THERE’S SOMETHING deeply unsettling about navigating through the latest Louise Bourgeois exhibition, an experience that feels like trespassing in the late French-American artist’s psyche.

A five-decade survey that opened last week at the private Glenstone museum in the town of Potomac, Maryland, outside Washington, explores the breadth of deeply autobiographical, sexually-charged creations by this prolific artist, best known for her giant metal spider sculptures displayed around the world.

Traumatised as a child by her philandering father’s infidelities, including with her nanny, Bourgeois took a revenge of sorts with “The Destruction of the Father” (1974), her first large-scale installation.

A red-lit room lined in soft fabric suggests a womb-like bedroom-dining room, but also a crime scene.

“He Disappeared into Complete Silence” (19472005) is a limited edition book of 11 engravings./AFP

Abstract blobs represent children who have rebelled against their overbearing father, murdered him and eaten him up, his body reduced to lamb shoulders and chicken legs cast in soft plaster.

“So he was liquidated … the same way he had liquidated his children,” Bourgeois once said about the piece.

Nothing surprising, really, for someone who said “art is a guarantee of sanity”.

The ferocious aspects of Bourgeois’ femininity are on display in an untitled piece from 1996 that’s a macabre take on a mobile or clothing tree, with fine undergarments hanging from huge bones.

Jerry Gorovoy, Bourgeois’ long-time assistant who now leads the Easton Foundation dedicated to her life and work, recalled that the artist kept most of her old clothes – including from her childhood – and used them for her creations.

“Single I”, from 1996, is part of the Bourgeois collection at the Glenstone Museum/ AFP

“Ode a la Bievre” (2002), an embroidered book made of fabric pieces, pays tribute to the tannin-rich river that ran near the Bourgeois family’s tapestry-restoration workshop.

In “Cell (Choisy)” (1990-1993), Bourgeois placed a guillotine in front of a reproduction of her childhood home in hollow pink-yellow marble inside a metal enclosure lined with knocked out windows.

There are architectural qualities to “He Disappeared into Complete Silence”, a book of engravings and letterpress text Bourgeois first made in 1947, seen here in an edition she reworked through 2005.

“Je t’aime” (2005) is a series of 60 double-sided drawings./AFP

Various figures are represented as large, inhuman structures in a world where communication is often problematic.

On one page, a tall figure holds up a smaller one. Bourgeois’ accompanying parable: “Once a man was angry at his wife, he cut her into small pieces, made a stew of her. Then he telephoned to his friends and asked them for a cocktail-and-stew party. They all came and had a good time.”

Glenstone founders Mitch and Emily Rales amassed this varied assemblage of the artist’s works over just a few years.

Having an in-house collection has its advantages. Totem-like wood structures were drilled directly into the floor, as originally intended, rather than fixed on a metal base, as other museums have traditionally done.

Gorovoy calls Glenstone’s holdings of late pieces in particular “unparalleled”. “To take this in-depth trajectory is really significant,” he says.

There’s a series of six hand-coloured etchings, “I Give Everything Away”, that Bourgeois created in 2010, the year she died at age 98.

The elderly artist here made her final goodbyes with messages such as “I am packing my bags” in shaky handwriting alongside large images of people, plants and abstract forms.

After taking this journey, it’s a relief to step out into Glenstone’s carefully manicured landscape of rolling hills, meadows and woodlands, the air filled with birdsong and the sun-tinged fragrance of spring.

“Louise Bourgeois: To Unravel a Torment” continues through January 2020, with a temporary closure in September as Glenstone prepares to unveil on October 4 a stunning expansion that will make it America’s biggest private art museum.

Christie’s chalked up $1.79 billion in sales, including every single item from the iconic collection of the late David and Peggy Rockefeller which, for the first time, spread their flagship May sales across two weeks.

Sotheby’s sold $859 million, including $157.2 million for a Modigliani nude — the most expensive lot of the season, after Christie’s last November smashed records by selling a single Leonardo da Vinci for $450.3 million.

