Art Industry News: One of the World’s Most Famous and Beloved Paintings Is Starting to Fade Away + Other Stories

by admin

Feb 10, 2020

artnet

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, February
10.

NEED-TO-READ

Ella Fontanals-Cisneros Withdraws Big Gift to Spain –
The collector had planned to gift
400 works by Latin American artists to Spain, but withdrew the
donation after having a falling out with its new culture minister.
Ella Fontanals-Cisneros took exception to the government’s querying
which works would be part of the gift, as well as its decision not
to put them in a museum but in an exhibition space. The Cuban-born
philanthropist says the proposed home of her donation, a former
tobacco factory in Madrid, was a “disastrous”
venue. (ARTnews)

Does the Met Own a Nazi-Looted Painting? –
The Met is belatedly researching
the provenance of an Old Master painting it acquired in 1984. New
research into court records shows it could have been sold under
duress by the mother of a German Jewish art dealer who was forced
to flee Nazi Germany. Siegfried Aram tried unsuccessfully to
reclaim The Rape of
Tamar (ca. 1640),
attributed to Eustache Le Sueur, after World War II but it remained in the
family of the German businessman Oskar Sommer. When his family sold
it at Christie’s London they omitted any mention of Aram’s legal
claim. (New York
Times)

Here’s Why The Scream Is Fading – Why are the
angsty oranges and yellows of Edward Munch’s most famous painting
now white? Scientists are examining the work to try to understand
the causes, and to learn more about the transformation of pigments
over time. In the case of The Scream, it turns out
that nanocrystals are growing on the painting, which is not good
news. There is serious degradation near the figure’s mouth, in the
skies, and on the water. (NYT)

‘Parasite’ Makes Oscars History – The South Korean film Parasite scooped up four Academy Awards. The
first non-English language film to
win the best picture Oscar features a suseok or “scholar’s rock,”
which helps change a Korean family’s fortunes. Boon Joon-ho’s
comedy drama defeated Sam Mendes’s heavily fancied war film
1917, which was filmed
near Stonehenge.
Meanwhile, the actor and art collector Brad Pitt won an Oscar for
best supporting role in Once Upon a Time in
Hollywood. (CNBC)

ART MARKET

Houses Reschedule Hong Kong Auctions – Christie’s has moved its 20th-century and
contemporary art evening sale and its wine sale in Hong Kong from
March to May because of the outbreak of the coronavirus. It has
also pushed back its Asian Art Week sales in New York from March to
June. (Antiques Trade
Gazette)

Volta Prepares for a 2020 Relaunch –
The Volta art fair returns to
New York after canceling its 2019 edition amid safety issues at the
Manhattan pier that housed it. Around 50 galleries are due to take
part in the slimmed-down fair, which is due to open March 4 through March 8 at
Metropolitan West, near its former home on one of the Armory
piers. (ARTnews)

Future Fair Names Exhibitors – The inaugural Future Fair in New York, which
promises galleries a cut of any profits, has announced 36
exhibitors. It is due to run from May 7 to 9 at Canoe Studios in West
Chelsea, coinciding with Frieze New York. (ARTnews)

Sean Kelly Pens an Op-Ed on Collecting – The New York dealer praises collectors who do
not chase and then hoard trophy art. He says that many collectors
still believe in investing in artists who have something to say and
in sharing their art with the wider public. Role models of Kelly’s
include Pamela Joyner, the “activist collector” who has long
championed African American artists who are not in high demand from
US museums. (Financial
Times)

COMINGS & GOINGS

Cooper Hewitt Director
Resigns Abruptly – Caroline Baumann, who had
been the director of the Cooper Hewitt Smithsonian Design Museum in
Manhattan since 2013, abruptly resigned on Friday. It is not yet
clear why Baumann, who led the $91 million renovation of the
museum, stepped down. (New York
Times)

Art in General Names a New Director – The
much-loved New York institution has named Irene Mei Zhi Shum as its
new director. She will lead the space through its 40th anniversary
celebrations in 2021. (Press release)

Academy Awards Museum
Will Open in December – The Academy Museum of Motion
Pictures took the opportunity last night at the Oscars to promote
its upcoming opening date, December 14. The museum, which has
experienced several delays, will be dedicated to the art of
filmmaking. (LA
Times)

American Airlines
Donates to Miami Museum – The Pérez Art Museum Miami
received $100,000 from the airline company on behalf of
Alberto Ibargüen, who recently stepped down from the American
Airlines board of directors after 11 years at the helm.
(Artforum)

FOR ART’S SAKE

Agnes Gund Is Receiving
a Major Award – Two years ago, Agnes Gund sold one of
her most valuable works, a Roy Lichtenstein painting worth $165
million and then put $100 million of that toward supporting US
prison reform. She set up the Art for Justice Fund, which
works together with the Ford Foundation and Rockefeller
Philanthropic Advisors, and has been a vocal advocate pushing for
the closure of Riker’s Island. This week, Gund will receive a lifetime
achievement award, the inaugural Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg Woman
of Leadership Award, from the Getty, delivered by Ginsburg
herself. (Financial
Times)
(ARTnews)

South African Architects to Design Serpentine Pavilion –
The South African architecture firm Counterspace has earned this
year’s prestigious Serpentine Galleries pavilion commission. The
20th annual pop-up structure in London’s Kensington Gardens will be
based on “gathering spaces and community places around the city,”
according to the Serpentine. Counterspace will also design smaller
components that will be installed in neighborhoods across London.
(The Art
Newspaper)

Mentors Named for Rolex Art Initiative – Composer
and actor Lin-Manuel Miranda, filmmaker Spike Lee, artist Carrie
Mae Weems, and director Phyllida Lloyd were announced as the new
mentors for the Rolex Mentor and Protégé Arts Initiative. The
program, which has seen previous names like David Hockney and David
Adjaye as mentors, pairs cultural figures with emerging talents.
(NYT)

Pussy Riot Video Shoot Interrupted By Police
– St. Petersburg police broke
up Pussy Riot’s video shoot for their new song “БЕСИТ / RAGE”
yesterday, accusing the
band of “gay
propaganda,” “extremism,” and “making an illegal video,” according to the
video translation. The police cut off electricity and then prevented to film
crew from bringing in a rented electric generator to continue
filming. “It infuriates me that everything that you cherish and
everything that is dear to you is washed into powder,” said
member Nadya Tolokonnikova.