BEST

Clicks Into Cash – Frieze’s inaugural
online edition featured seven-figure sales and a flurry of lower- (though not low-) priced
works.

A Poignant Portrait – Artist Nikkolas
Smith created a moving portrait of the slain Georgia native Ahmaud
Arbrey that quickly gained attention online.

A Royal Curator – Kate Middleton is
putting her art history degree to good
use by working with the National Portrait Gallery to
collect UK citizens’ photos of quarantine life.

Zwirner Shares the Wealth – The
mega-gallery is opening its online viewing rooms to 12 smaller
galleries based in Brussels and Paris.

Relay Race – In lieu of its
marquee June auctions in New York, Christie’s is debuting a livestream sale in July
that kicks off in Hong Kong and moves in real time to London,
Paris, and New York.

Nun’s Painting Makes Bank – A rare Mannerist
painting by a 17th-century Italian nun smashed its high
estimate 14 times over at Sotheby’s.

US Artists Can Get Gov’t Aid – Many
self-employed artists and creatives are eligible for the government’s new loan
program.

Sweet Dreams – Maurizio Cattelan asked
celebs including Iggy Pop and Jordan Wolfson to make audio recordings of themselves reading their
favorite stories for a new project cheekily called
“Bedtime Stories.”

WORST

Humboldt Forum Hits a Roadblock – The
opening of the $700 million museum in Berlin is delayed yet again, as foreign construction
workers are unable to return to Germany.

Expo Chicago Postponed – The ninth edition
of the Windy City’s fair has been bumped from September 2020 to April
2021.

Another One Bites the
Dust – The Gwangju Biennale has also
been postponed, with the organizers moving the event to
2021.

Shifting Sphinxes – Egyptian
authorities moved four ancient sphinxes to the center of Tahrir Square in an attempt to
boost tourism, but some say the objects are now at risk.

Allan Shwartzman Is Out – The veteran
art advisor is leaving Sotheby’s as it continues to shift
under new management. His advisory firm was acquired by the house
in 2016, and he will stay on as a consultant.

Paddles Down – Creditors are on the hunt for former Paddle8 CEO Valentine
Uhovski, who they say is to blame for huge financial
losses.

Bye, Berlin – Billionaire art
collector Julia Stoschek is threatening to
close her Berlin museum after running up against the
city’s hardball real estate industry.

The post From Christie’s New Auction Model to the Delay of
the Humboldt Forum: The Best and Worst of the Art World This
Week appeared first on artnet News.