“It’s colossal. It really is huge and especially after the dip of 2016,” says Georgina Adam, author of the “Dark Side of the Boom: The Excesses of the Art Market in the 21st Century.”

“As long as the auction houses have really managed to do their marketing very well and reach a big audience of collectors, the top end of the market is still doing very well,” says Rachel Pownall, a professor of finance at Maastricht University School of Business and Economics.

Christie’s sold the Rockefeller collection for $832.5 million, breaking the previous record for most expensive private collection — that of Yves Saint Laurent and Pierre Berge which went for $484 million in 2009.

The Rockefellers’ jewels included a $115 million Picasso, the seventh most expensive artwork sold at auction, and new auction records for work by Claude Monet at $84.6 million and Henri Matisse at $80.7 million.

“The Rockefeller did have an influence. Those were very, very good works and they had this really fantastic provenance,” Adam said. “I think that sort of set the scene for the whole week.”

‘Diddy’ wins

The 21st century art market is a global one.

Christie’s said 38 countries and six continents took part in its Post-war and Contemporary Evening Sale, which scored seven world auction records for lesser-known artists such as Richard Diebenkorn and Joan Mitchell.

Sotheby’s sale of Kerry James Marshall’s “Past Times” for $21.1 million set a record for Marshall and any living African American artist. Rap mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs was identified as the buyer by Marshall’s dealer.

“There’s more diversity occurring in the market, which is great,” says Pownall. “If you’re finding more diversity in the buyers, then they’re also looking for more diversity in who they’re buying,” she added.

The super-rich invest in art as a status symbol but also to make money, hoping for big returns on their down payment.

The 1917 Modigliani “Nu Couche (sur le cote gauche)” for example, sold for $157.2 million but had been bought by its seller for $26.9 million in 2003.

“People who spend serious money on this generally didn’t become rich by being stupid,” says Jean-Paul Engelen, co-head of 20th-century and contemporary art at the much smaller auction house Phillips.

The US market is still the biggest, but new money from China is moving in and their aggressive bidding helps to push prices up.

Sotheby’s said a quarter of all works sold at its Impressionist and Modern Evening Sale were acquired by Asian private collectors. Christie’s said 40 percent of buyers at its own Modern Evening Sale were from Asia.

Trophy assets

Big names — namely Picasso, Monet and Van Gogh — are the most coveted, giving what Adam calls a “bragging aspect” to acquisitions.

“We have very, very rich people fighting over a few trophy assets, a few what they call ‘blue-chip’ artists,” she told AFP.

A strong market means improving supply, as sellers look to capitalize.

“We see… our clients responding to things that are completely fresh to the market, and that have been owned and loved for many, many years,” said Sara Friedlander, Christie’s head of postwar and contemporary art in New York.

“There’s tremendous appetite,” acknowledged Simon Shaw, co-head of impressionist and modern art at Sotheby’s.

But the market as a whole has deviated little over the last 10 years. While the top lots fetch astronomical prices, Adam warns the bottom is falling out of the $50,000-500,000 bracket.

Professional and banker buyers are being priced out, no longer able to afford the art they admire.

“We are seeing is the closure of the mid-market galleries and this is really quite serious,” she warned.

This year’s theme is “Art in the Sky” and the fair is expecting 30 leading galleries from Thailand, Japan, China, Malaysia, and the Philippines to attend.

Among the best-known participating artists is Spanish illustrator Joan Cornella Vazquez, who is recognised for his satirical humour towards the society. Among his w works is the mocking of North Korea’s leader Kim Jong-un in his selfie with a gun. His works have been exhibited around the world including at Art Basel and Miami, as well as in solo shows in Hong Kong, Seoul, and San Francisco. Another outstanding talent is the underwater photographer Suishi Niso from Tokyo. His works are well-known for their unique portrayals and their inspirations from Japanese fashion, manga and cosplay.

Last but not least is Niam (Surachai) Mawornkanong, an acrylic painter who views art as a therapy. His exhibition last year, “A place called Earth”, was an example of how creating art was the only way he felt he was communicating with somebody, relieving the pain he was going through and connecting with the world again.

