Spies paintings tightly guarded

Spies paintings tightly guarded

UBUD, Bali: Security authorities are keeping a close watch on
the ten paintings by Walter Spies now on display at the Seni
Agung Rai Museum.

The exhibition was opened by vice governor Ahim Abdurrahim on
Saturday. Dozens of painters and painting enthusiasts from
numerous countries attended the ceremony.

Exhibition officials said that the 24-hour security was a
necessary precaution in light of the growing popularity of the
German artist, who lived in Bali in the 1920s.

Agung Rai, who organized the exhibition in cooperation with
the Goethe Institute and the Indonesia Ministry of Education and
Culture, said he could not estimate the monetary value of works.

"His works are rare. His original paintings number only about
20 all over the world and have been widely reproduced," he said
as quoted by Antara.

Four of the paintings on display were from the collection of
the presidential palace in Jakarta. They are: Javanese Dancers in
the Ninth Century, Village Life in the Ninth Century, Morning in
Iseh, and The Hermit. (pan)