFA, Charlie James Gallery and House of Seiko.
Angela Hennessy is an Oakland–based artist and survivor of gun violence. She constructs sculptures and installations with everyday domestic labor—washing, wrapping, stitching, knotting, brushing, and braiding. Her work has been featured in exhibitions at McEvoy Foundation for the Arts, Museum of the African Diaspora, Oakland Museum of California, and Pt. 2 Gallery, and is in the collections of the de Young Museum and the Crocker Art Museum. Her audio guides, meditations, and poems have been featured at San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, de Young Museum, and SOMArts Gallery. Hennessy holds an MFA from California College of the Arts where she teaches courses on contemporary narratives of death. For many years she served as a hospice volunteer and death doula working with families on home funerals, death vigils, and grief rituals. She has received awards from San Francisco Artadia, Svane Family Foundation, Joan Mitchell Foundation, and the Fleishhacker Foundation. Hennessy is on the advisory board of Recompose Seattle and lectures nationally on aesthetic and social practices that mediate the boundary between the living and the dead.
Rupy C. Tut (b. 1985, Chandigarh, India) studied calligraphy and Traditional Indian painting at the Prince’s Foundation School of Traditional Arts, London in 2016. She previously received a BS from UCLA and MPH from Loma Linda University, CA. She has enjoyed solo exhibitions including at ICA San Francisco; Jessica Silverman, San Francisco; Triton Museum of Art, Santa Clara, CA; and Peel Art Gallery and Museum Archives, Ontario. Tut’s work is in the permanent collection of Crocker Art Museum, Sacramento; the de Young, Fine Arts Museum of San Francisco; Asian Art Museum, San Francisco; and Eiteljorg Museum, Indianapolis, IN. She lives and works in Oakland, CA, and is represented by Jessica Silverman, San Francisco.
The new contract raises the base hourly wage and reinstates a pre-pandemic retirement programme
BY ALBERT CHEN
A masterpiece by the celebrated 19th-century Italian painter Francesco Hayez has shattered expectations at Christie’s Old Masters Evening Sale in London, setting a new world auction record for the artist. Bathsheba, an evocative oil painting dating back to 1827, sold for an astonishing £1,492,000 ($1,893,348 / €1,799,352), nearly doubling its pre-sale estimate of £600,000–£800,000.
This extraordinary result was part of a highly successful auction that realized a total of £13,990,200 ($17,753,564 / €16,872,181), marking one of Christie’s most lucrative Old Masters sales to date. The sale boasted a 98% sell-through rate by value, the highest ever achieved for Christie’s London in this category. Maja Markovic, Head of Old Masters Evening Sale, expressed her excitement: “This auction far exceeded expectations, with strong interest from institutions, private collectors, and trade clients alike. It’s a testament to the enduring appeal of rarity, provenance, and artistic innovation across centuries.”
A Rediscovered Masterpiece with Royal Provenance
Bathsheba is hailed not only for its technical brilliance but also for its storied provenance. The painting was first acquired directly from Hayez by King William I of Württemberg at the 1827 exhibition at Milan’s Brera Academy. According to Hayez’s memoirs, the king, captivated by the painting’s beauty and mastery, paid the artist’s full asking price on the spot.
After passing through royal collections and private hands over the centuries, the work resurfaced in 1998, when its rediscovery was lauded by renowned Hayez scholar Fernando Mazzocca as “one of the most sensational rediscoveries in the history of 19th-century Italian art.”
This sale reaffirms Bathsheba’s status as a cornerstone of Hayez’s early career. As the first of three paintings the artist created on this biblical subject, it showcases his innovative approach to the female nude. Combining Renaissance-inspired naturalism with Neoclassical ideals of beauty, Hayez imbued Bathsheba with sensuality and psychological depth, elevating the subject far beyond mere narrative.
The Allure of Bathsheba
The painting captures the pivotal moment in the biblical tale when King David, visible in the background, first gazes upon the bathing Bathsheba. Yet, the narrative takes a backseat to the painting’s stunning artistry. Rendered in luminous tones, Bathsheba’s pale skin contrasts dramatically with the dark background, drawing attention to the graceful curves of her body. Her intelligent, alert gaze meets the viewer’s, creating a sense of immediacy and intimacy. The golden bangle that slightly tightens around her upper arm adds a subtle, tactile realism, underscoring Hayez’s commitment to naturalistic detail.
In his memoirs, Hayez described Bathsheba as an experimental work, painted not on commission but as an exercise in large-scale nude composition. It was also an opportunity for the artist to merge influences from Old Masters like Titian and Giulio Romano with the ideals of his time. While the biblical theme provided a moral justification for public display, the painting was, above all, a groundbreaking exploration of sensuality and naturalism.
A Historic Night for Christie’s
The sale of Bathsheba capped an evening that also featured other extraordinary works, including Anthony van Dyck’s Two-Sided Andalusian Horse and a Wooded Landscape. The results reinforce the enduring appeal of Old Masters in the modern market, especially when combined with impeccable provenance and fresh-to-market appeal.
As Classic Week at Christie’s continues, collectors and institutions alike remain captivated by the timeless allure of works like Hayez’s Bathsheba—masterpieces that transcend their centuries to speak to the universal themes of beauty, power, and desire. For Christie’s, and for the art world at large, the sale of Bathsheba is not only a historic moment for Hayez’s legacy but also a reaffirmation of the enduring power of Old Masters to inspire awe, even in a modern era.
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Monet’s Masterpiece Smashes Records at Christie’s with a Staggering $74,010,000 Sale
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