There are also other international works to see from many leading galleries and artists around the world, such as the Clear Gallery Tokyo, the G13 Gallery in Malaysia, Joan Cornella in Spain, Peap Tarr & Lisa Mam in Cambodia, The Drawing Room of the Philippines, and WE Gallery in China. Participating local galleries are Atta Gallery, Number 1, Pomme Chan, De’Lapae Art Space Narathiwat, SAC Gallery Bangkok/ChiangMai, and The Danish Room by Norse Republics.

For details, go to the “Hotel Art Fair” page on Facebook.

Vira led a group of monks from Wat Phra Chetuphon Vimolmangklararm or Wat Pho, the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Thailand and Wat Pho’s lay minister Thapana Sirivadhanabhakdi, Thai Beverage Ltd Co’s CEO to the Vatican to strengthen the relationship between Buddhists and Catholic Christians.

“I offer you a warm welcome and I thank you for the precious gift of your Sacred Book translated into today’s language by the monks of Wat Pho Temple,” Pope Francis told the group. “It is a tangible sign of your generosity and of the friendship that we have shared for so many years, a journey made of many small steps.”

He added: “I think in particular of the meeting in the Vatican between Blessed Pope Paul VI and the Venerable Somdej Phra Wanaratana, whose portrait can be seen in the entrance of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue, which you have visited in these days.”

During a 1934 trip to Europe, King Rama VII presented a copy of the ancient Buddhist manuscript to Pope Pius XI. The manuscript is written in the ancient Khmer language.

“As the Vatican is planning to exhibit world manuscripts at the Vatican Museum, Pope Francis wanted to translate the manuscript into today’s Bali-Thai language,” said Vira.

The Pope last August asked Thailand’s Catholic Bishops to contact Wat Pho to request borrowing the manuscript so that it could be translated, said Vira.

Funded by ThaiBev, the project took almost a year to complete. The 186-page folding manuscript has six chapters accompanying colourful drawings.

A Dutch art expert revealed Tuesday that he has discovered a previously unknown portrait by Rembrandt, which he bought 18 months ago at a London auction for around 130,000 pounds  (148,00 euros).

Dating from about 1634, “Portrait of a Young Gentlemen” is the first unknown painting by the Dutch master to turn up in more than four decades and is likely worth millions.

It was bought in late 2016 by Dutch art dealer and expert Jan Six at a Christie’s auction in London.

“He knew instantly when he looked at it that it was a Rembrandt,” his spokeswoman Ronit Palache told AFP.

“He has a huge knowledge about Rembrandt, and has spent years and years researching him. So he was unbelievably excited and also afraid that everyone would see how excited he was.”

The painting has now been authenticated by other art historians, including another leading Dutch expert on Rembrandt, Ernst van der Wetering, she added.

It is undated and unsigned. And nothing is known about the painting’s history and provenance other than that before being auctioned it had belonged to a British noble family for about six generations.

The compelling portrait, which shows a young man dressed in a black cloak with a distinctive white lace ruffle staring out of the painting, will go on display for a month at the Hermitage Museum in Amsterdam from Wednesday.

The lace collar closely resembles others by Rembrandt, such as in the portraits of newly married couple Marten Soolmans, and Oopjen Coppit bought in 2015 for 160 million euros by France and the Netherlands in a joint purchase from the wealthy Rothschild family.

Art dealer Six, who has also written a book about his discovery, intends to sell the newly-found painting after it has been on display in Amsterdam.

But his spokeswoman refused to be drawn on how much it could fetch at auction, merely saying: “It will be more than 130,000 pounds.”

It is believed the painting is also part of a double portrait, but further investigation about the canvas’s history will be needed to solve the mystery, said Palache.

A collaboration between the BACC and the Performing Artists’ Network, the festival aims to promote performing arts as a bridge between artists and the public, as well as to encourage dialogue and the exchange of ideas between artists and audience.

