Art Industry News: Opponents of the Frick’s Expansion Want the Museum to Buy Jeffrey Epstein’s Townhouse Instead + Other Stories

Art Industry News is a daily digest of the most
consequential developments coming out of the art world and art
market. Here’s what you need to know on this Tuesday, January
21.

NEED-TO-READ

Erie Art Museum Searches for an
Interim Director – After
the dismissal of the
Erie Art Museum’s director, Joshua Helmer, following allegations of sexual harassment,
board member Diana Denniston has agreed to take on a more active
role in the museum’s day-to-day operations while it looks for an
interim executive director. In a statement, the board of directors
says a committee has been formed to begin the search process. “This
is not an issue that should be rushed,” they write, adding that it
expects that the process of recruiting a new executive director
will take much longer as they will seek advice from consultants,
professionals, and the community. “The Erie Art Museum is more than
just one man,” the statement says. (Facebook)

Fewer Students Are Studying Art History in the UK
– The number of first-year students in the UK who
choose to study art history has fallen 28.5 percent over the past
decade, according to new figures released by the UK’s Higher
Education Statistics Agency. Other humanities subjects, including
classics and archaeology, also saw a decline, while business,
agriculture, and medicine—which students believe offer better
opportunity for employment—grew in popularity. (The Art
Newspaper)

Critics Want the Frick to Buy Epstein’s Mansion –
Preservationists have come up with
a somewhat radical proposal that would allow the Frick Collection
to expand without altering its beloved Upper East Side facility:
buying the late Jeffrey Epstein’s $77 million mansion across the
street. “The fact that it’s so convenient to the museum means that
the Frick could potentially lay Jeffrey Epstein’s name to rest by
purchasing it and changing the function,” said Theodore Grunewald,
who has been fighting the Frick’s controversial $160 million
revamp alongside advocacy groups Save the Frick and
Stop Irresponsible Frick Development for years. There’s just one
problem: the Frick isn’t having it. The Frick’s deputy director
said the proposal is not a “functional solution.”
(New York Daily
News, Architect’s
Newspaper)

Wreck of the Titanic Will Be
Protected by New Treaty – The US government has ratified a treaty that
gives it and the UK government the power to control entry to the
famous wreck and limit the removal of artifacts from the site.
Although the Titanic lies in international waters, 350 nautical
miles off the Canadian coast, the UK and US governments have each
passed laws granting them the right to issue licenses to divers to
enter the ship or remove items
scattered on the sea bed. Both countries now want Canada to sign on to
the agreement, too. (Press release)

ART MARKET

San Francisco’s Fairs Highlight Its Wealth Inequality
– The 2020 editions of the
FOG Design+Art and
Untitled fairs highlighted the widening wealth gap in San
Francisco, according to Leora Lutz. While major international
galleries, including Gagosian and David Zwirner, took part in FOG,
some smaller and medium-sized spaces based in the city opted out,
choosing to spent their modest budgets on events like talks or
gallery-share initiatives that aim to nurture young
collectors. (TAN)

Valuable Rediscovered Painting Leaves the UK –
An 18th-century work by the artist
Joseph Wright of Derby is headed to the J. Paul Getty Museum in Los
Angeles after UK museums failed to raise the requisite funds to
keep it in the country. The government had placed an export bar
on Two Boys with a
Bladder, which is valued
at £3.5 million ($4.6 million), after the American museum bought it
at TEFAF Maastricht last year. (TAN)

TEFAF Boss Departs – Patrick van Maris,
the president and CEO of the European Fine Art Fair, is leaving his
post after five years. During his tenure, he oversaw TEFAF’s
expansion to New York with two fairs held annually at the Park
Avenue Armory. He will remain in his role until May 2020. (TAN)

COMINGS & GOINGS

BBC Head Will Chair the National Gallery – The director general of the BBC, Tony Hall, is
leaving his broadcast job to take over as chair of London’s
National Gallery. Hall
succeeds the interim chair Sir John Kingman, who has been holding
down the fort since Hannah Rothschild stepped back in September.
(Variety)

Bode Museum Thieves Face Up to Seven Years in Prison –
A German public prosecutor is
pushing for a seven-year prison sentence for two of the men accused
of stealing a
multimillion-dollar gold coin from Berlin’s Bode Museum in
2017, with six- and
five-year sentences recommended for the other two accused. The
defense lawyers for the group, who range in age from 21 to 25, are
due to speak on January 27, with a verdict handed down on February
20. (Monopol)

Vancouver Art Gallery Receives a Major Gift –
The art collectors Claudia Beck and
Andrew Gruft have donated 36 works to the Vancouver Art Gallery,
including significant photographs by 19th-century photographers
Hilla Becher and Alfred Stieglitz. To date, the couple has gifted
552 works to the institution. (Artforum)

FOR ART’S SAKE

Israeli Museum Cancels Talk by Palestinian Artist
– The University of Haifa
in Israel has condemned the decision made by a museum on campus to
cancel an artist talk because the artist identifies as Palestinian.
The Hecht Museum axed the appearance by Saher Miari on the grounds
that it would not conform with the politics of the foundation that
runs the art institution. Denouncing the move, the university held
the talk at another venue on campus. (Haaretz)

See Tadao Ando’s Newest Museum in China – The Pritzker Prize-winning architect Tadao
Ando’s firm has released new images of the design for southern
China’s He Art Museum, which is slated to open on March 21. The
inaugural exhibition, called “From The Mundane World,” is a group
show organized by leading Chinese independent curator Feng Boyi.
(ArchDaily)

Honolulu Biennial Becomes a Triennial – The Honolulu Biennial Foundation has announced
that the exhibition will move toward a triennial format and will
now open in February 2022. Ahead of its first edition as a
triennial, the foundation will present a preview symposium in
February 2021. The next edition will be curated by Melissa Chiu,
the director of the Hirshhorn Museum.  (Press release)

See Judy Chicago’s Feminist Banners for Dior –
The feminist artist Judy Chicago
designed the set for the Dior Couture’s Spring-Summer 2020 show at
the Musée Rodin during Paris Fashion Week. Her set includes large
banners embroidered with questions about the role and power of
women, beginning with “What If Women Ruled the World?
(Instagram)

The post Art Industry News: Opponents of the Frick’s
Expansion Want the Museum to Buy Jeffrey Epstein’s Townhouse
Instead + Other Stories appeared first on artnet
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