Celebrities and Contemporary Art
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The concept of contemporary art basically means art that’s relatively new. In this case, most art collectors consider the period from the 1960′s until now to be contemporary art, which would include people like Andy Warhol, Mark Titchner and Tim Hawkinson, but some will include earlier pieces from the 1930′s through the present as well.
Usually newer art doesn’t get as much attention as what came centuries earlier, but these days not only is it getting great attention, it’s worth a lot. And with that comes those with celebrity who find their way into the art collector world, sometimes in extremes.
The most recent news comes from Russia where steel magnate Roman Abramovich has actually purchased an island housing an old Russian military base for around $250 million with plans to build his own contemporary art museum. It’s unsure how many pieces he has, but it would be extremely odd for him to go to this length if he didn’t have a substantial collection.
But he wouldn’t be alone. Elton John is known to have a very extensive contemporary art collection that includes pieces from Warhol, Helmut Newton, and David Hockney, as well as one of the largest photography collections in the world that he splits between all of his residences. Neil Patrick Harris also has an extensive collection throughout his Los Angeles mansion, and often opens it up for viewing whenever he’s supporting a charity with works of Andrew Sendor and Tony Payne. And early in 2010, Gap founders Don and Doris Fisher showed a lot of generosity by donating around 1,100 contemporary art pieces to the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art to help it become one of the top museums in the world.
For the most part celebrities just love collecting contemporary art for their own purposes, and obviously it extends beyond just painting. Tobey Maguire is known throughout Hollywood as an extensive collector for many years. Jennifer Aniston not only collects paintings but also has a nice collection of glass works. Val Kilmer not only loves sculpture, he’s also been working on a sculpture park in New Mexico to exhibit his collection.
And that’s not all. Many celebrities are creating their own works as well and many have been sold for big dollars. Dennis Hopper was known for his photography collection and had raised a lot of money for charity before passing away in 2010. Ron Wood of the Rolling Stones is a contemporary artist as well. Leonard Nimoy is known as a great contemporary photographer, especially after the release of his collection of zaftig women called The Full Body Project. Even Frank Sinatra, ol’ blue eyes himself, was a contemporary artist, creating a series of lithographs that are still very popular.
It’s no wonder that celebrities of today would be champions for the art of their time period. The same thing happened with art from the past as well. Everyone knows what they like, and celebrities have the funds to purchase as much of it as they can. Whether they’re buying it or creating it, celebrities and contemporary art go together very well
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