This year’s event, which continues through December, will feature various types of performances from both local and international artists including live performances, a synthesis of music and drawing experience, workshops, film screening and symposium. Apart from performances, there will also be the artists’ talks and workshops on performing arts and dance. The highlights of this year’s festival include:

– The Bangkok International Children’s Theatre Festival 2018 by Arts on Location and Democrazy Theatre Studio, May 15-27

– The Retreat by Democrazy Theatre Studio, August 1-12

– “Make Love, Not War by Nuttamon Pramsumran, August 30-September 16

– Concerto for Piano and Charcoal by Montien Dept, September 28-30

– “20th Year Performance Practices Archive” Asiatopia International Performance Festival by ASIATOPIA Foundation, October 19-21

– Bangkok Theatre Festival 2018 by Bangkok Theatre Network, November 1–18

– International Dance Festival 2018 by Friends of the Arts Foundation, November 22 November–December 2

– Exodus the 13th International Butoh Festival Thailand 2018by B Floor Theatre December 7– 16

Find out more and join the conversation at http://www.Bacc.or.th and Facebook/baccpage.

MADSAKI (one name only, please) has a lovely smile – for an artist whose trademark is portraits of people weeping. Except that those might not be tears you see.

The Japanese painter-sculptor, in Bangkok last Tuesday for the opening of his exhibition “Combination Platter” at Central Embassy, won’t say what the “runny” eyes signify. He does the eyes with a blast of spray paint, the paint obeys the laws of gravity, and you get a trickle of pigment.

It’s up to the viewer how it’s interpreted, he says, and every interpretation is valid.

Madsaki stands with “Le Reve 2” (2017), offering no apologies at all to Picasso, the original dreamer./courtesy Galerie Perrotin

Madsaki is a rising star in contemporary art, having scored solo shows last year in Tokyo and Seoul and now coming to Bangkok for the first time – and with one massive new piece in tow that’s never been exhibited anywhere else.

This is a five-metre-tall “totem pole” of stacked cartoonish letters spelling out the artist’s name.

Madsaki’s totem pole is being shown for the first time anywhere right here in Bangkok.

Another highlight of the show is a 13-metre-wide painting crowded with his favourite cartoon characters, from the Simpsons and the South Park kids to Little Orphan Annie. Madsaki seems to be defying the laws of copyright with this one.

“It’s kind of a bizarre self-portrait,” he laughed. “This painting was first shown in Vancouver, Canada, and Bangkok is the first city in Asia to see it – it hasn’t even been seen in Japan yet.”

A 13-metre-wide painting from the series “The Character” illustrates the artist’s engagement with pop culture and its symbols.

The show’s title, “Combination Platter”, refers to the artist’s own culturally mixed upbringing, as well as being a nod to a popular choice on Chinese-food takeaway menus in America. Madsaki spent most of his youth in New York, where he graduated from the Parsons School of Design.

In the United States, the great “melting pot” of nationalities and cultures, he developed his street-art attitude and began questioning the premises by which art gains value. He mingles urban graffiti, Hollywood films and comic characters like Doraemon and SpongeBob Square Pants and forges cheeky replications of Picasso and Da Vinci masterpieces.

The result is a dialogue that complicates what initially seems familiar. These are spontaneous creations that mix cultural traditions and storytelling.

“Salvator Mundi 2” (2017) from the “Wannabe” series, which replicates and transforms some of history’s most famous paintings. 

One of Madsaki’s biggest fans is fellow Japanese Takashi Murakami, a relative giant in contemporary art who “fell for him” upon encountering the younger man’s art on Instagram. He bought dozens of his pieces for his personal “Superflat” collection and arranged for last year’s solo exhibition in Tokyo.

Murakami thinks Madsaki “may have bottomless talent”. Madsaki calls Murakami his master – and his boss.

In the “Movie” series, Madsaki extracts scenes from famous films.

WHAT’S THE DEAL WITH SCOOPING UP CLASSIC PAINTINGS AND FAMOUS CARTOON CHARACTERS FOR YOUR ORIGINAL PIECES?

I don’t see copying masterpieces and famous comic characters as insulting them at all, but rather as if I’m reinterpreting them as slang words. And I grew up in the US melting pot, where everything is flattened out to be the same, so I think, whether it’s Bugs Bunny or Picasso, it’s all the same.

