BERNINI SCULPTURE GIVEN TO ART GALLERY OF ONTARIO

Martin Knelman of the Toronto Star reports that, after two years of intrigue, poker-faced negotiating, and scholarly sleuthing, the Art Gallery of Ontario has been given a full-length, life-size crucifixion sculpture by Gian Lorenzo Bernini. Called Corpus, the work is a gift of the Frum family. Cast in 1650, it is said to be worth fifty million dollars in the current art market. Bernini, generally considered the greatest sculptor of the seventeenth century, created it for himself and held on to it for twenty-five years. Murray Frum, the Toronto developer, art collector, and AGO board member who bought the piece from a US dealer, turned it over to the AGO as a gift from his family. “It’s a thrilling moment for us,” says Matthew Teitelbaum, CEO of the gallery. “We’ve decided not to wait for our reopening after the Gehry transformation. Instead, we will include it in a show we are doing this summer.”