Monday, December 08, 2008

'Hearst the Collector'

Antonio Canova carved "Venus Italica" between 1804 and 1814. The "Hearst the Collector" exhibition at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art is showing about 150 artworks that once belonged to William Randolph Hearst.

The centerpiece is this mother-of-pearl box made in India and fitted in Paris with emeralds, agates and garnets, all set in crafted silver gilt mounts. It once belonged to King Francis I of France and is now in the Louvre. Hearst had sold it, along with half of his collection, when his businesses faced bankruptcy in the 1930s.

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