IS IT HARDER TO EARN A LIVING AS AN ARTIST IN JAPAN OR IN THE STATES?

It’s hard in both places. In the States, if you throw a rock in any direction, you hit an artist. I understand the good and bad sides of both countries. I just pick the good sides and create my own style.

But, yes, it’s tough in both countries. I’m 44 years old. I started painting when I graduated, but my life only really began when I met Murakami two years ago, so before that I was a starving artist. That explains it all.

“Riders on the Storm” (2017), made with acrylic aerosol paint 

TELL US ABOUT THE NAME MADSAKI. IS THERE BOOZE IN THE STORY?

I worked as a bicycle messenger from 1999 to 2003 and after work every day my friends would say, “Let’s go drink mad sake!” [They meant drink a lot of sake.] And they’d say, “It is you, Madsaki!’ and I liked the name.

YOU TAKE A LOT OF INSPIRATION FROM THE MOVIES. WHICH ONE’S YOUR FAVOURITE?

The one I’ve watched most is “Goodfellas” by Martin Scorsese. I’ve seen it over 300 times. I did a painting of the scene where the main character gives his wife a gun.

TELL US ABOUT THE MAMMOTH PAINTING WITH ALL THE CARTOON CHARACTERS.

I grew up watching both Japanese and American cartoons, so I know all

the characters, like Big Bird from “Sesame Street”. That’s where I learned English.

In my painting, Big Bird has the F-word on a sign. He would never use that word, but I like them to do things they wouldn’t normally do. So it’s like a self-portrait in a bizarre way.

Madsaki explains that his name means exactly what you think it does.

DO YOU REPLICATE THE MASTERPIECES FROM MEMORY OR COPY FROM A PICTURE OF THE ORIGINAL?

I make a first draft copying the size and composition exactly. But when I start painting, it becomes my own. The cartoons are done the same way. When I draw, I do it perfectly, but when I’m painting and spraying, it’s just done messily.

There are plenty of artists who can copy masterworks much more beautifully than I can. I’m not interested in painting beautifully or nicely. To me, ugly is beautiful. The funny thing is that, whatever my teachers at univer

sity said I should or shouldn’t do, I always did exactly the opposite.

IS THERE A MESSAGE TO YOUR TRADEMARK TEARDROPS?

It’s just drips. You spray paint on the face and it drips. There is a message, but I would rather the viewers use their

imagination. My art is fun, and I want them to enjoy it.

WHAT FACIAL EXPRESSION IS THE MOST CHALLENGING TO PAINT WITH YOUR SPRAY DOTS?

The two eye-dots and the smiley smile look so easy, but they’re the hardest parts. I save them for last, because you really have to put some emotion into it.

If I’m not feeling anything, I can’t paint. I’ll set it aside for a week or two days, whatever. When I’m in the mood, I’ll do that and the outcome really depends on the mood. Normally, when I’m sad, it comes out quite good.

DO YOU EVER RUN OUT OF INSPIRATION?

If I do, I just go to sleep and say the hell with it. I became a messenger because I got sick of painting and wanted to forget all about art. I was riding a bicycle for eight or nine hours a day for three years, and then I went back to painting.

I take it easy. I’m serious about art, but not that serious. Everything I do, even if it’s not necessarily related to art, can somehow become an inspiration and motivation.

SOUVENIRS  FOR SANITY

While the exhibition continues (through June 3), the store Siwilai is selling limited-edition Madsaki tote bags,

T-shirts, ceramics and skateboard decks.

FEATURING more than 120 works from Singapore and Southeast Asia, the exhibition “(Re) collect: The Making of our Art Collection” showing through August 19 at the National Gallery Singapore paints its own picture of collecting and acquisition. The show peels back the layers of the untold stories behind the gallery’s collection and shows how it is continuing to evolve dynamically two years after opening its doors.

“With a collection of more than 8,600 visual artworks, the National Gallery Singapore continues to delve deep and uncover stories behind these works that are representative of the zeitgeist of the century,” says its director Eugene Tan.

