Live Auctioneers Half Year Results: Live Auctioneers claims 28% traffic growth in the first half of 2018; an increase of 37% more bids; an increase of more than 50,000 new bidders, on average, every month; web and mobile traffic of over 23 million visits, up 34%; over 133,000 consignments directed, an increase of more than 27%.

Invaluable Partners with Artmyn: Invaluable announced today that it would make Artmyn’s scanning technology free to auction houses that are exclusively on Invaluable’s platform:

• “Artmyn’s technology scans artworks and captures tens of thousands of photographs with different light sources and spectrums, including UV lights. The process generates a 5D interactive file and a short immersive video containing more than 1.5 billion pixels – offering owners, auction houses, consignors and buyers unparalleled views and feelings of texture for each scanned artwork.”

Brett Gorvy, Big Game Hunter, Discovers the Middle Market: There’s quite an odd preview piece in Bloomberg on Levy Gorvy’s upcoming Intimate Infinite show at its Madison Avenue location. Touted as a big show (nearly a hundred pictures) of small works curated by Brett Gorvy (you can see some previews of what will be on display on Gorvy’s active Instagram feed) or “small gems from key collections,” the article wanders off on a bizarre tangent discussing auction house margins. That’s a shame. The show seems intriguing but weighing the relative merits of an auction’s mix of property gives readers no good reason to see the show. On the business side, why a secondary market dealer’s curated show would have anything to do with how auction houses conduct their business and where they generate the best revenue isn’t explained in the article.  …

FIT’s Masters Program in Art Market Studies Is Looking for Qualified Instructors:  For a tenure-track position that begins in the Fall of 2019, the Fashion Institute of Technology is looking for qualified candidates to teach courses:

• “The Master of Arts program in Art Market Studies provides students with the knowledge and skills to successfully navigate the global art world. Graduates apply their passion for art and business acumen to a variety of roles-in commercial art galleries, auction houses, art fairs, museums, foundations, online platforms, and art appraisal firms. The first two semesters of the three-semester program feature intensive coursework in subjects ranging from art law to valuation to the history of contemporary art. The program culminates in a flexible and customizable third semester. In addition to a required internship, students may elect to complete an academic thesis or pursue additional business-oriented coursework. The curriculum strives to reflect the realities of the art market today by integrating interdisciplinary studies with practical experience, as well as by adopting an overt focus on contemporary art and a global perspective.” …

Sotheby’s Appoints Yasuaki Ishizaka Managing Director of Sotheby’s Japan: The former head of Sotheby’s Japan is returning to his post:

• “Ishizaka rejoins Sotheby’s from his eponymous art advisory business, which he launched in 2015.  From 2005 to 2014, Mr. Ishizaka was the President and Managing Director of Sotheby’s Japan, where he played a key role in driving the Company’s performance.  He has strong ties with major Japanese collectors, having introduced many of them to the auction world.” …

Christie’s Unveils Work Aiming for Most Valuable Ink Painting: Enid Tsui has word of next week’s unveiling in Hong Kong of Su Shi’s thousand-year-old Wood and Rock as “possibly the world’s rarest and most valuable Chinese painting”:

• “Some experts on Chinese painting believe Su’s work was sold to a Japanese buyer in the 1930s. There has been talk it could be worth HK$450 million (US$57 million); if Christie’s thinks it will break the record for the most expensive Chinese painting sold at auction, it needs to beat the 436.8 million yuan record set in 2010 by Huang Tingjian’s Dizhuming, also painted during the Song dynasty.” …

Corporate Museum in Tuscaloosa Closes: The Westervelt Company is closing its Tuscaloosa Museum of Art which housed the collection the corporation bought when Jack Warner, who died last year, was its CEO. The museum has been open since 2011 when The Westervelt Company consolidated its art holdings and created a museum on its premises.

• The Tuscaloosa Museum of Art was created after the company sold off core works from the collection, including Asher B. Durand’s “Progress (The Advance of Civilization),” Thomas Cole’s “The Falls of Kaaterskill,” Daniel Garber’s “Tanis,” a rare historical work by Edward Hopper, and Frederic Edwin Church’s “Above the Clouds at Sunrise” …

Smithsonian’s Sackler and Freer Galleries Get New Head, Chase Robinson: The president of the Graduate Center of the City University of New York, a Middle Eastern scholar, has been named the director of the Smithsonian’s Asian art museums”

• “Chase F. Robinson will begin his tenure on Dec. 10 as the director of the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery and the Freer Gallery of Art, the Smithsonian announced Tuesday. He succeeds Julian Raby, who retired in December after 15 years.”…