“The diversity and inclusiveness characterise and differentiate our collection of Singapore and Southeast Asian works, opening up possibilities to connect artistic practices beyond national boundaries. This has allowed us to continue the endeavour in questioning and re-imagining what constitutes Southeast Asia through art, and through this come to understand our region’s heritage better. This would not be possible without the goodwill of the artists and private collectors who donated their precious works to us.”

Cheo Chai Hiang’s “And Miles to Go before I Sleep”, 1975 / courtesy of National Gallery Singapore

With seven different sections to the exhibition, visitors will be led on a journey that begins during post-war Singapore when art took a backseat to nation building. Here, they can witness the important milestones that led to the crystallisation of Singapore’s visual arts collection as well as how it developed as its custodianship shifted from the National Museum Art Gallery (NMAG) in 1976 to Singapore Art Museum in 1996 and to the present day National Gallery Singapore which opened in 2015.

The story begins when Dato Loke Wan Tho, a leading philanthropist, and co-founder of the Cathay Organisation, donated more than 110 works from his personal collection to Singapore in 1960, with the wish that they would eventually be housed in a new art gallery. This donation formed Singapore’s seedling collection of visual art, with the first registered artwork titled “Self-Portrait” by Chuah Thean Teng.

Georgette Chen’s “Family Portrait”, 1954 /courtesy of National Gallery Singapore​​​​​​​

Dato Loke’s wish came true with the opening of the National Museum Art Gallery, which marked a concerted effort by a state-level institution to collect and display works of art for the first time. Several works from NMAG’s inaugural exhibition donated by artists will be on display at the exhibition including “And Miles to Go before I Sleep” by Singaporean artist Cheo Chai Hiang, a conceptual work comprising found objects, among them a log and a wooden laundry board bearing an excerpt from a renowned poem by Robert Frost.

Other sections will highlight key characteristics of the gallery’s collection. They include works by Singapore’s artistic forerunners like Lim Hak Tai, Georgette Chen, Cheong Soo Pieng, as well as works engaging with aesthetics of ink painting by Lim Tze Peng, Chen Wen Hsi, Tan Oe Pang and Zao Wou-Ki. Also featured is the gallery’s new collecting focus on photography, a medium historically under-represented in the collection.

Thai artist Navin Rawanchaikul’s installation of 11 towers consists of 11,000 medical bottles /courtesy of National Gallery Singapore

Support from private donors, organisations, artists, artists’ estates and families through artwork donations, as well as the gallery’s Art Adoption and Acquisition (AAA) Programme, is critical to the building of the collection. This is highlighted through the gallery’s collection of Georgette Chen’s artworks and personal documents, built up over the years by donations and the Lee Foundation. A part of this collection is on display in the exhibition, including Chen’s Family Portrait. The names of more than 400 past artwork donors and participants of the AAA programme are acknowledged in this exhibition, which demonstrates the tremendous level of support received in building the collection.

Visitors can also look forward to getting up close to recent important acquisitions by the gallery, among them Singaporean artist Kim Lim’s “Abacus” (1959), “Pegasus” (1962) and “Naga” (1984), which will be shown together for the first time; as well as early works by Malaysian artist Latiff Mohidin, who recently became the first Southeast Asian artist to have a solo exhibition at Centre Pompidou’s In-Focus Gallery as part of National Gallery Singapore’s inaugural travelling show.

Rirkrit Tiravanija’s untitled work, 2014-2017 /courtesy of National Gallery Singapore

In the final section of the exhibition, visitors will be able to explore the selective approach to collecting contemporary art. The gallery’s focus on drawing historical paths between works in the collection is manifested through a display of three major works by Thai artists of varying cultural backgrounds and generations – Montien Boonma, Navin Rawanchaikul and Rirkrit Tiravanija. Navin’s stirring installation of 11 towers consists of 11,000 medical bottles, half of them containing black and white photographs of the elderly, which the artist painstakingly documented.

“This is our first attempt at coming face-to-face with the history of our collection. Our aim is to make the collecting history and acquisition practice by the Gallery more visible to the public. As a custodian of the world’s largest collection of 19th and 20th century art of Southeast Asia, we have an important responsibility to conduct research into our collection, understand where we come from, and identify the ways in which we can build the collection further for generations to come. We hope that this exhibition will enable a deeper appreciation of our National Collection and inspire interests in the layers of histories, memories and current practices that inform the building of a collection. The display complements our long-term exhibitions at the DBS Singapore Gallery and UOB Southeast Asia Gallery,” says exhibition curator Horikawa Lisa.

The exhibition continues until August 19 at the Singtel Special Exhibition Gallery B and C of the National Gallery Singapore.

For more information, visit http://www.NationalGallery.sg

The Culture Ministry’s National Archives will for the first time display a collection of century-old royal photographic glass-plate negatives and original prints recording the old Siam.

The collection was last December designated as a “Memory of the World” by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (Unesco).

The show, entitled “Celebrating the National Glass Plate Negatives Recognised as a Unesco Memory of the World” will take place at the National Gallery from May 25 to July 26. Funded by Thai Beverage Public Co Ltd, the Bt4-million-show is being curated by veteran photographer Nitikorn Kraivixien of ThaiBev. Nitikorn annualy handles HRH Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn’s photography show at the Bangkok Art and Culture Centre.

The exhibition will feature 150 reprinted photographs in various sizes spread over eight rooms. Displayed from ceiling to floor, with some images as tall as 1.5 metres, the show aims to make historic Siam come to life. Samples of the original glass-plate negatives will also be on display.

The show will look at old Siam through eight lenses: Siam through glass-plate negatives, national symbols, royal ceremonies and historical events, the Kingdom’s development, culture and tradition, historic places, influential people, and Siam and the world.

The Unesco website trumpets the Collection for documenting the important transformations underway in Siam at a time of massive worldwide change – from the era of the West’s colonisation of Asia, through the years of World War I, and the aftermath of the war as it affected Siam and led to the dawn of a constitutional monarchy.

Stored at the National Archive, the Royal Collection holds almost 35,427 glass plate negatives and 50,000 prints, covering a long and continuous period from 1855-1935.

The collection was previously preserved in the three separate royal libraries of their original owners – King Chulalongkorn, King Vajiravudh and Prince Damrong Rajanubhab, King Mongkut’s son. In 1977, they were given over to the care of the National Archive in Bangkok. To date, 24,800 plates have been scanned for digital use, and 4,149 plates have been included in the national database.

The Royal Collection is the fifth heritage archives from Thailand recognised by Unesco.

The figure eclipsed the previous record held by the collection of Yves Saint Laurent and Pierre Berge which sold for $484 million in 2009.

Coming after the extraordinary $450 million sale last November of Leonardo da Vinci’s “Salvator Mundi,” also at Christie’s, there had been some speculation that the billion dollar threshold could be crossed by this sale.

Organized over 10 days, including online sales, it nonetheless broke numerous records, testament to the rude health of the global art market.

The collection’s crown jewel was auctioned Tuesday for $115 million, the sixth most expensive ever sold: Pablo Picasso’s “La fillette a la corbeille fleurie,” a part of the Rockefeller Collection since 1968.

Claude Monet’s “Nympheas en fleurs” fetched $84.6 million, a new record for the French impressionist master, surpassing a previous high of $81.4 million.

The auction also saw a record breaking sale for Henri Matisse’s “Odalisque couchée aux magnolias,” which went for $80.7 million.

Latin American art meanwhile also hit a new peak with the sale of Diego Rivera’s “Los Rivales” for $9.7 million, a new record for art from the region.

David Rockefeller, the grandson of the legendary magnate John Rockefeller, died last year aged 101, more than 20 years after the death of his wife Peggy.

He had embraced his family’s tradition of philanthropy and inherited his taste in art from his mother, who co-founded New York’s Museum of Modern Art.

The proceeds will go to a series of nonprofit organizations, including David Rockefeller’s alma mater Harvard University, as well as Maine National Park, which was beloved by the family and to which he donated a thousand acres for his 100th birthday.